A recent survey by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) found that 49% of Muslim students across California colleges have faced harassment by their peers or administrators.
CAIR surveyed 720 students, most of which are from schools in the Bay Area and Los Angeles area.
92% of students who faced harassment said it happened after October 7, when Hamas invaded Israel, the Council on Islamic Relations found.
Summer Salama, a recent USC graduate, believes that that figure may be higher than what was reported.
“I do believe that there are still a number of students, especially Muslim students, that haven’t reported cases of Islamophobia incidents because they’re afraid,” Salama said.
USC has been under scrutiny since last semester’s controversy surrounding Asna Tabassum’s valedictorian speech, a Muslim student who was banned from speaking at graduation due to her public statements in support of Palestine. Protests across the USC campus since the Spring 2024 semester. On April 24, 51 USC students were arrested by LAPD during a protest for Palestine.
“I would say that the university not giving us her proper place of speech was definitely something that was connected to this study,” Zakariya Syed, a senior studying cinematic arts and media studies said.
Salama said the injustices Muslim students face go beyond protests, including harassment while walking through campus or going about their day away from USC.
“I had friends that were spit on because they were wearing the hijab,” Salama said. “I had people that were followed to their car. I had someone get beaten up by a bat once. People were being called terrorists just walking around. Situations like that happened a lot. So yes, I did fear for my life.”
Syed says he and fellow students felt the need to hide their identity to feel safe due to the acts of aggression prevalent on campus.
“I know a story that when two Muslim women who are hijabi, they wear this far from their heads,” Syed said. “When they were entering campus, they were questioned whether they were students or not. I would say that it caused me to hide my identity a little bit.”
USC offers outlets for Muslim students to find safety and a community amidst the current tensions, alleviating some stress that Muslim students feel about their identity.
“The Muslim Student Union is to offer a safe space for Muslims on campus,” Mysha Amir, a junior Muslim Student Union board member studying psychology, said. “We have a prayer space and we have a lounge, and there are always Muslims hanging out in that space.”
Amir added that she did not feel the university has done enough to support the Muslim student community.
“The USC administration has not done a lot to support its Muslim students,” Amir said. “A lot of the support that we’ve gotten at all was mainly through the Muslim students and our peers and our friends, but the administration response was not helpful in any way,”
While some students said they feel safe with these support systems, others still feel threatened when outside of these support groups.
“We have the Muslim Student Union, but that’s about it. When we’re in class, it’s quite terrifying, in all honesty, especially like specific majors that have to talk about the subject,” Salama said.
Muslim students who are facing harassment on or around campus are encouraged to visit the Office of Religious and Spiritual Life for counseling, resources, and further support.