Heba Abd El Salam and Jacinta Bailey

Image by Kailee Sullivan

This piece is about two friends studying at UNC: Heba and Jac. As a Muslim Egyptian woman who has lived in the USA for 21 years, she wears a Hijab. As she recounts in this piece, Heba often feels unsafe as she feels she could be targeted because of wearing her Hijab around campus. This piece details the story of Heba and Jac’s friendship: they are brought together because Jac, a white woman with the privilege of walking around campus without being targeted, walks with Heba around campus to help her feel safe, and a deep friendship forms.