BREAKING: @calstate Hindu students write to university admins expressing their fear around its policy on "caste." Over the past few months, CoHNA has been providing emotional support and counsel to young students scared by the growing anti-Hindu sentiment on campus. Excerpts👇🏾1/n 
Letter sent yesterday as @calstate trustees silenced their Hindu faculty who had protested the move to include "caste" in @CFA_United collective bargaining agreement. They also refused to hear from hundreds of concerned Hindu residents who called into their public hearing. 2/n
"I am afraid that this type of policy, if passed, can single out students and faculty members of Hindu and Indian heritage, subject them to bullying, harassment and intimidation and violate their civil rights." 3/n
"The potential implications of the policy cannot be understated. A student may claim that their rejection from a team or club is based on their caste - blaming the club for being 'casteist.'" 4/n
"This in turn can cause trauma for student organizations who were not aware of the accuser's caste and had rejected him or her for other reasons." 5/n
"Similarly, teaching assistants or professors may also be accused of being 'casteist' if a student feels unhappy with his or her grade; or, for somehow spending less time with one student versus another." 6/n
"As we have seen at universities like @ucdavis, the most popular Hindu festivals such as Holi and Diwali are already being falsely portrayed and labeled as 'casteist' - often by the very groups advocating for caste policies." 7/n
"As a result, we are afraid that being a Hindu and celebrating our festivals freely on campus will be labeled as 'casteist' and prevent us from freely practicing our religion for fear of stereotyping from the campus community." 8/n
"Hence, passing this policy will put me in a mental state where I will feel terrorized to speak about who I am as a Hindu - fearing that people will stereotype me or target me simply due to my last name, my family or my Hindu background." 9/n
"I will feel uncomfortable wearing cultural outfits, conducting religious rituals, catering vegetarian food or even simply holding a discussion on our religious practices and philosophy due to fear of being labeled a 'caste oppressor.'" 10/n
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