Imagine feeling unsafe walking around on campus just because you have different viewpoints on a situation. The Palestinian and Israeli war has shed light on the importance of student safety on campuses. Students feel like the university can do a better job in ensuring the safety of their students. There are conflicting views about the war, and students share their opinions on how they feel about being on campus and what they hope to see in the future. Students Atice Zulfi and Jessica Baden were interviewed alongside Capt. Justin Gilbert to discuss the overarching issue of safety on campus amid the war.
Transcript:
Dipty Bhuiyan: “The temporary cease-fire between Hamas and Israel ended early Friday, and Israel has resumed its bombardment of Gaza.” Ever since the attack on Oct. 7, where Hamas killed approximately 1200 people and took around 240 hostages, Israel has responded by launching an all-out war on the people of Gaza. They have since killed thousands of women and children, dropping airstrikes on the Gaza Strip.
After the war broke out between Israel and Palestine, we saw a shift in how students felt about their safety on campus here at UConn. It became a topic of discussion, especially since a lot of students were protesting and wearing symbolic clothing. After reports of incidents all over the country, students are asking the university to take better measures. Shouldn’t you be able to voice your beliefs without the fear of your safety being compromised? What measures can the university take to help make sure their students are safe?
Hi everyone! Welcome to Connect the Dots. My name is Dipty Bhuiyan and I will be your host discussing the war’s effect on the safety of students at the University of Connecticut. Today we will welcome students who have different religious beliefs and see how the war has been affecting their daily lives. We will get the inside scoop into how they are dealing with the effects of the war, especially since there has been a rise in islamophobia and anti-semitism on college campuses. I spoke with Atice Zulfi, sisters activities chair for the Muslim Student Association. She is a sophomore Poli-sci major with a French minor.
Atice Zulfi: “As Muslims, we believe that we’re like one ummah, like we’re a part of a big group and a family, essentially. So we’re all brothers and sisters of Islam. And I think the first thing when this happened was just a lot of pain from everyone. And like it’s a type of sadness that hits you in such a different way that you don’t realize until it happens. You’re like, we’re all muslim. And it’s like, my person, my people from so far away are getting killed, and the way things are going is so bad that it just hurts so much. And it’s such an impactful type of pain, unfortunately. But, yeah, for Muslims in general, and I think now that it’s been ongoing and there are biases. Even as a realist perspective, there are biases regardless. And I think the behavior towards just what’s going on in general has created a lot of hostility. And just for some, they just don’t feel safe. And a lot of things along those lines.”
Dipty Bhuiyan: After speaking with Atice, I was able to gather that more action needs to be taken. There have been a lot of hate crimes toward Palestinian and Muslim students such as when a threatening email was sent to the Muslim Student Association.
Atice Zulfi: “Yeah, so this happened at the UConn Stamford campus, the MSA, they got an email. The first reaction that we, as the main campus MSA was, I know the president, he heard it first. He said that he kind of laughed it off because he’s like, who has the time to do like, it just doesn’t make sense. And I think a lot of us just feel that way because as Muslims, we have a lot of belief in God and a lot of trust in God. So at the end of the day, like we will do what we do, we’ll do our best in our daily lives and everything, but God handles it at the end. So I think a lot of us were just like, what? Why? You know? We weren’t like obviously intimidated in any way because just doesn’t make sense. The more I thought about it, I’m like, it’s just disgusting and so grotesque to say, like. In the email, it did mention the guy wished that women could be raped with pig skin or pork. It was, like, really grotesque. And I know the former president of SJP, Students for Justice of Palestine, got two voicemails similar to that context about like the woman getting raped. And they’re happy that like, excuse my language, but shit colored people are getting killed, this and that. And it’s just, like, disgusting. What goes on in your head? ”
Dipty Bhuiyan: Stephanie Reitz, university spokesperson and manager of media relations issued a statement that said, “UConn unequivocally condemns Islamophobia, just as it condemns antisemitism and all forms of hatred. UConn was made aware that a former student received a voicemail that was reported to have included racist and inflammatory language and a reference to death, and that the UConn Muslim Student Association received an email with similar sentiments.
Our review determined that the call originated from an Oklahoma-based number, and there is no indication at this point of any connection to the UConn community or state of Connecticut. The identity of the person who sent the email could not immediately be determined because an alias was used. We recognize the concern generated by the messages, and we join others in condemning the hateful sentiments in the strongest terms.”
The email was not the only incident that has happened against Muslim students. Located near North Garage is a rock that was painted over. It initially had a message written about Palestinians, and was painted over with the Star of David.
