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THE PIONEER Covering the East Bay community since 1961
California State University, East Bay
News, Art, & Culture for the East Bay
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THURSDAY AUGUST 3, 2017
www.thepioneeronline.com
Summer 2017 Issue 7
Alameda personified by art, wine Pioneer updates on America's president
SEE OPINION PAGE 2
What happened? On Monday President Donald Trump fired Anthony Scaramucci from his position as the White House communications director.
STUDENTS CREATE BLOGS DURING TIME IN CUBA
SEE FEATURES PAGE 4
WINE WALK TAKES OVER DOWNTOWN HAYWARD
SEE NEWS PAGE 6
TRUMP STATEMENT PROMPTS CASTRO PROTEST
PHOTO BY VERONICA HALL/THE PIONEER
Attendees of the 33rd annual Alameda Art and Wine Faire drink alcoholic beverages and shop for jewelry on Saturday in downtown Alameda on Park Street.
By Veronica Hall LAYOUT DESIGNER
SEE FEATURES PAGE 8
MUSLIMS IN FEAR UNDER TRUMP ADMINISTRATION
When you live somewhere long enough, you become part of the traditions a place embodies. Being born and raised in the small town of Alameda, I know what to expect on the island. There is always a 4th of July parade, the beach will be crowded
on hot days, and during the winter holidays, Thompson Avenue—better known as Christmas Tree Lane—is packed with people. For myself and many of my fellow ‘Alamedians’, these things are a given and can lose their excitement as the years pass. After so long it becomes the same event and many non-locals make these happenings overcrowded. But there is one event that always
seems to connect residents and outsiders alike. The Art and Wine Faire is a weekend festival that runs in downtown Alameda on Park Street. It’s one of the town’s biggest free events, filled with five blocks of food, drinks, art, games, vendors, and live music. With 2017 being the 33rd year of operation, it’s a classic summertime event
SEE ART PAGE 3
East Bay students reflect on study abroad trip to Cuba
On Friday, Scaramucci publically scolded members of the president’s senior staff in a message filled with profanity asking them to stop “leaking information” to the press. In a press conference on Monday the White House Press Secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders said, “Mr. Scaramucci felt it was best to give Chief of Staff John Kelly a clean slate and the ability to build his own team.” Kelly replaced Reince Priebus and began his first day in charge of the staff on Monday. According to The New York Times Kelly told aides gathered in early-morning staff meetings that he intended to impose a new sense of order and operational discipline that had been absent under his predecessor. The removal comes just 10 days after Scaramucci was hired. The hiring of Scaramucci was proceeded by the departures of former Press Secretary Sean Spicer and Priebus. Hours before the announcement early Monday morning, Trump took to his preferred social media, Twitter, where he said, “No WH chaos!” Spicer resigned the day Scaramucci was hired and Preibus stepped down just a few days after, which according to The New York Times, were because of the style of communication he used. Suffolk County Speech On Friday, Trump gave a speech to a room full of law enforcement officials in Brentwood, New York that was originally focused on the street gang La Mara Salvatrucha also known as MS-13. With a packed house and a slew of police officers behind him Trump ripped off an iconic joke from comedian Jerry Seinfeld when referring to police treatment of suspects. “Like when you guys put somebody in the car, and you’re protecting their head, you know, the way you put your hand over. I said, you can take the hand away, O.K.” The comment drew a noticeable cheer from the crowd and many of the officers behind him clapped after he said it. Trump went on to tell attendees “Please don’t be too nice” to suspects. Implying that force and mistreatment of suspects was fine by him. From coast to coast, law enforcement officials and organizations immediately began to distance themselves from Trump’s comments. The Suffolk County Police Department, which had several officers in attendance, said on Twitter just two hours after the speech by Trump, “As a department, we do not and will not tolerate roughing up of prisoners.” The Los Angeles Police Department, New Orleans Police Department, International Association of Chiefs of Police, the Police Foundation and Steve Soboroff, one of the commissioners of the Los Angeles Police Department, all made statements or gave interviews denouncing the
SEE TRUMP PAGE 3 PHOTO BY CHRISTINE ANDERSEN/THE PIONEER
The Fusterlandia neighborhood in Havana, Cuba. CSUEB students wrote blogs, long form articles and also took photos and videos during their nearly three-week long study abroad trip to the communist country last month. Be sure to check page 2 for blogs from Cuba as well as future print issues and our online coverage of the trip.
