Marylyn Resendiz tried on a beige hijab for the first time Monday.
Resendiz, a UF microbiology and cell science freshman, tried on a hijab as part of Islam on Campus’ Islam Appreciation Month. A hijab is a headscarf that some Muslim women choose to wear, said Maria Ilyas, the chair of the appreciation month.
She said the headscarves are used to associate women with being Muslim.
Author and Visiting Professor of Communication at DeVry University Suzy Ismail speaks to an audience in the Reitz Union Grand Ballroom about the significance of the hijab in Islamic tradition Monday evening.
“You get used to it,” Resendiz said. “You don’t feel weird anymore, and you just go on with your day.”
The 18-year-old said she walked on Turlington Plaza early Monday morning to get the hijab put on. When she walked through later, no one approached her about it. She said she would have just carried on with her day if people had said anything.
“In some aspects, some people may look at me different, but I brush it off because that shouldn’t be important to them,” Resendiz said.
Ilyas, a UF microbiology and cell science junior, said she wears her hijab every day and lent some of her own to students who wanted to wear it all day.
“It will give you kind of an insider’s perspective so next time you see a girl in a hijab, you’ll feel more connected,” the 20-year-old said.
Samon Imtiaz, a 19-year-old UF biology sophomore, has a hijab put on by Mehreen Mahmood, a 21-year-old UF anthropology senior, on Turlington Plaza on February 16, 2016 as part of Islam on Campus' Islam Appreciation Month.
