Internment: Religious and Academic Barriers at CMU
Hailey Cohen, Sarah Wu, Brand Leng, Haisen Kang
66-139 Reducing Conflict: Perceptions of Culture and Identity
May 2, 2023
Instructors: Ms. Elizabeth Walker, Dr. Bonnie Youngs
Internment Summary
Published in 2019, author Samira Ahmed's novel Internment imagines a near-future America overtaken by a far-right extremist president. The story focuses on Muslim teenager Layla Amin. One night, Layla and her parents are taken from their home in California and taken to a Muslim internment camp in the desert. They are cut off from all contact with the outside world, to Layla's dismay as she loses contact with her boyfriend David. Once in the camp, Layla and her family must navigate the oppressive environment. She and other young people in the camp learn that they must work together, along with help from David in the outside world, to make their situation known and fight for their freedom. The novel deals with themes of hate, injustice, resistance, religious freedom, and privilege.
From Internment to CMU
The young adult novel Internment by Samira Ahmed can be looked to as a warning for a future where America's institutions are outwardly prejudiced against groups of people based on their religion. In the novel, characters are detained and stripped of their freedom because their Muslim identity becomes a crime — in short, dehumanization becomes the norm. After reading about the consequences of not standing up against injustices, it becomes clear that it is imperative to learn about minority groups in America and how majority groups can support them. We can put that into action right here in our own community, and ensure that everyone feels welcome, safe, and supported, but only by first understanding the experiences of students here.
In Internment, the protagonist Layla builds trust with her boyfriend, David, and forms a comfortable, safe zone for them to raise controversial opinions about the president and their address.
"Can you believe this crap?"
"David and I built a safe space, a nest where our differences brought us together."
...
Their verbal and physical exchanges contribute to the sense of belonging that they feel while being with each other. Even though the belongingness is forged within a small group of two people, it allows the readers to peak into inner world of the characters. From our Project 1 interviews with members of CMU student body, a number of interviewees expressed their appreciation towards being in a close friend group helps them balancing out the stress and discomfort at CMU. The Muslim community is targeted for the prosecutions in Internment. Being Muslim isolates Layla and her fellow internees from everyone else both physically and mentally. In Project 1, some interviewees also brought up similar concerns. They felt like they spend the majority of their time with their close friend groups and therefore, do not have time and opportunity to interact with people outside of their friend groups.
Internment elaborates on the importance of resistance in facing oppression, fear, and violence. At CMU, however, we rarely deal with pressure from a particular group or institution. Instead, Project 1 data reveals a general “oppression” created by the workload on students. The power of commons creates this oppression in terms of how the selective process of CMU admission created a student population constituted majorly of extremely hard-working individuals. In Project 1 data, interviewees expressed concerns about the inability to opt out. However, instead of showing resistance, they mostly conformed to the trend and internalized the liability.
Geographical Internment
Independence, CA is the town that Layla, her family, and other Muslims in the California area are taken and put into an internment camp. As pictured above, Independence is very near the town of Manzanar, where Japanese-Americans were incarcerated in an internment camp from 1942 until 1945. Independence is also located in a desert area where the climate itself can be oppressive to humans. Layla and her family are forced to work outside in very hot weather and suffer from barrages of dust blowing through the camp. In this way, the environmental conditions of the camp only made Layla's situation more unbearable.
Now Let's Zoom in to Pittsburgh and CMU...
History of Religion at Pittsburgh
65% of the Pittsburgh population consider themselves as religious or affiliated with a religion.
1758 -- Pittsburgh was founded by the French and Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary was built.
1780s -- Over time, more Protestant denominations flocked to Pittsburgh.
Mid-19th century -- The number of Roman Catholics in Pittsburgh grew and became influential enough to build churches that were exclusive to them.
Jewish: for over 150 years, a Reform Jewish congregation has dedicated to melding the traditions of Jewish culture and modern life.
Hinduism: The Sri Vankateswara Temple is modeled after the Tirupati Venkateswara Temple in Andhra Pradesh, India, and attracks Indians from all over the country to come and worship. There are also other Hindu organizations that translate their faith into cooperative social services.
