2011 Hertford College Magazine (Issue 91)

HERTFORD COLLEGE MAGAZINE
Hertford past and present: The Coexistence Trust
Shahnaz Ahsan
pressure from the media and university authorities
to ‘prove’ their legitimacy. This
has particularly increased in the wake of
the attempted attack in December 2009
by Umar Farouq Abdulmutallab, otherwise
known as the Detroit bomber, who
was also the former President of the University
College London Islamic Society.
In fact, ongoing debates within the
Higher Education sector are more prevalent
than ever. In June 2011, a group of
university lecturers issued a statement in
support of female Muslim students who
may wish to wear face-coverings in lectures
for religious reasons. This follows
polarizing national debates around religious
belief and practice, multiculturalism
and radicalization. In such a climate,
the role of organizations such as the Coexistence
Trust have a positive contribution
to make, through working directly
with student communities, university administration,
faculty and vice-chancellors
to establish open, trusting and respectful
climates for students to live and work in.
While university is primarily about
exploring intellectual or academic areas
of interest, it is also, crucially, a time for
personal and social development. New experiences
and the broadening of horizons
may seem clichéd, but it is an undeniable
part of the university experience. While
the experience may be entirely smooth
sailing for some students, for others, they
may well face struggles with identity, feelings
of belonging, or marginalization.
“ My own time at Oxford
informed my decision to work in
this field ”
What the Trust aims to do is to support
and encourage all students to create
and sustain an environment conducive
to safe and comfortable expressions
of ideas and experiences. In fact, my own
time at Oxford informed my decision to
work in this field; I ran an interfaith dialogue
group, MuJewz, for two years during
my undergraduate study. Although
challenging at times, the positive experience
led to my desire to continue working
in an area which supports students
and improve their university experience
through promoting good campus relations.
The ongoing interest and support
from Hertford College regarding the
work of the Coexistence Trust has been
gratefully received, and is a testament
to the College’s ethos of creating an inclusive
and open student environment.
It is, in part, for this reason that I feel
the work of the Coexistence Trust is so
imperative – and why I would encourage
other recent graduates to become involved
in similar organizations seeking to
enhance and improve the university experience.
The three or four years of an un-
25.