Students protest Islamic Studies admission freeze

Almost 100 students marched and chanted in front of Murphy Hall Oct. 22 in two rallies that protested the freeze on admissions to the Islamic Studies program.

The protests consisted of two demonstrations, one at noon and another at 2 p.m., with participants marching from Meyerhoff Park to Murphy Hall.

During the rally, a group of four representatives went to speak with members of the Academic Senate’s Graduate Council, requesting a date for the re-opening of the program.

The council could not, however, provide the protesters with a date, said Kutibh Chihabi, the event’s co-organizer and Muslim Students Association external affairs officer.

He said that MSA and Graduate Student Association members from the Islamic Studies program have also created an online petition to save the department at change.org.
Thus far, the group has gathered 3,023 signatures, and for each signature, the Academic Senate gets an e-mail.

Shahida Bawa, a fifth-year physiological science student, said the protesters are afraid the admissions freeze for the Islamic Studies program may lead to its permanent cancellation.

Not only does the group want to see the department re-opened, Chihabi said, but they also want to see the Islamic Studies program expanded to undergraduate programs and have more student involvement in the course curriculum.

Representatives of the Academic Senate were unavailable for comment.

On Oct. 26, the Undergraduate Students Association Council will vote on a resolution to support MSA’s demands.