About me

My name is Amy Guimond and I am currently a Doctoral Student in Conflict Analysis and Resolution. I have a Bachelors of Arts in Psychology, and also have a  Masters of Science in Conflict Analysis and Resolution. For me, being a student means that I have the obligation to ask the difficult questions, challenging my own worldviews and subsequently causing others to also think differently about the world around them. That is where this social experiment was born.

In early 2009, I was in a class and noticed that the room was somewhat segregated. We had African Americans on one side of the room, Caucasian Americans on another, other blacks in the front and the international students sitting together, and in the far back of the room, there was a group of Saudi Arabian Muslim men.  As we were talking about segregation in the course lecture that night, we were able to stop and discuss what we were seeing even in the classroom. And as this conversation progressed, I was alarmed by the way that people described this group of Saudi Arabian men.
Not only was I alarmed by the description of this group of Saudi Arabian Muslim Men, but my own response to this description was confusing to me. Instead of being disgusted by the fact that another student would describe these men in a way that would immediately make any rational person envision men in dark rooms, sticking detonation cord into blocks of semtex explosive, I was quick to conjure the mental images being commanded by the description, and quickly began to feel the signs of acute anxiety.
These young Arab-Muslims were not strangers, these young Arab-Muslims were people I had known for almost a year and who up until this point, I had trusted. Yet, there I was envisioning them participating in some great act of terror against the American people. I still get a sick feeling in my stomach when I think about how quickly my thoughts could be influenced.
So why would I admit this openly in my introduction on my new website? Well, in order to understand where I am going, you should probably know why I am going, as well as know where I am coming from. That evening, thoroughly disgusted with myself, I left the classroom thinking more and more about the Arabic Muslim students in my classes and started to think of what a great personal experience it would be for me to experience the treatment that Muslims face in this country, first hand.
My goal  was to see what it felt like to be a perceived to be a member of a marginalized community, to experience prejudice and descrimination first hand, so that I could better understand the perspectives of marginalized people. Further, after challenging my own beliefs, i  wanted to challenge those who fed into prejudice and discrimination causing them to question their own beliefs.
Ultimately, when this project was conceived, the plan was to dress in hijab for two weeks, and observe what happened through a video diary on YouTube. Due to unforseen circumstances, two weeks quickly led to three weeks, and then the project was finally extended to a full four weeks.
The goal was not to pass or pretend to be something that I wasnt, but to blend in. I was never deceptive and never lied when people asked me about my attire. If asked, I explained my project.  Ultimately, I just wanted to experience prejudice from the side of the persecuted, in hopes that I could better understand my own feelings. as well as bring about some kind of change in thinking within the community around me.

All of my videos are now housed under the videos tab, so please make sure to check out them out! Updates on my book can be found under that tab as well.

Due to an overwhelming response to this website, I have temporarily removed the contacts page. I am not currently taking any outside requests for speaking engagements. This will be changing in early 2012.

I NEVER thought that a small personal project would grow to be quite as large as it has. My YouTube channel is now getting hits from around the world, and every day I am being bombarded by emails from viewers.

At the end of my project, I began writing and compiling information to turn this whole experience into a book titled “Exploring Prejudice: One woman’s journey beneath the veil,” which is now available on amazon (CLICK FOR LINK).

as well as at lulu.com by clicking on this button: