Discrimination remains an issue at IU

Sophomore Nadia Chaudhry will never forget her first encounter in Bloomington when she landed here in late 2002. A member of her study group from a class asked her which country she was from. \n"Pakistan," she said. \n"You're lucky," the student replied. "If you were from Afghanistan, I would have killed you."\nEven now, when Chaudhry speaks about it, she shudders.\n"One would have thought that a year after 9-11, things would have been calmer," Chaudhry said. "But the place was as charged as a battlefield."\nOne of Chaudhry's cousins left the University and went back to her home country because she could not take the harassment she faced soon after the 9-11 attacks. Chaudhry said her cousin used to wear a hijab, which stands out at IU because only Muslims wear them. \nIU is a diverse University, and one would have thought it would be homely and more welcoming, said Teasa Thompson, a junior majoring in psychology and pre-med. \n"They try, but it is not hard enough," Thompson said. \nThe IU Racial Incidents Team has worked with about 80 to 100 incidents a year, according to its Web site, www.indiana.edu/~comu/ritstats.htm. \n"Most of the members here feel that number of anti-Semitism-related incidents are on the rise," said Bill Shipton, co-chair of the Racial Incidents Team. "Most of these incidents occur much more often than we liked, and they are usually related to the national or international events."\nMany students interviewed said they preferred not to report such incidents. \n"I get upset by these events," sophomore J.C. Stephenson said. "But do you think it would make any difference (to report it)? I've just learned to accept that. That is the way the world works, and it is a part of life."\nSome students who faced discrimination from professors said they did not want to report it for fear their grades would be affected. Stephenson said a professor in a class he took that had predominantly Africa-American students once asked, "Why do you people always talk so much?" \n"That sounded very racial to me," Stephenson said. "Does it mean that black people talk too much? Some people think that students of color pull out the racial discrimination card because they want to get out of a situation or get a pardon, but that is not the case. You say something only when you feel it. Why would anyone want to say or do something just to get sympathy?"\nThompson said in a class during her freshmen year, she was the only student of color. \n"And in spite of my work deserving As, I always got Bs," Thompson said. "This is something that you cannot prove, but you know in your heart. I spoke to my professor about it, and she did not have any defense. And after that talk, I started getting As."\nThe Racial Incidents Team works with disputes between students and professors, students and students and incidents in residence halls. \n"It is important that students report these incidents so we know where we stand," Shipton said. "We work with students and help them figure out what they want to do about it."\nStudents can report these incidents at 855-4463 or reportit@indiana.edu.\n-- Contact staff writer Hina Alam at halam@indiana.edu.