Discrimination from some California college professors? Fresno State student speaks out

After a large spike in anti-Muslim hate crimes leading up to the 2016 election, many Muslim college students in the central San Joaquin Valley still feel unsafe on campus and face discrimination from professors and peers, according to a new report from the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

CAIR’s Campus Climate Report looked at nearly 568 students across the Central Valley, Sacramento, Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Francisco areas this year found that nearly 40% of those surveyed experienced discrimination or Islamophobia while in college.

Students who spoke with The Fresno Bee said they felt the most discrimination from professors who shut down discussions related to Islam and emboldened other students to make derogatory remarks.

Jasmine, a Fresno State student who did not want her last name used because she feared retaliation, said she took an anthropology class at Fresno State last year where she felt singled out by a professor. Jasmine wears a hijab (headscarf), abaya (robe-like dress), and long skirts and sleeves.

Jasmine said she clashed with the professor after he told the class that religions “don’t approve of science.” Jasmine asked for clarification because she said Muslims are taught to believe in science.

She said, during the next weeks, he would stare at her and bring up religion “in a way where other students felt confident enough to also attack (religion).”

“Every time I raised my hand, even to try to correct the statements that they were making, he would ignore me because he didn’t like the fact that I corrected him the first time,” she said. “So they just pushed me to the side, allowing other students to believe the rhetoric he was saying.”

When she reached out to a department adviser, she felt unsupported, she said.

“Instead of taking it to someone higher and recommending me to people that can fix the problem, she had told me, ‘You know what, just drop the class, he’s not a good professor.”

California Muslim college students face discrimination, CAIR report says

Jasmine did drop the class, and she said her experience is not unique.

According to the 2019-2020 CAIR report, about 35% of students were uncomfortable with the representation of Islam in class textbooks and materials, and 25% reported they were uncomfortable with how a professor or instructor discussed the religion.

About 19% of students surveyed in the report said they experienced discrimination from school personnel, including unfair grades, unjustified stops by school police, retaliation by administrators, and denial of school services.

The CAIR survey went out to students at over 60 public and private colleges, mainly in California, including Fresno State. Muslims in the United States today skew young, according to the report, with roughly 35% between the ages of 18 and 29 years old. Muslims are equally as likely as the general population to graduate college, at 31%.

About 40% of students who took the survey said they did not feel comfortable expressing their opinions in the classroom, and 34% said they were subjected to bigoted comments about Islam from their professors or instructors.

Most harassment — about 74% — came in the verbal or written form and included name-calling, remarks, gestures, comments in the classroom, and derogatory emails, texts, or social media posts. About 7% were physically harassed with violence, unwanted contact, pulling or tugging on their religious attire, or property damage, according to the report.

Fighting anti-Muslim discrimination at Fresno State

“Fresno State is committed to ensuring a campus environment where there is inclusion, respect, and equity. Discrimination is not tolerated,” said university spokesperson Lisa Boyles Bell.

Students who feel discriminated against or harassed based on a protected class or status (which includes religion, among other things) should contact the Discrimination, Harassment, Retaliation Administrator Marylou Mendoza-Miller at 559-278-2032 or maryloum@csufresno.edu,” Boyles Bell said. “If the situation involves a residential student, the student is encouraged to advise the Director of Student Housing, Erin Boele at 559-278-2677 or eboele@csufresno.edu.

Muslim students harassed for discussing Israeli-Palestinian conflict

One trend the report revealed was that students who spoke up about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and advocated for pro-Palestinian issues faced more “egregious or persistent” harassment and discrimination.

“There is actually a growing sentiment on campuses, not just across the country, but in particular in California, where students are being silenced in terms of their viewpoints when it comes to Palestinian rights,” said Sukaina Hussain, the outreach director for CAIR’s Central California office in Fresno.

“There are efforts on campuses to really stop Palestinian rights advocates,” she continued, “and what this is doing is silencing the voices of not just Palestinian or Arab students, but really other Muslim students who are allies to the cause.”

Jasmine said when she took an international policy class, her instructor asked students what they wanted to discuss but told Jasmine “it was not the place” to discuss the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

“I looked at her like, this is an international policy class, and that’s international,” Jasmine said. “She just disregarded the dialogue.”

Anti-Muslim hate crimes increase under Trump administration

Hussain said that anti-Muslim rhetoric coming from the administration of President Donald Trump over the last four years has increased hate and bias, similar to what occurred after 9/11.

“From the start of the new administration four years ago, the FBI reported that there was a 67% increase in (hate) crimes, and here in California, we actually showed over 500%, almost a 600%, increase in hate crimes against Muslims,” she said. “About half of the instances that occurred were on college campuses.”

The organization’s new report includes recommendations for colleges to deter discrimination and harassment.

One of those is training that will enable people to differentiate between religion and culture, according to Zena Chafi, a Fresno State graduate student who is interning with CAIR.

“In some cultures, you have different practices that do not represent Islam, and having that representing our religion is just inaccurate and unacceptable,” she said.

For example, she cites the notion that women who wear the hijab, or head coverings, are oppressed.

“That’s completely untrue because with the majority of people, and I know for me as well, my hijab is a choice, and I’m not oppressed in any way,” she said. “This is how I show my faith and my religion, and I’m completely happy.”

Other recommendations include teaching others how to spot and intervene in anti-Muslim harassment or discrimination and providing reasonable religious accommodations, such as prayer space and dietary options.

There is a prayer/meditation room on the third floor of the Henry Madden Library at Fresno State, Boyles Bell said. It’s usually open to students, faculty, and staff of all faiths, but it is closed this semester due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Colleges should also increase the number of classes related to Islam and the Arab, Middle Eastern, Muslim, and South Asian communities, the report said. Having instructors with similar backgrounds teach the courses will decrease the likelihood of projecting cultural insensitivity in the classroom.

“Campus administrators must uphold their obligation to foster an educational environment where all students are free to voice their political viewpoints,” the report read.

The Education Lab is a local journalism initiative that highlights education issues critical to the advancement of the San Joaquin Valley. It is funded by donors. Read more from The Bee’s Education Lab on our website.

This story was originally published December 3, 2020 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Discrimination from some California college professors? Fresno State student speaks out."