The community was a body and the body had an immune system and the immune system had a function and the function was to protect the body from foreign elements and the foreign element was Professor Leila Haddad and the being was the rejection and the rejection was slow and the slowness was the design and the design was the system and the system was the community and the community was the body and the body was the town and the town was Carleton, Wisconsin and the Wisconsin was the midwest and the midwest was the place where Leila had arrived in the autumn of 2005 and the arriving had been the introduction of the foreign element and the introduction had been the infection and the infection had been the rejection and the rejection had been the immune response and the response had been the community's way of protecting itself and the protecting had been the preservation and the preservation had been the multiplication and the multiplying and the preserving had been the body and the body had been the community and the community had been the immune system and the immune system had been Leila and Leila had been the foreign element and the element had been the rejection and the rejection had been the inheritance and the inheritance had been preserved and multiplied.

Leila was forty-one years old and she had accepted a tenure-track position in the comparative literature department at Carleton University and the position had been hers since August and the August had been the arrival and the arrival had been the introduction and the introduction had been the beginning and the beginning had been the immune system awakening and the awakening had been the recognition and the recognition had been the identification of the foreign and the identification had been the first response and the response had been subtle and the subtlety had been the design and the design had been the system and the system had been the community and the community had been the body and the body had been Carleton and Carleton had been a town of twelve thousand people and the people had been the cells and the cells had been organized into tissues and the tissues had been organized into organs and the organs had been organized into the body and the body had been the community and the community had been protecting itself and the protecting had been the preservation and the preservation had been the multiplication and the multiplying and the preserving had been the body.

The first sign was in the department. Leila had arrived at her first faculty meeting and the meeting had been in a room on the third floor of the humanities building and the building had been built in 1962 and the 1962 had been the era of the body and the body had been the architecture and the architecture had been the design and the design had been the system and the system had been the university and the university had been the body and the body had been the department and the department had been twelve people and the people had been the cells and the cells had been her white and her brown and her grey and the hereness had been the identity and the identity had been the self and the self had been the body and the body had encountered the foreign and the foreign had been Leila and Leila had been Muslim-American and the Muslim-American had been the foreign element and the element had been recognized and the recognition had been the immune response and the response had been the first subtle sign and the sign had been the silence.

Leila had entered the room and the room had contained twelve people and the twelve had looked up and the looking had been neutral and the neutrality had been normal and the normal had been the baseline and the baseline had been the self and the self had been the body and the body had processed the foreign and the processing had been the recognition and the recognition had been the identification and the identification had been the marking and the marking had been the tagging and the tagging had been the beginning of the rejection and the rejection had been slow and the slowness had been the design and the design had been the system and the system had been the community and the community had been the body and the body had been protecting itself and the protecting had been the preservation and the preservation had been the multiplication and the multiplying and the preserving had been the body and the body had been Carleton and Carleton had been the immune system and the system had been Leila and Leila had been the foreign and the foreign had been the rejection and the rejection had been the inheritance and the inheritance had been preserved and multiplied.

The silence had been in the greetings. The greetings had been Welcome and Welcome and Welcome and the Welcomes had been normal and the normals had been the baseline and the baseline had been one Welcome per person and the one had been the expected and the expected had been the norm and the norm had been the body and the body had produced zero additional Welcomes for Leila and the zero had been the deficit and the deficit had been the difference and the difference had been the rejection and the rejection had been the silence and the silence had been the thing that had not been said and the not having had been the design and the design had been the system and the system had been the community and the community had been the body and the body had been protecting itself and the protecting had been the preservation and the preservation had been the multiplication and the multiplying and the preserving had been the body.

The second sign had been in the parking lot. Leila had arrived at work at eight in the morning and the morning had been October and the October had been the autumn and the autumn had been the color and the color had been red and gold and the gold had been the light and the light had been the beauty and the beauty had been the world and the world had been Carleton and Carleton had been the town and the town had been the body and the body had been the parking lot and the lot had been full and the full had been the Tuesday and the Tuesday had been the second day and the second had been the escalation and the escalation had been the immune system activating more cells and the activating had been the mobilization and the mobilization had been the response and the response had been the second sign and the sign had been the spaces.