By Louis LaVenture Editor-in-Chief
2 OPINION
THURSDAY AUGUST 3, 2017
THE PIONEER
Welcome to my country, no photos please
EDITORIAL STAFF EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Louis LaVenture
Not all locals want their picture taken
louis.laventure@csueastbay.edu
MANAGING EDITOR
Kali Persall
kali.persall@csueastbay.edu
By Adam Murphy
ONLINE AND SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR
Casey Peuser
CONTRIBUTOR
casey.peuser@csueastbay.edu
Today was my third full day in Cuba, but my first as a photojournalist. Unlike other students on my trip to Cuba I am not proficient in taking pictures on a professional camera. To make up for this our professor gave us a crash course class in about an hour. After which we were directed to go practice taking pictures then report back to her a couple hours later. Hmmm... where to go? What to shoot? The storm clouds were rolling into Havana like some biblical storm was approaching. In the distance I could hear the thunder and see the lighting rock and flash across the afternoon sky. This put the pressure on me to get some shots done before the rain restricted me from taking pictures outside. The perfect place to take pictures was less than half a block down the street. I noticed it when I first got to the hotel. It was a run down soccer field surrounded by a track and a large amphitheater for people to watch the games. Over my first few days in Havana I regularly saw many people play soccer there and exercise. Since my project is about exercise and nutrition I figured what better place to go for my first shots. About five of us went there to take pictures for various reasons. Our large group of fair skinned people with cameras around our necks drew a lot of attention. As we walked down the street it seemed like every single car honked at us to ask if we needed a taxi. Beep beep... Taxi? They would ask. Our response started as a “no gracias” and then changed to us simply ignoring the cars. Upon arrival to the field our large group split up since people wanted to take pictures of different things. These items included different things such as the field, stadium, workout equipment, etc. Unlike other members of my group
SPANISH EDITOR
Daisy Ortiz daisy.ortiz@csueastbay.edu
STAFF WRITERS
Marissa Marshall marissa.marshall@csueastbay.edu
ILLUSTRATOR
Dina Arakcheyeva dina.arakcheyeva@csueastbay.edu
PHOTO EDITOR
Kedar Dutt kedar.dutt@csueastbay.edu PHOTO BY ADAM MURPHY/CONTRIBUTOR
A view of the soccer field and other athletic equipment in Havana, Cuba. This is the first site where Cal State East Bay student Adam Murphy took photos on his study abroad trip to the communist country last month.
Marina Swanson marina.swanson@csueastbay.edu
I came there to get pictures of people exercising either on the jungle gym, the soccer field, and the track that surrounds it. This day was a Monday afternoon, because of that nobody was at the field doing any exercise related activities. So I simply walked around getting shots of the exercise equipment and the old stadium. After a few shots I began exploring the area behind this stadium where I was surprised to discover other exercise related areas such as a badminton court, three full sized basketball courts, and three gigantic Olympic sized pools. After taking many pictures a man appeared and told us, “no fotos por favor”. He began to follow us around like a fly hovering around garbage. Convinced he was a shady character looking for money we all put our cameras away and left that area. Luckily the man did not follow us. Our group moved to a new
area that was connected to this large sporting location. After about thirty seconds of taking shots there the same shady looking man appeared and told us, “no fotos” in a stern voice and waved his hands in displease. Luckily this time one of the people within the group knew Spanish and begun talking to him and found of he was the director of this large sporting complex. He told her that he did not want people to take pictures because he was afraid that we would use the pictures to show the poor condition of Cuba recreation facilities to others back home. However, it was quite the opposite, everybody in the group was amazed at how beautiful the structures were and how they have survived for many years. After talking for a few minutes he agreed to let us walk around, but not take pictures. This taught me a couple valuable lessons related to Cuba. The first is that
pretty much any place you go people will be there sitting in a chair watching for pictures and to make sure nobody messes up the items at the place whether it be at this sporting complex or a museum. The last lesson it taught me was not to assume every Cuba approaching you while you are taking pictures will because they ask for money. A lot of times they just want to spark that conversation. It is up to you ask questions to understand the situation and learn about the person’s story. Distrust is easy when there is a cultural and language barrier, but understanding and communicating is hard. Doing so however will enrich your experience in the foreign country and allow you to grow as a person. So next time someone tells you, “no fotos por favor”, ask why? The answer and following conversation might surprise you.
