The Council on American-Islamic Relations, a nonprofit Muslim civil liberties organization, held a press conference in front of Geisel Library on Oct. 11 at 3 p.m. to call attention to the rise of anti-Islamic racism. The conference consisted of a series of student and faculty speakers who gave speeches discussing the Islamophobia that Muslim students face on campus.
Students for Justice in Palestine announced the press conference in a social media post published earlier that day. An estimated 30 people gathered around the in-person press conference and an audience of 20 individuals joined in on SJP’s Instagram live.
The first speaker, president of the Muslim Student Association Mamoun Mraish, began the speech with a general prayer before expressing the lack of support the Muslim community feels from UC San Diego’s administration.
“Either our emails go unanswered or we get empty responses that lead to nothing,” Mraish said. “The Muslim Student Association has done everything in its power to ask for the support that we need provided, from providing safe spaces for dialogue to addressing the hateful rhetoric many of us are encountering, but the administration has failed to step up.”
Second speaker Gary Fields, a professor in the department of communication, recounted law enforcement officials’ response to the Gaza solidarity encampment this past Spring Quarter. Fields, whose research focuses on Israel and Palestine, advocated for taking action against injustice.
“We’re here today to protest against this assault on our dignity, on our rights as students, as faculty, as citizens of a so-called free and democratic society,” Fields said. “We’re here to demand an end to the bias and false accusations leveled against us that amount to prejudice against Palestinians seeking justice and equal rights.”
After Fields’ speech, a speaker, who was identified by the press conference’s host as “a student passionate about Palestine,” criticized the university’s inadequate support for its Muslim students.
“As [the] public, we call the university to make a public commitment to [stand] with marginalized communities by working with Muslim students to release statements with tangible and actionable goals to keep transparency with the rest of the student body,” the student said. “We’re calling on the university to partner with external advocacy organizations like the [American-Arab Anti Discrimination Committee] and CAIR to ensure continuous support and education [for the student body].”
Faculty for Justice in Palestine representative Leslie Meyer shared the actions the Council of UC Faculty Associations took against the university concerning the violation of free speech, stating that the University of California’s administration’s “impunity will not last forever.”
“In September, the Council of UC Faculty Associations took the historic step of filing a formal complaint against the UC System,” Meyer said. “This unfair labor practices filing asserts that the university has been violating the law, its own policies and both the state and U.S. Constitutions.”
An unidentified anti-Zionist Jewish speaker from Jewish Voices for Peace criticized the university, stating that conflating Israel and Judaism is a false representation of their identity.
“This is not a religious issue. This is not Muslim versus Jewish people. This is power against people. This is a genocide. So, we say again, not in our name,” they said.
In a closing statement, CAIR representative Omar Abusham reiterated the importance of student voices and representation on campus, calling for action from the university.
“UCSD, which champions itself as a space for inclusion and equity, must match this by action,” Abusham said. “Now is the time for UCSD to demonstrate that inclusion and equity [should be prioritized], and not just by saying words, but [by instating] core values that guide real, meaningful action. We must demand more from our institution because our students — all students — do not deserve anything less.”
Members of the administration present at the press conference declined The UCSD Guardian’s request for comment.
