At Wilde Lake, we often feel like as though we live in a world that is over prejudice, when in reality, many still feel the subtle and unseen hand of discrimination.

Muslim students, often misunderstood, as a result of stereotyping in the media.

Freshman Zuha Wasti defines prejudice as “people judging you based off of your appearance or a specific characteristic.”

“When people try to put you into a category before they get to know you it can be really hurtful,” said Wasti.

Prejudice isn’t seen as much of a problem in Howard County, however certain students occasionally experience it while in school.

“It’s kind of disappointing when you’re walking in the hallways and someone will jokingly call you a terrorist or ask if you’ve blown up any buildings that day.” said Wasti.

Wasti said that she would expect more from people who have grown up in such a diverse community with people from all walks of life.

Sometimes, they feel as if they stick out, making them an easier target because there aren’t that many Muslims here.

The Howard County school system strives to have their teacher demographics mirror the students demographics but at Wilde Lake, there are no Muslim teachers.  Although Howard County is diverse, there are approximately 1,891 Muslims out of the 304,580 citizens.

Junior Zaha Iqbal agrees. “I personally haven’t been discriminated against, but I still often see it in the hallways,” said Iqbal.

Iqbal feels like prejudice exists because people don’t know enough about other cultures.

“I want people to know that not all Muslims are extremists,” said Iqbal, “Prejudice wouldn’t exist if everybody knew more about one another’s differences.”

Wasti and Iqbal both agree that to end prejudice it starts with every individual trying to learn more about others and their cultures.