Patriotism, rebellion, relics in Cuba By Camille Sparkman
FACULTY ADVISOR
Nolan Higdon nolan.higdon@csueastbay.edu
FACULTY COORDINATOR
Dr. Katherine Bell kate.bell@csueastbay.edu
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CONTRIBUTOR After arriving in Cuba, it did not take long to see how the Cubans honor the revolution that occurred over fifty-years ago. I saw many billboards and murals in and around Havana that praised the uprising efforts of Che Guevara and Fidel Castro. Their faces can be seen painted on the side of buildings or on billboards along many streets and roadways. While riding in a bus along the Malecón, I saw a mural of Guevara with the words ‘joven y fuerte’, which translates to English as young and strong. However, the most prominent and powerful mural I have seen thus far was one with the words ‘patria o muerte’ that translated to English means homeland or death. This struck me as odd since there seems to be no public defiance against the government in today’s Cuban culture. Alternatively, while walking through Old Havana, I noticed a small art gallery that had an American patriotic painting of former United States President Barack Obama. While I was taking some photographs of the painting, one of the artists motioned me to come inside. Inside the gallery, there were several paintings of American musicians like Michael Jackson and Jimmy Hendrix. In the adjacent room, which seemed to be more political in its theme, there was a painting of Obama that I saw from the storefront, accompanied by paintings of
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#PIONEERNEWS PHOTO BY CAMILLE SPARKMAN/CONTRIBUTOR
A mural of Che Guevara in Cuba with the words ‘Joven y Fuerte’ that, translated into English, as ‘young and strong.’
Castro. However, there was one photo of Castro that was much different than any other that I saw since my arrival in Cuba. The painting was called ‘Post Fidel’ and it depicted a large group of several men with Castro’s face.
When I asked the artist what the painting meant, he told me how Fidel created a nation of people, who think like him and believe in his ideas. When I asked him if he was he a Castro supporter, he shook his head and said no. As
we continued to talk, he implied that the painting represented how Cuba must change and be freed of government control. Defiance and rebellion is something that used to define this culture, but has now been lost.
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FEATURES 3
THURSDAY AUGUST 3, 2017
THE PIONEER Art From Page 1 for the city. Alameda always emphasizes fun for the whole family and I have to admit, that is true when it comes to the Art and Wine Faire. I’ve attended this event my entire life, and although I may have missed a few, you could find me there the majority of my life. When I was a kid, I went to the faire to play games and begged my mom to buy me stuff. As a teenager, I went with my friends to look cool and even had a few dates there. But now that I am an adult, I can enjoy the namesake wine and buy my own overpriced trinkets, something I dreamt about as a kid. However, this year was different. There was a lot more advertising for the faire than I had seen years prior. I saw countless commercials and heard a few radio promotions about it. I was surprised that the city of Alameda worked so hard to bring more people into its compact space. They definitely succeeded; this was the most crowded Art and Wine Faire I’ve ever seen. People were everywhere, lines were long, and a place to sit was nonexistent. They also advertised parking as if there would be plenty of spaces. I was excited to hear that because I live close to Park Street and my street is known to get congested with cars trying to find an open space. All of the advertising worked to bring in more people, but the increased parking appeared to be a myth. As I came out of my house, every inch of my block was covered with cars. I walked to the festival and was engulfed with a strange feeling of possessive jealousy. What were these intruders doing in my hometown? Why must they come to my territory for my city’s event? There was already never any parking on my street and now these unknowns were invading my space. I felt like I was the president of Alameda and these people didn’t know anything about the island or the more than 80,000 people that live on it. Most of the jealousy wore off after about an hour at the faire. Just as I had expected, it was the usual street festival with the same vendors and typical 70s and 80s music. The only thing different was a glass of wine in my hand and