ASU President Calls a Group of US-born Alumi International Students

Tempe, Ariz., March 2, 2017- A group of women who are Arizona State University alumni as well as American-born citizens, were called international students by the university’s president in an article released two weeks ago. According to Nshawh Ahmad, the ASU alum who has been the most vocal about this incident and also included in a photo included with the article. She feels that she was profiled by the university. Ahmad stated that her and her two friends were assumed to be international students because her and another woman were wearing head scarves known as hijabs.

    In the article titled “Why We Need International Students”, ASU president Michael Crow wrote: “Inviting foreign students to study in the United States doesn’t just create jobs, it also brings in perspectives that can help the United States solve complex global challenges”. As a response to Trump’s Muslim ban, he also wrote “It’s important to recognize how significant the impact may be on international students studying here and the institutions that both educate and depend on them.”  However, the Arizona State’s president failed at his attempt by categorizing a group of alumni as foreign exchange students just by the way they looked.

    Nshwah mentioned, “It’s offensive because especially in today’s current political climate, it’s one that is trying to erase the Arab and Muslim identity as Americans” regarding the situation. She feels that the dialogue in this country is that people cannot be both Muslim and American. Like how Ahmad has previously stated, with the political climate in this country, this was a big mistake that Arizona State’s president has made that could possibly deter potential international students from studying at the university. “By trying to seem accepting they went ahead and racially profiled us and it came off as more racist than anything,” Ahmad said. Her, the two other women in the photo, and their friends and families felt that the university should have asked permission for their image to published and had done their researched on who was actually in the photo.

    Since Nshwah Ahmad has asked her peers to share her story on social media, it has gained much attention in Arizona’s local communities, and even caught the attention of people in other states and other countries on the internet. Soon after, President Michael Crow has issued a public apology to all three girls. Ahmad has contemplated on taking legal action against the university, but so far there has not been any updates if she has or not. In the end, she feels that someone should be accountable for this and wants to make sure this never happens again to other people.

Photos are courtesy of Ahmad's Instagram page and are being used with permission.