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Interview with Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellow (MMUF) Aliyah Abu-Hazeem in March, 2017. Interview by Brian Smith, OUR Student Assistant. Photo by Afia Ofori-Mensa, Assistant Dean and Director of Undergraduate Research at Oberlin College.

Brian: Could you tell me your name, year, major, and faculty mentor?

Aliyah: Aliyah Abu-Hazeem, Class of 2017, Law & Society/Sociology double major, Africana Studies/Politics double minor. Professor of Sociology and Chair of the Department, Daphne John, is my MMUF faculty mentor.

Brian: What did your research consist of?

Aliyah: Broadly, my research project examines causal factors for gun violence and crime in urban, impoverished, communities of color, using the Southside of Chicago as my case study. My project began with examining and isolating the social structures and institutions behind the perpetuation of gun violence and crime. Now, my research project focuses specifically on the actors behind the proliferation of gun violence as a means to privilege and give nuance to their rationales for engaging in illicit behaviors, which has not been a focus of the exploitative stories in the media coverage on issues of gun violence in Chicago. In an attempt to make sense of why Chicago has substantial rates of gun violence, compared to other similar urban locales, it is critical to examine what individuals are using gun violence in response to - what lack of access to resources or frustration with the current criminal justice system leads them to believe that gun violence is their only means to gaining support and/or visibility.

Brian: What do you find to be most meaningful about your research?

Aliyah: One of the most meaningful rewards to engaging in my research project is knowing that it has the ability to change lives positively. I firmly believe that my research project can contribute to substantive changes in contemporary, lax gun laws and social welfare policies that do more harm than help within marginalized, impoverished communities. Moreover, I am thrilled to be in a position that allows me to give voice to groups that continue to be relegated to the margins and really dismantle society’s preconceived, derogatory notions about the worth and value of Black men.

Brian: What do you hope to gain from conducting your research?

Aliyah: I hope that my research will contribute to the expansion of discourse in and out of academia such that Black men become more than a stigma and second-class participant in civil society. Time and time again, we see Black men suffering from neo-slavery (mass incarceration) and unable to provide a sustainable livelihood for themselves or their families. In turn, gun violence becomes the only viable option for them to gain access to resources. I want my research project to dismantle the notion that Black men are innately deviant and predisposed to committing crime and illicit behaviors. Instead, I want to move the discourse within scholarship to trying to understand why the enactment of gun violence becomes a social reality for Black men disproportionately than any other demographic.

Brian: Will you continue your research beyond undergraduate education?

Aliyah: Yes, I intend to enter into a PhD program in Sociology in the Fall of 2017 to continue pursuing my current research project as well as seek out avenues for its expansion. Moreover, I have had the opportunity to present my research in various high schools in Chicago, including my alma mater, as well as presented my research to broader academic communities via conferences and the Celebration of Undergraduate Research.

Brian: What is it like to do research at Oberlin over the summer?

Aliyah: Personally, it was quite challenging conducting my research project in Oberlin for the first summer of the MMUF program. Back home in Chicago, gun violence had peaked and reach a record high since 2010. I felt displaced from my community and that I was not able to be doing meaningful work at home. However, I do feel like the summer nurtured my understanding of the extant literature on urban violence and inequity and really provided me with a focused lens and entry point to ongoing discussions not only in the sociological field, but in contemporary political debates and policy as well.

Brian: What are your future goals at this point?

Aliyah: At this point, I intend to enter a PhD program in sociology, probably at Notre Dame. In addition, I intend to work on efforts to improve and expand crime intervention/social welfare services on the Southside of Chicago, making them accessible to the people who need to utilize their services the most.

Brian: What are some other activities, interests or hobbies that you pursue?

Aliyah: I appreciate any opportunity to write and express my feelings, dreams, fear, and motivations via prose, specifically poetry and stream-of-consciousness. In addition, I love music and dancing as well as spending time with my loved ones. I deeply enjoy making others laugh and feel good, too.

Brian: What has been your favorite moment of your time in MMUF?

Aliyah: One of my favorite moments during MMUF was presenting my research project and preliminary findings at our annual conference. This past semester (Fall 2016), we went to Washington University in St. Louis. It was an absolutely amazing opportunity to represent Chicago in a positive way as well as be close to Ferguson and hear about social justice activism and its intersections with scholarship from current Wash U students. It was an experience that affirmed the validity and importance of my research. Although I did not need this external validation, I was still appreciative to feel that people valued the narrative I was offering and wanted to learn more about what is really going on within my community and others like it.  

Brian: What advice would you give an Oberlin student interested in applying for MMUF or OCRF?