less space to move around in. Being the small town that it is, I ran into numerous people I knew. Any event in Alameda will always be a reunion with folks I’d either love to catch up with or try to avoid. Another guaranteed aspect of any Alameda gathering. At one point, I was stuck talking to an old family friend and increasingly felt my social battery dwindle. As I looked around, I didn't know anyone and for a brief moment, I felt relief like I was blending in with everyone else. I came to the realization that these outsiders weren't so bad after all. Not only were they bringing in more revenue for Alameda, their overpopulation on this occasion helped me to escape some awkward conversations. After some time, I was excited to see so many different people enjoying themselves on the same streets I walked on thousands of times before. It was a beautiful day and I reminded myself that people were looking to have a good time, just like I was. Alameda has expanded in recent years with more homes and a new shop-
PHOTOS BY VERONICA HALL /THE PIONEER
Vendor and artists display aquatic art themes to correlate with Alameda’s beach atmosphere at the 33rd Alameda Art and Wine Fair on July 29 and 30.
“After some time, I was excited to see so many people enjoying themselves on the same streets I walked on thousands of times before. It was a beautiful day and I reminded myself that people were looking to have a good time, just like I was” ping center. But the city always works to keep a strong sense of community with events like these. It’s becoming more than the quiet town I grew up thinking it was. I’m happy about that; it’s like Alameda and I grew up alongside each other. I felt some sort of jealousy sharing Alameda with other individuals. But now I see why so many people want to come here. Alameda is a gem; it has a small beach-town vibe but is busy enough for it to be a fun and friendly city. I now see why my mom would always call it the isle of style. I used to try to downplay my pride for Alameda, but naturally I can't help but to love my hometown and relish in all the traditions it has. No matter how old I get or where I may end up, I will always be a true ‘Alamedian.’
Trump From Page 1 statements made by Trump. One of the reactions that drew the most attention was a twitter post by Gainesville Florida Police Department Spokesman and Helicopter Pilot Ben Tobias. Following Trump’s speech Tobias tweeted, “I'm a cop. I do not agree with
or condone @POTUS remarks today on police brutality. Those that applauded and cheered should be ashamed.” At the time of publication the tweet had more than 336,000 likes, 110,000 retweets and 8,800 comments. Trump has not made any formal statement about his comments.
Top: A group of children play in the Waterballerz activity. An inflatable ball floating in water allows kids to run around and float on the water. Middle: Two attendees dance while listening to the Fog City Swampers perform on Saturday afternoon at the 33rd annual Art & Wine Faire in Alameda. Left: The ferris wheel is one of the most popular attractions at the festival that ran on Saturday and Sunday in downtown Alameda on Park Street.
4 FEATURES
THURSDAY AUGUST 3, 2017
THE PIONEER
Wine walk takes participants through downtown
PHOTOS BY KEDAR DUTT/THE PIONEER
Participants, volunteers and merchants fill the downtown Hayward City Hall rotunda on Saturday at the 2017 Passeio do Vinho Wine Walk. Participants received a map of downtown Hayward where local businesses provided tasting rooms for them to experience local and international alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. Attendees were treated to drinks, food, live music and more. The event was organized by the city of Hayward and the proceeds will go to a non-profit organization called Family Emergency Shelter Coalition (F.E.S.C.O.).
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6 NEWS
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Protest ignites after Trump announces plan to ban transgender people from the military By Daniel McGuire CONTRIBUTOR On July 26, 2017, hours after President Donald Trump tweeted his plan to ban transgender people to serve in any military, a protest was organized by members of the LGBTQI community in San Francisco’s Castro Neighborhood. At the protest’s scheduled 6 p.m. start time, there were about 200 people in front of the Harvey Milk Plaza on the corner of Market and Castro Streets. By 6:30 p.m. that number grew close to 350 people. San Francisco police officers were out in force and one officer stated they expected as many as 800 people to show up.
