As these days nothing is allowed to cause young adults any sort of discomfort, a student newspaper is reporting that some students at the University of Pennsylvania are dealing with “insecurity and frustration” due to new Trump administration restrictions on airport carry-on electronic devices.
Those traveling from eight “major airports” in the Middle East are now permitted only to bring aboard their cell phones. Larger devices like laptops have to be put in checked luggage.
The Daily Pennsylvanian found a few Muslim/Middle Eastern students to get their take on the regulations, which were put into place “following reports that militant groups intend to smuggle explosives in electronic devices.”
Penn junior Serena Tibrewala said the new regs “made her feel more uncertain of her future at Penn as a Muslim”:
“Whenever a new policy comes out, a part of me gets so scared that my time here is done,” she said. “Tomorrow, it could be ‘if your name sounds foreign, meaning Muslim, you out.’”
Not being allowed to bring a MacBook onto a plane … causes that sort of anxiety?
“Concretely, it just seems like they can’t do much,” Tibrewala said. “It is nice to feel supported and valued by the organization and Penn’s environment but I don’t know if that’s enough for those people who were scared to go home or are still scared to travel back to those seven or nine countries.”
Wharton and Engineering junior Meghana Jayam, who is from Saudi Arabia, said she felt “angry and shocked” at the new policy but could not see what Penn would be able to do to help its students.
“I also really don’t think Penn can do anything about this issue,” Jayam said. “It’s basically up to the [Trump] administration.”
Director of International Student and Scholar Services Rodolfo Altamirano said the organization would not be able to give legal aid to students in regards to the new airport policy, as it does not fall under their jurisdiction.
“We are very supportive of our international students when it comes to the immigration and border policy,” Altamirano said. “However, when it comes to the laptops, it’s out of our jurisdiction. It’s out of our law.”
Unbelievable. Next we’ll be reading tales about the “disparate impact” airline baggage fees have on Muslims (or some other “historically marginalized” group), or how the cessation of serving meals during flights has resulted in an “oppressed” demographic suffering from dietary abnormalities.
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