Photos and story by John Marshall

Berkeley City College’s Muslim Student Association (MSA) emboldened after a year under the Trump Administration, felt the need for more outreach and community communication.

“We want people to have that kind of interaction with Muslims and show that we’re human beings, too,” said MSA President Yasmine Maroush.

In order to achieve this goal, the MSA prepared community outreach, which took place between Nov. 6 and 8. It put together a voluntary experiment where students can wear hijabs for a time and comment on how they felt.

It gave students a unique opportunity to see and be seen through the hijab.

When MSA members decided to set up the experiment at the front desk of BCC’s campus, they didn’t know what to expect. However, a steady flow of curious students stopped by and a handful tried on the hijab, and the gender-neutral keffiyeh.

Photographed above, a BCC student tries on a hijab with assistance from an MSA member, while another student, below, tries on the keffiyeh.

Members of the MSA presented a colorful array of hijabs from which students could choose.

Students were also able to comb through the pages of Arabic poem books.

The experiment, and the idea behind it was well-captured in a quote from BCC student participant Fallon Berner:

“I just wanted to step into somebody else’s world and somebody else’s culture and see it from their PERSPECTIVE.”

John Marshall is a Tower Staff Writer.