PHOTOS BY JUSTIN MUTCH/CONTRIBUTOR
A rally in the Castro District of San Francisco turned into a protest last Thursday following comments on Twitter that President Donald Trump planned to ban transgender people from serving in all military branches.
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HATE CRIMES
Against Asian-Americans Today, it is important for the Public to know that our US Federal Government has secretly STOLEN, DESTROYED, AND ENSLAVED our FREEDOM, LIBERTY, EQUALITY, AND CONSTITUTIONAL DEMOCRACY by secretly NOT ENFORCING AND NOT DEFENDING our 14th Amendment (to provide all its citizens “equal protection of the laws” against Crime and Racism) as NBC continues to secretly maintain and enjoy Their UNCIVILIZED ‘RACIST GRIP OF CRIME AND TERROR AGAINST THEIR KIDNAPPED AND TORTURED’ Asian-American Hostages who still seek TRUTH AND JUSTICE after being severely punished and confined by the US Federal Government (for 29 years) for being the ‘INNOCENT VICTIMS’ of Federal Crimes by NBC.
President Trump should STOP these FEDERAL CRIMES
SAN QUENTIN NEWS 7
THURSDAY AUGUST 3, 2017
THE PIONEER
Youth Offender Program gains traction at San Quentin San Quentin News stories are published courtesy of a content-sharing collaboration between The Pioneer and The San Quentin News, the prison’s official inmate-run newspaper. The collaboration began in July 2016 after faculty and staff of The Pioneer visited the journalism guild in the prison. By John Lam JOURNALISM GUILD WRITER Youth Offender Program (YOP) inmates between the ages of 18 and 23 are embracing a program specially created for them at San Quentin. “We started a support group specifically for YOPs originally with three guys, and in three months the attendance exploded. The YOPs have been recruiting and are spreading the word and coming up with ideas about creating a curriculum,” said Charlie Spence, Kid CAT chairman. “What’s unique about this program is that prison officials aren’t building it. The youth of fenders are the ones taking the initiative to expand the program, and it is something they want, which is perfect because no one knows what these young men want besides themselves,” said Spence. “The program is very important,” said 20-yearold inmate Summit Lal. “Most of the programs here in San Quentin are geared toward prisoners who are serving life sentences, which is a problem, because I’m not a lifer.” “I started attending the support group in May. At first I felt that I had nothing to offer, but since coming here, I learned how to put my potential to work and not let life pass me by.” One of the distinguishing characteristics of the
PHOTO COURTESY OF RALPHAELE CASALE
YOP support group is that the participants drive it. The participants determine the direction of the group, topics to cover, and who can be their mentors. Selected peer mentors were once young men when they started their adult sentences. YOP mentors share a wealth of prison experiences to help guide the next generation of young of fenders toward a path of rehabilitation. “As a mentor, I often share my experience of spending six years in the SHU (Security Housing Unit) for gang validation to show them what can happen when they are engaged in a certain life-
style,” said George Torrez, 34, YOP mentor. “I encourage these young men to think about the consequences of their decisions and not resort to violence to deal with issues and to get their GEDs.” Meeting twice a month on Sundays, the YOP support group discusses a range of topics such as reentry, developing coping skills, and one-on-one mentoring. “The most important thing for me are the outside resources, because once we walk out of these walls that’s the real challenge,” said Mauricio Salazar, 22, YOP participant.
Commenting on the group, Juan Juarez, Kid CAT volunteer, said, “Since my time here, I have seen people change their lives. “I take what I learn here back into my community to end gang violence and help kids in my neighborhood avoid the route of prison,” said Juarez. “I also use things I learn here to teach teachers and administrators in northern Sacramento how to deal with students with behavior problems, and it has been successful.” The YOP support group is staffed with 12 peer mentors and four YOP facilitators.
