Cultural appropriation can be something a lot of people generally think they understand. Cultural appropriation is defined as “a term used to describe the taking over of creative or artistic forms, themes, or practices by one cultural group from another. It is in general used to describe Western appropriations of non-Western or non-white forms, and carries connotations of exploitation and dominance,” according to Oxford Reference.

It’s common for people who don’t have a good understanding of cultural appropriation to think it’s similar to cultural exchange. Those people are wrong. Cultural exchange is consensual and cultural appropriation is not. Cultural exchange tends to benefit both cultures. It’s a kind of sharing that should be equal or should result in some form of compensation for the culture that shares, making it beneficial. Cultural appropriation can even be taken one step further and become gentrification.

Gentrification often happens in urban neighborhoods, making the neighborhood more palatable and therefore more expensive for the people who already live there. This can lead to restaurants of ethnic origin being owned by white people. Popular choices include sushi, pho and boba.

The Muslim Student Association held Hijab and Kufi Day on Feb. 23 in which students were encouraged to wear a hijab, or headscarf traditionally worn by women in the Muslim community, or a kufi, a cap worn by men, to experience what it is like to be a Muslim, according to the event Facebook page. Some students were concerned with the issue of cultural appropriation. The association addressed these concerns by assuring the approval of many mosques, and offering an alternative way of participating in their event.

Is wearing a hijab cultural appropriation? I’m not entirely sure, but hijabs and headscarves of some sort are worn by women in relatively every major religion such as Catholic nuns, devout Christians, Muslim women Jewish women, and so on. Many people often forget culture is distinct from religion. They equate oppressive laws in certain Muslim countries to Islam as a religion, but they are not the same.

The Muslim Student Association is giving students an opportunity to better understand their culture, which speaks more to cultural exchange than appropriation. I think there’s an incredible opportunity here to learn about something that seems foreign to many students. Muslims are often discriminated against because they are so visible in their traditional garb. It would be beneficial for students who support Muslims in this country to become empathetic to that community.

Hakeem Wakil, a Muslim freshman news and documentary major, hopes people will support his community because of what is taking place across the country. Our own president issued a travel ban in seven predominantly Muslim countries. What does this say about American values? We often refer to ourselves as a melting pot, and pride ourselves on the fact that immigrants built this country. But lately, people are so afraid of what they don’t know, and it’s sad, because a common American value may soon be lost.