Wednesday, November 16, 2016 // The Statement
4B
Wednesday, November 16, 2016 // The Statement 
5B

MADINAH LUQMAAN

SOCIAL WORK STUDENT/ PEOPLE OF COLOR COLLECTIVE

When you’re used to privilege, equality feels like 

oppression. When you are used to everything benefit-
ting you, and suddenly, other voices are being heard 
more than yours, you’re of course going to feel some-
what left out … We are all aware that Republicans are 
not heartless folks. However, the Republican candidate 
built his campaign on hurting others through fear and 
exclusion. So when people decided it was more impor-
tant to vote for someone who actively used violent 
language and made promises to harm large groups of 
marginalized folks, they should not be calling for those 
belonging to the threatened groups and their allies 
to, “get over it.” The hateful acts on this campus have 
shown that people aren’t accepting diverse groups of 
people and their right to exist. I’m sorry Republican 
students feel unsafe, but no one is threatening to light 
them on fire, deport them or throw them down hills.

SHEEMA REHMAN

LSA SENIOR / CO-VICE PRESIDENT FOUNDATION FOR 

INTERNATIONAL MEDICAL RELIEF OF CHILDREN

It’s important to include everyone in this conversa-

tion because we all belong to different communities 
and are affected by issues differently, but at the end of 
the day we are all members of this university. Issues 
that we face today are not new, but rather they have 
become normalized given the rhetoric used by political 
figures, especially as much more visibly hateful mes-
sages are surfaced, rather than floating in the back-
ground as they have had been in the past.

ARMAITY MINWALLA

LSA SENIOR/ DIVERSITY PEER EDUCATOR IN COUZENS HALL 

The unpaid and unrecognized emotional labor of 

people of color on this campus has increased. Student 
organizers and leaders are carrying a lot of weight on 
their shoulders … What I need from the administration 
is a continuation and a step further in the messages 
they have already been sending. While the intentions 
of their anti-hate campaign are good, I would like to 
point out that some ideas are hateful and some of the 
discourse that has been occurring is hate speech. It is 
not the responsibility of marginalized communities to 
be re-traumatized over and over again because they 
are taking the time to educate others about oppres-
sion and experiences of hate. As for me, I will continue 
doing the work that I do to make sure that every single 
person on this campus, particularly those in my care 
in my residence hall, are safe and know that I am here 
for them. I love and support you all, and I will always 
be there for you.

TINA AL-KHERSAN

LSA SENIOR/ EXECUTIVE BOARD OF MICHIGAN REFUGEE 

ASSISTANCE PROGRAM/ MEMBER OF THE LSA UNDER-

GRADUATE CLIMATE COMMITTEE 

This election and the rhetoric that has ensued 

after is not about just politics. I pride myself on being 
someone who is capable of reaching across the aisle 
and hearing other viewpoints, regardless of whether 
I agree with them or not. However, I am not always 
granted the same opportunity because of my religion 
and ethnicity. This is especially true now. I see people 
encouraging others to listen more, but what I am wor-
ried about is people not giving my viewpoints a chance 
simply because I call myself a Muslim. So to me, this 
election is about much more than just politics — it’s 
personal. How do I go about engaging in thoughtful 
and challenging dialogue when people across the aisle 
will inevitably and automatically see my viewpoints as 
less legitimate simply because of who I am?

CHELSEA RACELIS

LSA AND BUSINESS JUNIOR / INVOLVED IN DIVERSITY, 
EQUITY AND INCLUSION EFFORTS IN THE ROSS SCHOOL 

OF BUSINESS/ INVOLVED IN ASIAN AND PACIFIC ISLANDER 

AMERICAN VOTE — MICHIGAN CHAPTER

Administrators must earn the right to put diversity on 

the University’s brochures, website, etc. The University 
has to provide for its diverse community, and right now, 
that means making sure marginalized students (Muslim 
students, students of color, immigrant students, LGBTQ 
students) are safe. That is a human right that the Univer-
sity has a responsibility to protect. I would tell adminis-
trators to genuinely ask themselves if they are doing the 
absolute most they can; I recognize that they can’t alien-
ate groups of people and they have multiple interests 
weighing on them, but even given all of that, are admin-
istrators honestly doing the most they can to take action 
for students?

ALL PHOTOS BY DAVID SONG/Daily