Father and son bond over experiences of San Quentin By Marcus Henderson JOURNALISM GUILD CHAIRMAN Anthony Ammons Sr. and Jr. not only share the same name. They also share the experience of being prisoners in San Quentin State Prison. One in eight African American children has an incarcerated parent. In addition, before the age of 18, one in 10 children who has an incarcerated parent will be incarcerated themselves, according to San Francisco Children of Incarcerated Parents Partnership (SFCIPP). Anthony Sr. was incarcerated in San Quentin in the early 2000s for drug-related offenses. After his release, he got his life together. Now he regularly travels at least eight hours from Los Angeles to San Quentin to visit Anthony “Ant” Jr. “I can’t help but to think that I am responsible for my son being there,” said Anthony Sr. “If I was there in his life, he probably wouldn’t have gotten in that car.” At age 16, Anthony Jr. was sentenced to 102 years-to-life in prison for his role in a gang-related homicide. “I was very irresponsible as a father,” Anthony Sr. said. “It was all about me, even when I had family members, or my wife, bring him up to see me in prison.” “I want him to get all he can get out of the prison and the self-help groups,” Anthony Jr. now 32, added, “I don’t blame him. We all make our own decisions. I take responsibility for what I done.” Anthony Sr. grew up alone in one of Watts’ notorious projects after losing both of his parents at the age of 9. He was raised by family members but turned to gang-banging. That led to violence, drug addiction and ultimately prison.
Anthony Ammons Sr., left, and his son Anthony Ammons Jr.
“I have given the system over 26 years of my life going in and out of prison,” Anthony Sr. said. “I understand now that my son was looking for love, and he started looking for it in other places.” Anthony Jr. said when his father got out of prison and moved to Oakland, the son started gang-banging, thinking it would bring his father back to L.A.,
PHOTO COURTESY OF ANTHONY AMMONS
but that never happened. “So I tried to live up to my father’s (gang) name ‘Amp’ and his reputation,” said Anthony Jr. “My dad’s homeboys knew him better than me, and they kept telling me about the things he would do.” After 15 years, at their first visit Anthony Jr. had so many questions: Why were you never there? Did
you love me? Did you care? “I was scared to ask those questions,” said Anthony Jr. “I needed my brother, Michael Ammons there. But once I got that first hug from my father, it said it all; because of that hug I became a son again.” Anthony Jr. credits a San Quentin self-help group, The House of Healing, for helping him forgive his father. “They not only teach you how to heal your inner child,” he said. “But also you have to forgive your parents.” Through getting to know each other, father and son are reforming a loving bond. “My mom (Shelly Warren) is my heart and best friend, and now my father is getting there,” he said. “When I call him, no matter where he’s at or what he’s doing he will stop and pick up his cellphone. Even when he misses my call, he let me know what’s going on and that showed me how much he has grown.” Today, Anthony Sr. says he is drug-free and is working for Caltrans, the state transportation department. “I never thought I would be working for the state after spending so many years in state prison,” he commented. “I went through the process of writing the warden to see my son. I’m trying to be that dad now that my kids are in their 30s. As a parent, you love your kids no matter what they do.” Anthony Sr., now being a responsible person, is setting a better example for his son. “I want him to get all he can get out of the prison and the self-help groups. I want him to get out and not look back,” said Anthony Sr. “Because one of the hardest things I have to do now is walk away from my son after a visit.”
