New Jersey high school senior Ziad Ahmed has earned kudos from the Internet for not only gaining acceptance into Stanford University, but for how he did it. On the college application students were asked, “What matters to you, and why?” and Ahmed–who attends Princeton Day School in Princeton, NJ, had only one response: Black Lives Matter.
But instead of writing a long, thoughtful essay about the importance of the political movement, Ahmed simply wrote the monumental affirmation 100 times and over the weekend he learned he got in.
“I was actually stunned when I opened the update and saw that I was admitted,” Ahmed said in an email to The Mic. “I didn’t think I would get admitted to Stanford at all, but it’s quite refreshing to see that they view my unapologetic activism as an asset rather than a liability.”
Soon after, Ahmed posted the original application, his response and his acceptance letter on Twitter and earned the social media version of several pats on the back by way of multiple retweets and congrats.
I submitted this answer in my @Stanford application, & yesterday, I was admitted…#BlackLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/R5YxM77bWL
— Ziad Ahmed (@ziadtheactivist) April 1, 2017
🗣YOU BETTA! So proud of you @ziadtheactivist! https://t.co/JFE3NTp28A
— Brittany Packnett (@MsPackyetti) April 1, 2017
Ahmed said to practice his Islamic faith and to not be involved with Black Lives Matter would go against his beliefs.
“To me, to be Muslim is to be a BLM ally, and I honestly can’t imagine it being any other way for me,” Ahmed said. “Furthermore, it’s critical to realize that one-fourth to one-third of the Muslim community in America are black … and to separate justice for Muslims from justices for the black community is to erase the realities of the plurality of our community.”
Congrats to Ahmed.