I found the University of Westminster through a family friend who studied here 4 years ago. She had a great experience which led me to explore the programs offered here. Masquerading as a humanities student, I didn’t look very far into the specifics of coursework, I was more concerned with the university’s location and student body. Living in central PA all of my life, I was excited to see that the University of Westminster has what is considered one of the most diverse student bodies of the greater London public universities.  I applied without question, so excited to meet people that weren’t from “New Jersey” or “Just outside Philly.”

Since living here, I have had the opportunity to soak in just how diverse our student body at UoW really is. I’m sure you’ve seen that the masked man in the gruesome videos released by ISIS has been identified. Mohammed Emwazi or “Jihadi John” was a 2009 graduate from my university, and an unmasked photo of him wearing a Pittsburgh Pirates hat is now plastered on every newspaper and website I see.

Knowing that I am studying and possibly living in the same quarters as this extremist is the most eye opening thing that has happened to me, ever. Despite all of the terrifying news of ISIS over the last few months, I never thought twice when I saw the signs for the Islamic Society meetings at UoW. Despite visiting a Je suis Charlie memorial in Paris, and even after being in Copenhagen just a week before its first terrorist attack in decades, I never thought twice when I saw the signs at UoW combating Islamophobia. “What kind of a closed minded person would have Islamophobia?” I thought. After the news of Mohammed Emwazi, and after reading Raheem Kassam’s account of attending UoW here, I still do not “think twice”, however I have experienced a culture shock that I never expected.

The day this news broke there was a lecture scheduled to take place in the lobby of my building which was cancelled due to “increased sensitivity and security concerns” that came with the news. Haitham al-Haddad, the scheduled lecturer, is a British scholar with “controversial” views: it’s been reported that he believes being gay should be illegal, Osama bin Laden will go to heaven, and female genital mutilation is justified, to name a few. I will note that he has spoken out against some of these reported views, saying that things can be misinterpreted.

Even in Pennsylvania, I thought that I was aware of some of the radical beliefs that exist out there. I thought that coming to a diverse school such as the University of Westminster would open my eyes to the world, but I never thought that I would potentially come face to face with beliefs so extreme.

The news of Jihadi John and learning of Haitham al-Haddad has shown me just how diverse of a university I chose, which has helped me realize just how diverse the world truly is. “Realize” being the key word – digesting it is a whole other ball game.