8 FEATURES
THURSDAY AUGUST 3, 2017
THE PIONEER
ILLUSTRATION BY DINA ARAKCHEYEVA/THE PIONEER
Some local Muslims fearful under Trump administration President's Executive Orders help keep immigrants on edge By Maximino Cisneros CONTRIBUTOR On July 18, the United States Supreme court upheld President Donald Trump’s travel ban with minimal revisions on which foreigners would be allowed to enter the United States. The revisions include allowing foreigners into the U.S. who have clear ties to organizations and individuals in the country. According to the original Executive Order 13769, there will be a 90 day suspension of the entry of citizens from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen. Trump listed the countries in his executive order due to their alleged terroristic activities that could potentially threaten the United States. The original executive order remains the same after its review and revisions by the Supreme Court. Ironically, the court decision corresponded with the U.S. celebration of its independence. The annual Fourth of July celebration of independence elicits patriotism and pride for the United States, often citing an appreciation for diversity and tolerance. It is also a time when homage is paid to U.S. citizens and their politicians. However, President Trump’s divisive language and policies toward the 3,300,000 Muslims in America, according to the Pew Research Center, have evoked alternative feelings. The 4th of July and the travel ban have become the subject of a larger debate of whether Muslims can assimilate to the American lifestyle. "To me I feel like there is a different air surrounding the nation in general,” Suhayla Hassan, a 19-year-old Muslim college student said. “But I feel that peo-
ple are using the 4th of July to try and escape the fact that Trump is president while some people are avoiding any type of patriotism because of the crazy stuff he’s trying to pass like the travel ban. They want to avoid being associated with the government." Suhayla and her sister Kameela Hassan reside in Castro Valley. Their family immigrated from Fiji, an island nation located in the Oceania region of the Southern Pacific Ocean. There are 250,000 Muslims living in the San Francisco Bay Area, according to a Bay Area Muslim study by Farid Senzai, a Santa Clara University Assistant Professor, and Hatem Bazian, a UC Berkeley Professor. The Council on American-Islamic Relations is a Muslim advocacy and civil rights group located in Washington D.C. They monitor government activities and legislation and respond on behalf of the American Muslim community. According to their 2016 study, the major contributing factor to anti-Muslim bias incidents is ethnicity and or national origin. Anti-Muslim incidents is a term used by the CAIR that covers religious discrimination and defamation whereas hate crimes are looked at separately. The study is conducted annually by the CAIR after collecting data each year from thousands of complainants when they contact CAIR through various media including email, telephone and their online complaint system. They take those complaints and utilize them as data for their research. It is ironic for the United States to be parading about being “The Land of the Free” when so many of its own citizens are not free to be themselves. Suhayla reflected to a time when she was with her mother at a store while an an angry woman shouted, “Go back to your country!” “I have personally felt harassed by things people have said to me,” Rehana said. “It makes me sad that things that they see on the internet, they believe. Mistakes and wrongdoings that individuals make don’t define an entire religion and when people take the liberty in believing that, the world will never get
“I feel that people are using the 4th of July to try and escape the fact that Trump is president while some people are avoiding any type of patriotism because of the crazy stuff he’s trying to pass like the travel ban. They want to avoid being associated with the government.” —Suhayla Hassan, Muslim college student
anywhere.” It is absolutely unacceptable for any individual to go through any situation where they are subjected to distasteful comments and insults as well as being a victim of a crime solely because they so might happen to be different than what is considered “normal” in the U.S. According to the same 2016 study by the CAIR, anti-Muslim hate crimes have increased 44 percent and anti-Muslim bias incidents 57 percent increase in throughout 2015. They compared their study to the reports of CSU San Bernardino researchers which were 78 percent increase in 2015 hate crimes targeting Muslims once reviewing official hate crimes data for twenty states. In November 2016, The New York Times published FBI data which revealed that attacks on American Muslims rose in 2015 to about 67 percent over 2014. The CAIR received 4,282 reports of potential bias incidents cases in 2016. The staff determined that 2,213 or 52 percent of these reports contained an identifiable element of religious, ethnic or national origin bias.” “Since Trump has entered office, I feel that certain people believe that they are more entitled than others, both in politics and society,” said Kameela, a 16-year-old high school student. President Donald Trump has provided the proper platform and motivation with the travel ban for many people who have no interest in improving American-Islamic relations. It has consequently lead to Muslims who are outside and in the United States, to be marginalized and singled out for simply looking and being different. “All that hate he [Trump] portrayed in his campaign and even when elected is rubbing on people and making people think it’s okay to hate and to feel more entitled than others,” said Rehana. If President Trump continues the implementation of the travel ban then it could cause a greater divide between the United States and its Muslim community. It will go against the very qualities that make the country already great, diverse and tolerant.