The Sri Vankateswara Temple was the first Hindu temple in the U.S. that was constructed by Indian workers. There is an altar of Lord Venkateswara at the center, whom the temple is dedicated to. The temple is a hub for Indian cultural and religious events. There have been Indian dance classes, festival ceremonies, and even summer camps hosted in this temple, proving its significance in the continuation of the culture.
Resources at CMU for Religious Individuals
As a non-religiously affiliated higher education institution, Carnegie Mellon University offers limited religious resources to students comparing to other aspects of student life programs.
Better Together Week
Forge dialogues across the community to build better understandings between individuals with different (or same) faith background.
Spirituality Development Month
Council of Religious Student
For more information and help, email the Coordinator of Religious Life Programs at jonny@cmu.edu
Internment as Barriers at CMU
Barrier 1: culture and ethnicity
In Internment, xenophobia toward Muslims is a central theme in the novel's plot. The "internment camp" is a fruit due to cultural and ethnic differences that groups people and draw barriers between them.
The diversity at CMU brings both challenges and opportunities. Though the line drawn between students with different cultural backgrounds is less severe at CMU, we still need to overcome a similar problem. In Project 1 data, the similarity of culture and ethnicity is still a significant barrier between students. Specifically, interviewees demonstrate a strong sense of belongings when connected to individuals with similar cultural and ethnic data; the following are some excerpts from the data:
"Celebrating the Chinese New Year with other members in CSSA (a Chinese student organization) make me feel a strong sense of belonging."
"Hangs out with people who are similar to her - ethnicity is exactly the same"
Additionally, project one data also suggested that such a barrier is somehow not CMU's fault since the groups were drawn even before the start of the orientation. One example is how Chinese students formed a particular chat group and began to know each other immediately after they got admitted by CMU.
However, it is not in all aspects harmful. Instead, it could help students build a sense of belonging faster in college. It is just that CMU should be responsible for thinking about how to control its "side-effect" and use it in a positive, inclusive way.
Barrier 2: majors
Project 1 data provides some insights into the sense of belonging in terms of academic majors. One person mentions that he does not feel a sense of belonging at Dietrich College because he considers himself an engineering student.
In the novel Internment, a physical barrier separates Layla and other Muslim Americans as the out-groups from the rest of the population. This similar idea of a barrier also exists at CMU. At CMU these academic in-groups and out-groups demonstrate an invisible barrier between different colleges and different majors.
There are certain stereotyping opinions against students from specific majors. And among the student groups, there is also an invisible "ranking" given to different majors. For example, STEM majors are generally given higher ranking at CMU compared with humanity majors due to their high compensation after graduation.
Barrier 3: interned by academics
In the novel Internment, Muslim Americans were interned and suppressed by a political institution, the United States government. There is no institutional suppression in CMU, but Project 1 interviewees all felt their act being constrained by academic pressure.
Some interviewees explained they would feel better if they could have more freedom over their time. However, unlike Layla, who rebelled against the internment, interviewees seem to internalize this pressure as their responsibility. Though their word signaled a desire for greater freedom of their time, most, due to various reasons such as peer pressure and economic pressure, felt it was their responsibility to take this pressure.
Similarly, it is not a bad thing to have pressure. However, it should be the University's concern to focus on students' mental health and be more proactive in alleviating their pressure.
The Muslim Student Experience at CMU
Some qualitative data from the president of the Muslim Student Association
Being a Muslim has a huge impact on her daily life. Sometimes, her appearance changes how people approach her. She must also schedule in time to complete her five daily prayers and observe holidays such as Ramadan, which can be difficult with her class schedule.
Religious student organizations are not funded enough. The administration will work with the MSA when they request something, like more Halal options, but CMU will not make that change on their own—it has to come from Muslim students.
The president of MSA in previous years had received death threats because of fence painting.
CMU can improve resources for MSA students by providing them with better praying place. Currently, their praying place is a small room in basement.
Ways That CMU Can Improve
Increase the exposure and frequency of school-wide religious affiliation events.
This will allow both religious and nonreligious students to learn more about their own and others' religions and exchange understandings while listening to others' stories.
Offer special foods at Schatz and decorations in academic buildings during major religious holidays, such as Ramadan and Hanukkah.
Provide additional funds to religious student organization to host large, school-wide events annually.
