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WEDNESDAY
feb. 10, 2016 high 33°, low 17°
t h e i n de p e n de n t s t u de n t n e w s pa p e r of s y r a c u s e , n e w yor k |
N • Vote on it
P • No place like Dome
Donald Trump and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-V.T.) were declared the winners of the New Hampshire presidential primary Tuesday. Both were expected to win the primary. Page 3
dailyorange.com
At Thursday’s game against Florida State University, Otto’s Army will celebrate its 10th birthday of being a recognized school organization. Page 9
S • Hit and run
Corinne Ozanne enters her senior year with a chance to break hitting records for SU. She will likely provide a big boost for SU’s batting lineup. Page 16
student association
Muslims at
syr acuse university part
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A rise in Islamophobia and racism has made Muslims in the U.S.
‘THE VERY VISIBLE OTHER’ Editor’s Note: As Islam continues to grow and is more prominent in the public’s eye, The Daily Orange took a look at Muslims and Islamophobia at Syracuse University.
Now that she regularly wears a hijab, Mere said people stare at her everywhere she goes. But she’s gotten used to it, she said, because “you kind of get over it.”
By Alexa Torrens news editor
I
n the summer of 2013, then 18-year-old Sabreen Mere was at work when a man approached her and asked her where she was from. He wanted to know if she was Greek. Mere, now a junior policy studies major at Syracuse University, hadn’t began wearing a hijab then — she started regularly covering in December 2014 when she decided she needed to “show a different face” — so there was no hint that she might be Muslim. She told the man she was Palestinian, and she said his whole attitude then changed. The man threw a slew of antiMuslim comments at her — accusing her of belonging to terrorist organizations and storing a bomb in the cash register.
I think this is one big problem in American culture, is that there’s always the assumption that American culture is the end of history and it is the absolute ideal. Ahmed Abdel Meguid assistant professor of religion
“You can just tell by first meeting that they’re going to be ignorant toward you because their demeanor changes,” Mere said. “And so I’ve become very good at reading people. It’s something you kind of have to do to survive.” Mere is an American citizen
from Syracuse. She grew up around Christians and Jews, and yet, she said, when Muslims are stereotyped, the immediate response of bystanders is to be silent. “It’s the same thing as racism,” she said. “If somebody was being racist toward someone who’s African-American or African and you didn’t say anything, you’re basically perpetuating that ignorance. So there’s nothing you can really say to those people other than that, ‘Why aren’t you saying anything?’” The idea that Islamophobia is rooted in racism is not exclusive to Mere. Several members of SU’s Muslim community said race and religion intertwine in the American public’s perception of Islam. This silence may be attributed to a failure of self-criticism, which is a big problem in American culture, said Ahmed Abdel Meguid, an assistant professor of religion at SU who researches Islamic philosophy and theology of the late 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries. “I think this is one big problem in American culture, is that there’s see islamophobia page 6
around the world 10 countries with highest population of Muslims (2011)
This prayer room in Hendricks Chapel allows Muslim students at Syracuse University to pray between classes. The room has prayer rugs, desks and chairs. liam sheehan asst. photo editor
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Indonesia 204,847,000
2
Pakistan 178,097,000
3
India 177,286,000
4
Bangladesh 148,607,000
5
Egypt 80,024,000
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Nigeria 75,728,000
7
Iran 74,819,000
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Turkey 74,660,000
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Algeria 34,780,000
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Morocco 32,381,000 source: pew research center
Café hours extended SA changes hours for Slocum Café on Fridays on trial basis By Sara Swann asst. news editor
The hours for the Slocum Café will be extended to 5:30 p.m. on Fridays on a trial basis until spring break. If student turnout is substantial, a permanent change to the Slocum Café hours will be implemented, SA President Aysha Seedat said in an email to the Syracuse University student body on Feb. 5. Before the extension was made, Slocum Café was open Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. and 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Fridays.
what is sa? The Student Association is the student government body of the university. SA is currently in its 59th session and Aysha Seedat is president. Outside of the cabinet, there are four committees and four boards, which report to the association.
An individual on SA’s Academic Affairs committee was responsible for making this temporary extension happen, Seedat said in an interview with The Daily Orange. Through a survey distributed to architecture students, Seedat said SA found that a significant number of students circulate through Link Hall, Shaffer Art Building and Slocum Hall during the cafe’s current hours of 1-5 p.m. on Fridays, meaning students would benefit from thecafe’s hours being extended. This information was presented to SU Food Services by the committee members so that the change could be made, Seedat said. There’s potential moving forward, Seedat said, to use this strategic method with other campus cafes, such as Eggers Café, since it is closer to the Schine Student Center than Link and Slocum are. smswann@syr.edu