“Whoever does not love his work cannot hope that it will please others”

My name is Amy Guimond and I am a Masters student in Conflict Analysis and Resolution. For me, being a student means that I have the right... no... obligation to ask the difficult questions forcing people to think differently about the world around them. That is where this social experiment was born.

While in one of my classes last year, I 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 internationals sitting together as well. In the far back of the room, there was a group of Saudi Arabian men. I began to think of how the students had managed to segregate themselves.

Another student said something about the Saudi Arabian men and (while it disgusts me to say this out loud) it made me think terrorism and bomb-making activities. I was disgusted with myself at the time, and looking back, I still get a sick feeling in my stomach when I think about this.

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 being said, I began to think more and more about the 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 basically to buck the system within my community that allowed for inequalities based on ethnic and religious differences. I wanted to challenge those who fed into hatred and persecution, and to do so, I chose to dress in hijab for two weeks. Two weeks quickly led to three weeks and then three weeks led into 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 bring about some kind of change in thinking within the community around me.

I look back on the last six months and have to let out a huge triumphant sigh. I NEVER thought that a small personal project would grow to be quite as large as it has. We are now getting hits from around the world. I couldn't do this without all of you!

I am currently hard at work getting this site up and running, so please check back. Soon, I will be housing all of my YouTube videos here under the videos tab, so please make sure to check out that tab too.

Finally, If you came to this site to find out more about my book, there is still no news on that front. I was way-layed a little bit during the writing process, but I am aiming for the manuscript to be finished over the next few months. Please be patient with me as I want to make sure this story is a complete and accurate representation before I hand it off to the publisher. I think there is a lot to be learned from my experience beneath the veil, I have to get it all right before it goes to print.