Zen: I couldn’t bear it. I’d always wanted to do something great, but I couldn’t do it. I’m just a retail hack. The closest I’ve come to saving anyone in the past two years is a feral cat, who hangs out by the shop at night. I’m sorry if I’ve let you down. Q: You’re not letting anyone down! Don’t be defeated quite yet. When you graduated Hester, you were voted “Most Likely To Save The World.” How do you plan on living up to that title now? Zen: I’m not sure. I’ve become pretty settled at Suburban Suppliers. Q: Two years is nothing compared to the rest of your life time. The possibilities are endless. Zen: I have always said time is subjective… Q: So, what comes next for the great Zen Ashcroft? Zen: I’m not sure. I’ve always had a very impressive skill set, and I do feel like I’m a natural leader. I’m sure I can spread my talents in other places of need. Just because the African plains weren’t for me doesn’t mean I can’t give back. Some people just don’t do well in dry climate! Maybe the rainforest is a better bet. The Amazon, maybe? Or Indonesia? Whichever has the least amount of native scary creatures. Q: I’m not sure the rainforest is better than the African plains… Anacondas, jaguars, poisoned dart frogs? Zen: Yeah, I don’t want any of those. Q: Have you thought about settling in Austin? Be closer to your family?

Theo: Uhh…hey.

Q: Theo, you were first spotted earlier today helping Hester’s most popular bad boy, Liam Booker, with a flat tire. How did you two meet?

Theo: Um, he was just dealing with a flat tire, and I’m pretty handy, so I thought I’d help the poor guy out. Looked like he was having a crap day.

Q: Yes, and it seems the bad day got even worse, as he was spotted with a very bruised face this morning. Do you have any insight on how those came to be?

Theo: Nothing too major, though I guess it looks pretty bad. We went to a bar and go into a bit of a fight with some rough guys.

Q: Interesting. A bar brawl with Liam on your first night in town? Would you say you’re drawn to trouble?

Theo: Maybe a bit... Liam's a cool guy and doesn't seem like much trouble, but...don't get me started on my past.

Q: Really? What's the worst trouble you've ever gotten into?

Theo: Well, there was this one time when I snuck my car out in the middle of the night and it stalled going up a hill. I had to push it up all by myself, and when I finally got it home and passed out, I didn't wake up for a full day.

Q: How'd you manage to push a car uphill by yourself?

Theo: My dad works as a mortician so I have a lot of help carrying dead weight around.

Q: That sounds like a fascinating environment in which to grow up... What's the most interesting cause of death you've ever seen?

Theo: That'd have to be the Ren Faire knight who accidentally stepped on his own javelin and stabbed himself through the eye. Dad did a pretty great job of cleaning him up, though. He won an award for it. And don't even get me started on the time I had to work on the local country singer who was smothered by a roll away giant bale of hay at the State Fair. I was picking that crap out of her hair for days.

Q: That sounds a little crazy, even for the son of a mortician. Is any of what you told me just true?

Theo: No.

Q: Thank you, Theo.

A: I don't have one. I believe last names are the slave names of the patriarchy. I reject them. I'm just Soleil. Like Cher or Madonna.

Q: Oh. Right. Right on. What brings you back to Hester?

A: When I found out there was a protest at Hester I dropped everything. I was so energized. I had to put my Independent Study on hold and get over here. Nothing gets my eco-friendly, solar-powered engine revving like a protest. Then when I found out what the protest was ABOUT? I was even more enraged. Skwerkel is an evil, greed-obsessed company with a really stupid name.

Q: And your return had nothing to do with your so-called "Pro-mance" with protest ringleader Liam Booker?

A: Pro-mance? How juvenile. What Liam and I share goes beyond silly puns and portmanteaus. We are just two evolved, passionate, sex-positive beings who happen to be really, really, really great in bed together.  We don't just make love, we make change. Q: Couldn't agree more. So our current reigning Hester couple is #Karmy ... what do you think of the couple name #SoLiam ?

What’s your favorite thing about Hester High?

Maybe the fact that I get to go home every day? No wait, I hate it there too. 

What’s your social issue? 

I don’t have social issues. I’m very sociable. Ask any of my friends back in Dallas.

No. I meant, what cause are you most passionate about? The environment? Gay rights? Freeing Tibet?

What is wrong with all you people? I’m not going to fake it and pretend I’m into some activist-y cause just to fit in like you all do. I’m a teenaged girl. I care about shopping and boys and dancing and the occasional low-fat froyo, OK?

Ok… um… Is there anyone you’ve met at Hester that you’ve clicked with?

No. Well, I mean, I’m dating Tommy Ortega, the captain of the football team. Naturally. And I guess these two girls who’ve been following me around, Leila and Lisbeth, they’re… OK. I guess.

Anything else you’d like the student body to know about you?