Atice Zulfi: “Well, there was when we painted the rock, with Free Palestine. The rock rules are that you can paint over the rock, but you have to paint over it entirely. You have to cover up the previous person’s painting. And also the paint has to be dry. The next day, someone put the Star of David with gold spray, and they just put it over the Palestinian rock. So they broke the rock rules. They didn’t paint over the whole thing. So they showed this sort of arrogance, and they did that. It was reported. Nothing happened.”
Dipty Bhuiyan: Although no lives have been endangered at UConn, there have been other incidents around the country that have sparked the question of whether or not UConn is taking enough measures to make sure their students do not get harmed.
Atice Zulfi: “I feel like there hasn’t been any specific encounters, thankfully at UConn. But I know that at Rutgers, there was someone whose hijab was pulled off. There was the three kids of Vermont that literally just got shot for wearing the Palestinian Kufiya, which is like their cultural scarf, I would say, walked up and shot at. And safety wise, I feel like many of us, like I said, we have a belief in God, so we really emphasize that it’s whatever, you know. Try our best. And after that, God’s got it. But I think it is a thought.”
Dipty Bhuiyan: Atice goes on to say how the university is not doing enough to keep their students protected. Students believe that UConn president Radenka Maric is not doing her part in speaking on behalf of the Muslim community.
Atice Zulfi: “Nothing’s been fully addressed, especially by Radenka. Literally nothing. So it’s just, like, so sad. And I think even yesterday I was in class, so I didn’t get to hear it. But they had this speaking thing at the human rights center about the conflict, and it was only people of like Israel’s side, essentially. How can you have a discussion? How can you say, oh, we’re doing something about it? You’re not. You’re promoting this sort of ignorance. You’re promoting this sort of intolerance that’s literally lethal. I think more things UConn can do is just, I mean, take action, talk about it, say this happened to muslim students. This is wrong, because there was this, like, I’ve been mentioning a lot about ignorance and intolerance, and I know this philosopher, Voltaire, he talks about. He wrote about religious intolerances, and the one thing he mentions is that religious. And this isn’t necessarily a religious cause or issue, but it does play big roles against Muslim and Jews, even though it’s not supposed. It’s more like Zionists against pro Palestinians. But the reality is, this can go for any case, but religious tolerance has done nothing but create peace. But religious intolerance has done nothing but created bloodshed.”
Dipty Bhuiyan: After speaking to Atice I decided to talk to the president of Hillel, the center for Jewish life at UConn. Jess Baden is a senior who is currently studying Human Development and Family Sciences. She talks about her ties to the war and how she feels it has affected the Jewish community at UConn.
Jess Baden: “So a lot of students have personal conflict to the Israel-Hamas war that’s happening right now. I know personally, I have a lot of friends and family there, and unfortunately, one of the hostages, Omer Neutra, is one of my friends from high school. So it definitely hits close to home. We have students who have lived in Israel in points of time who have friends and family who currently live there. So it definitely is personal. And as we’ve seen in the media, this kind of war has led to a lot of anti-semitism in America, especially on college campuses, along with islamophobia, unfortunately. And so for our students, there really is a concern, I think, for being out in the world, in America, as well as even though we’re safe in terms of not being in the war zone that’s happening. It feels like there’s our own war that’s happening here.”
Dipty Bhuiyan: Baden believes that safety has become more of an issue, but she’s not afraid to show others that she is Jewish. She is not concerned about her peers, but is skeptical of others coming onto campus and disrupting the peace.
Jess Baden: “It’s definitely been a concern. I think that where I stand on it might be different than other students. I personally am, not scared walking across campus, for instance, I’m really proud, and I’ve walked in New York City and worn a Jewish star and worn it proud. And there’s definitely. I’m a little more aware than I may have been before of my surroundings. But I think there are a lot of students who are even nervous walking across campus, displaying any form of anything that shows that they’re Jewish. I am pretty confident that this fear of something happening wouldn’t be from UConn students. I mean, there may be something, but I think it’s more that we’re a public university, and anybody can come onto our campus. Our building is very noticeably, a Jewish building, often seen as a jewish house of worship from the outside. And so, it’s a target. It really is. And so, even while I feel like our students wouldn’t harm me or other students, there are bad guys out there and people who want to come and harm Jews and people who would come onto campus to do so.”
Dipty Bhuiyan: Both Muslim and Jewish students believe safety is extremely important and the war has immensely affected the safety of students on campus. I spoke to Capt. Justin Gilbert who works with other police officers to ensure safety. He has been on high alert and has been trying his best to respond to calls or anything suspicious that can be detrimental to a student’s safety.
