SDSU Students Respond To Attack With Rally Against Islamophobia

Hundreds of San Diego State University students rallied against Islamophobia Monday afternoon in response to an attack on a Muslim student last week that is being investigated as a hate crime.

Campus police said a man ripped off a young woman's head scarf while pushing her and spewing racist epithets in a parking lot on the east side of campus Thursday afternoon. The unidentified assailant was described as white, in his 20s, thin, black-haired, roughly 5 feet 11, with green or hazel eyes.

A statement from the San Diego branch of the Council on American-Islamic Relations said the non-injury attack "may be related to the backlash against the American Muslim community since the recent terror attacks in Paris."

SDSU's Muslim Student Association hosted a rally Monday afternoon at Hepner Hall in which members called on witnesses to the attack to come forward to help lead investigators to the suspect. The association's members also urged their fellow students to "create a more inclusive campus climate by promoting tolerance and acceptance between different cultures and religions."

A list of the group's demands, which was posted on its Facebook page, also included a zero tolerance policy for Islamophobic rhetoric and actions on campus; mandatory bystander training for faculty, staff and students; more coursework on Islam in an effort to alleviate misconceptions toward Muslim students; and for administrators to "address, alleviate and eliminate systems of oppression that disproportionately target people of color, women and all marginalized students on campus."

The student association also asked government officials to "recognize that the dehumanization of refugees and scapegoating of the Muslim faith enables an environment for attacks like this to occur," according to the statement.

Hanif Mohebi, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations in San Diego, said Muslims on campus don't feel safe.

Tessa Wiley, an SDSU student majoring in international security and conflict resolution, said that victims need to report crimes to the police, but that is only part of the solution.

“The problems that we have are not going to be solved by the policemen themselves. The problems we have need to be solved on a social level with our community,” Wiley said.

SDSU Dean of Students Randy Timm said the attack is horrible, but there are also nonviolent indignities that need to be dealt with.

“But sometimes it’s just daily insults that go directly to your soul,” Timm said.