Take Five: Zainab Koli

By Jonathan Vatner, Photograph by Smiljana Peros

Standing up for Muslims on campus

“I’m a Muslim, and social justice is a big part of the religion. It’s about going out of your way to stand up for people who are oppressed, even outside your community.”
smiling young woman in black beret and black headscarf with black long sleeve shirt under floral print dress posing outside
Zainab Koli (Photo: Smiljana Peros)
Major: Fashion Business Management Organizations founded: NY MSA (Muslim Students Association) Showdown, a statewide undergraduate competition in 13 subjects, from social justice to stand-up comedy; FIT’s Muslim Student Union Favorite class: Writing as Activism, taught by Melissa Tombro, professor of English and Communication Studies. In it, students can stage a protest as a class project. After the mosque shooting in New Zealand in March, a vigil at City College in New York helped Koli process her complicated emotions, and she wished a similar observance could take place at FIT. She organized a vigil that drew 150 members of the FIT community. Her final project for the class collected emails, photographs, and text threads about the shooting and the vigil into a moving multimedia essay.
Read about other recent grads in our Take Five feature.