Capt. Justin Gilbert: “I think it’s impacted everybody, in different ways, obviously, some communities more than others. And I think that we need to pay attention to the different groups and how it affects them. I think they need to have space is to be heard and understood and still be able to continue on with the mission of being educated here and have a safe environment at UConn. So I think that it’s a continuous challenge and work in progress to try to identify the needs of those groups and see what we can do to improve the safety for them. Whether that’s physical security measures or if it’s responding to incidents, or if it’s demonstrations that may be taking place or vigils or whatever may be taking place, that they’re safe to do that, and that there’s no counter protests or things that might endanger in those situations. So I think it’s trying to provide the safest space possible and also taking whatever action we can as a police department in conjunction with the other university offices.”
Dipty Bhuiyan: The president of Hillel mentioned that the UConn police department has done a great job in providing their support. They have always done their part in guarding the Hillel whenever they have their Friday dinners and have always followed through with making sure students are safe. Jess Baden says in previous semesters, there have been reported incidents where students would draw swastikas.
Jess Baden: “When I was a freshman at UConn, there was a swastika drawn on the chem building right across the street, clearly directed at us. And fortunately, compared to other universities, we’ve actually been pretty safe. But it’s always a concern. We’ve gotten a lot of threatening messages on Instagram. I would say it’s really through social media is where this is coming in. And we’ve also had threats via email sent, non-UConn related, that have all been evaluated and have seen to be not a real threat by security officials. But it’s scary when that happens, for sure. And, it definitely makes me a little bit concerned.”
“UConn PD has been so extremely helpful. There’s only so much that they can do to prevent. Right. The hope is that God forbid something happens, that they’re there to help. And from October 7, the day the war broke out, October 8, we wanted to hold something in our building to, basically create a space for students to come and talk and grieve and just be together. And we notified the police to just be like, just so you know, this is happening. If you could do some extra patrols around our area, that would be helpful. And without even asking, they sent a guard to stand in our building while this program was happening, which I think really helped for the safety of our students and any event that we’ve done since, we’ve told them that we’re holding it. And they not like, unless it’s really focused on that. They haven’t necessarily sent a guard, but they’ve been very visible, keeping extra patrols, especially on our Friday night dinners.”
Dipty Bhuiyan: The conflict in the Gaza strip has been happening for 75 years. But because of social media, recent videos have gone viral, and people are learning more and more about the war. But not everyone checks their information before “picking a side.” Capt. Gilbert believes that everyone is entitled to their own opinions and should feel safe in doing so.
Capt. Justin Gilbert: “You should feel comfortable expressing how you feel about that. On our campus. That’s what this environment should be, is a safe place to advocate for however you believe is the right way to do it, or who to support. And that’s the biggest thing we always tell people or organizers if we’re dealing with different things, is just be respectful. If you’re respectful of each other, you can say almost anything, and you guys can disagree at the end of the day, but you should be able to have that back and forth banter in a respectful manner.”
Dipty Bhuiyan: Baden believes we should all strive for peace and support each other. We all deserve to be safe and comfortable on campus.
Jess Baden: “I can’t speak for everyone, but within Hillel we really are wanting to keep the peace and can understand that we have difference in opinions, but that it’s important for all students, no matter who they are, what they are, where they come from, to feel safe on campus and to feel supported. And that’s really important. I know when the Muslim Student Association and SJP both received very hateful messages, I personally reached out to them and said that that hate is awful and shouldn’t be done.”
Dipty Bhuiyan: After speaking with all of these individuals, it is quite clear that there have been several incidents that occurred since the war broke out a few months ago. The university is using their police department to ensure safety measures and to make sure all students, Muslims and Jews, feel comfortable being on campus.
As someone who has heard both sides and has seen the staggering death toll, I am saddened by the war. It is truly unfortunate the U.S. is funding a genocide and because the Hamas decided to retaliate, the people of Palestine are being targeted and killed. I sympathize with the concerns of Jewish and Muslim students but I feel as though the lack of knowledge will further put the lives of students at risk.
Thanks for listening to this episode. To learn more about the Palestinian/Israeli War, please check out the resources on my webpage. Thank you!
Links to further research:
Muslim Students Voice Concerns About Threatening Hate Filled Messages
Students Express Fears About Antisemitism College Campuses
Picture Credits:
Featured Image and SoundCloud Cover Photo by Dipty Bhuiyan via Canva
Interviewee Photos by Dipty Bhuiyan
Video Credits:
March for Israel at the National Mall
Tension on Campus Grounds Amongst Students with Different Religious Beliefs
Thousands of Pro-Palestine Demonstrators Protesting in Washington, D.C.