Forge stronger connections to Pittsburgh local religious communities.
To make religious venues and resources in Pittsburgh more accessible for students, CMU should establish connections with local religious communities.
Add an additional shuttle stop for nearby synagogue/church/mosque/etc on the days of important religious events to increase the convenience for students to commute.
In addition to the list of restaurants, museums, parks that people can visit on the go-to place flyers that students are given during move-in, CMU can add a list of religious venues nearby.
Offer more prayer spaces for Muslim students.
In the Muslim faith, it is customary to pray five times per day. These prayer times are set and must be followed, meaning that a student may have to leave class to complete a daily prayer. It is important that they have safe and clean prayer rooms to do this.
Clean up prayer spaces that already exist, like in the basement of the UC.
Build more prayer spaces in more locations around campus, like in Doherty or Posner, so that Muslim students can access them easily.
Incorporate religious inclusivity into orientation workshops.
Orientation week is the only opportunity for the entire incoming class to be educated on the same content, so it will be a great opportunity for CMU to insert religious inclusive contents and maximize the influence of them.
Add religious inclusion on the day for DEI workshops.
Include religion diversity of the incoming class at the commencement.
Host a religious student body social to allow new students who are religious to connect to each others.
Invite speakers who advocate for religious equality to speak at University Lecture Series.
Learning from someone who has experienced hardships, made accomplishments, and looking to make impacts can motivate students who share similar struggle and goals.
Invite individuals who work in religion-related fields once a year to make the scope of topics that ULS covers more comprehensive.
This can also increase the weigh and exposure of humanities subjects at CMU.
Provide support resources to Muslim students.
Many Muslims are have a personal investment in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a very violent and brutal clash that results in a lot of upsetting news.
Create support groups for those struggling with the violence from the conflict.
Emphasize mental health resources on campus.
Have community discussions so that all CMU students are educated about the conflict and know what is going on.
Conclusions
Carnegie Mellon University is a very academically rigorous school. This can lead to students feeling isolated or overwhelmed with their schoolwork, which can lead to negative changes in mental health. At this school, there is also a big divide between majors and academic departments. It is common for students to get so caught up in schoolwork that it is difficult to make connections with people who are in different colleges than them. In a way, it is easy for students to be "confined" by their schoolwork, so much so that they are prevented from making connections with others. This can be combatted by the CMU culture being more encouraging of making friends across majors, or being more mindful of students' workloads so that they have time to make a diverse group of friends.
CMU is also a religiously diverse school. But currently, certain religious organizations are not getting the funding or promotion that they need. This is the case with the Muslim Student Association. Muslim students often have to jump through difficult hoops just to get the accommodations that they need to practice their faith, like not taking tests at night during Ramadan or having a nearby place to say daily prayers. The CMU administration can do many things to make this school a more welcoming place for Muslim students, and so can the undergraduate and graduate students here. This is necessary because, as we learned in Internment, being ignorant to other people's cultures and religions harms everyone and only works to exacerbate our differences. Instead, we should be working to embrace our differences and create respectful, uplifting communities, especially on college campuses.
Learn More:
Religious & Spiritual Life Initiatives - Community Health & Well-being ... (n.d.). Retrieved April 19, 2023, from https://www.cmu.edu/wellbeing/resources/religious-spiritual.html
University, C. M. (n.d.). Programming and events - department of English - Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences - Carnegie Mellon University. Programming and Events - Department of English - Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences - Carnegie Mellon University. Retrieved April 21, 2023, from https://www.cmu.edu/dietrich/english/dei/programming-and-events.html
U.S. Department of the Interior. (n.d.). Japanese Americans at manzanar. National Parks Service. Retrieved April 24, 2023, from https://www.nps.gov/manz/learn/historyculture/japanese-americans-at-manzanar.htm
321sam. (2017, March 22). Strength and diversity. Metroguide. Retrieved April 19, 2023, from https://pittsburghmetroguide.com/religion/
Image credits:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/radunzel/8218464089
https://poetsandquants.com/school-profile/carnegie-mellon-university-tepper-school-of-business/
https://www.facebook.com/msaatcmu/photos/a.134500977929534/627556458623981/
https://www.facebook.com/CarnegieMellonMSA/