A student at the University of Central Florida started an online campaign to expel one of her peers for taking photos of her “Try a Hijab” campus event.
On Thursday, University of Central Florida student Kathy Zhu posted photos of a “Try a Hijab” event taking place on her campus. “There’s a “try a hijab on” booth at my college campus,” she wrote. So you’re telling me that it’s now just a fashion accessory and not a religious thing? Or are you just trying to get women used to being oppressed under Islam?”
The event took place under a tent that adorned the “Office of Student Involvement” logo. Organizers set up tables and invited their peers to try on hijabs. One of the posters attached to the table provided a URL where students could purchase hijabs if they were interested.
— Kathy Zhu (@PoliticalKathy) February 1, 2018
One of the students behind the “hijab” event responded to Zhu on Twitter. “I’m in the back of the first pic (w/o my consent lol) and I invited you to try one on and you said ‘no thank you.’ You didn’t take the time to even ask questions or try to understand what Hijab is,” the student wrote. “That’s ignorant of you. You literally sprinted after taking the photos. Pathetic.”
The student then provided an email for the University of Central Florida Office of Student Conduct and encouraged her followers to contact the office to request Zhu’s expulsion.
“TWITTER DO YOUR THING,” she wrote. “Let’s get this girl expelled. Email st_condu@ucf.edu (UCF OFFICE OF STUDENT CONDUCT) and send them Kathy’s tweet, including the photos in her thread. Ignorance will not be tolerated on my campus.”
The tweet calling for Zhu’s expulsion received over 750 likes and 230 retweets before the student made her account private.
“You want a girl expelled for that? I guess tolerance is for everybody else,” one user responded.
“Sorry but when you participate in a public event in a public space, there is no expectation of privacy. Hence, your consent is not needed to be photographed or recorded. This is bullying,” journalist Andy C. Ngo response in a tweet.
Zhu quickly fired back at the student, explaining that she was permitted to take photos of anything on the public campus.
1) UCF is a public campus, meaning I can take pictures of anything, especially a public RSO group.
2) I took three pictures, you asked me if I want to wear this scarf of oppression, I politely declined, said thank you, and headed to class.
3) trying to get me expelled for what?— Kathy Zhu (@PoliticalKathy) February 2, 2018
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.