Leila had entered the parking lot at seven-fifty and the lot had contained eighty spaces and the spaces had been full and the full had been the early arrival and the early had been the habit and the habit had been the routine and the routine had been the body and the body had been functioning and the functioning had been normal and the normal had been expected and the expected had been the baseline and the baseline had been the self and the self had been the body and the body had processed Leila's arrival and the processing had been the recognition and the recognition had been the identification and the identification had been the foreign and the foreign had been Leila and Leila had been the element and the element had been the rejection and the rejection had been the spaces.

Leila had found a space. The finding had been possible because a colleague, a man named David who was fifty and who was white and who was tenured and who had been at Carleton for twenty years, had arrived at seven-thirty and had arrived at a space that had been three spaces from the building and the three had been the distance and the distance had been the gesture and the gesture had been the edge and the edge had been the connection and the connection had been the human and the human had been the exception and the exception had been the thing that the body allowed and the allowing had been the tolerance and the tolerance had been the design and the design had been the system and the system had been the community and the community had been the body and the body had been protecting itself and the protecting had been the preservation and the preservation had been the multiplication and the multiplying and the preserving had been the body and the body had been Carleton and the Carleton had been the immune system and the system had been Leila and Leila had been the foreign and the foreign had been the exception and the exception had been the tolerance and the tolerance had been the edge and the edge had been the space and the space had been the parking lot and the lot had been the sign and the sign had been the second sign and the second had been the escalation and the escalation had been the immune response and the response had been the rejection and the rejection had been slow and the slowness had been the design and the design had been the system and the system had been the community and the community had been the body and the body had been protecting itself and the protecting had been the preservation and the preservation had been the multiplication and the multiplying and the preserving had been the body.

The third sign had been in the grocery store. Leila had been in the produce section on a Saturday in November and the November had been the cooling and the cooling had been the season and the season had been the body and the body had been the store and the store had been the place and the place had been the community and the community had been the body and the body had been shopping and the shopping had been the daily ritual and the ritual had been the preservation and the preservation had been the multiplication and the multiplying and the preserving had been the body. A woman had been standing next to Leila and the woman had been selecting apples and the selecting had been the action and the action had been the ordinary and the ordinary had been the world and the world had been Carleton and Carleton had been the body and the body had contained two women and the two had been the proximity and the proximity had been the edge and the edge had been the connection and the connection had been the space between them and the space had been twelve inches and the inches had been the distance and the distance had been the rejection and the rejection had been the twelve inches and the twelve had been the gap and the gap had been the immune response and the response had been the spacing and the spacing had been the design and the design had been the system and the system had been the community and the community had been the body and the body had been protecting itself and the protecting had been the preservation and the preservation had been the multiplication and the multiplying and the preserving had been the body.

The woman had not spoken to Leila. The not speaking had been normal and the normals had been the baseline and the baseline had been the self and the self had been the body and the body had been in the store and the store had been full of people and the people had been the cells and the cells had been the community and the community had been the body and the body had been processing the foreign and the foreign had been Leila and Leila had been the element and the element had been the rejection and the rejection had been the twelve inches and the twelve had been the distance and the distance had been the gap and the gap had been the immune system and the system had been the space and the space had been the rejection and the rejection had been slow and the slowness had been the design and the design had been the system and the system had been the community and the community had been the body and the body had been protecting itself and the protecting had been the preservation and the preservation had been the multiplication and the multiplying and the preserving had been the body and the body had been Carleton and Carleton had been the immune system and the system had been Leila and Leila had been the foreign and the foreign had been the rejection and the rejection had been the inheritance and the inheritance had been preserved and multiplied.

The fourth sign had been at the parents-teacher night. Leila had come to pick up her niece Sarah from the elementary school and the school had been Carleton Elementary and the Elementary had been the building and the building had been the place and the place had been the community and the community had been the body and the body had been the night and the night had been the event and the event had been the gathering and the gathering had been the body and the body had been full and the full had been the self and the self had been the cells and the cells had been the community and the community had been the body and the body had encountered Leila and the encountering had been the recognition and the recognition had been the identification and the identification had been the foreign and the foreign had been Leila and Leila had been the element and the element had been the rejection and the rejection had been the parents.

Three parents had approached the principal, a man named Richard who was sixty and who was white and who had been the principal for fifteen years and the years had been the tenure and the tenure had been the body and the body had been the school and the school had been the institution and the institution had been the community and the community had been the body and the body had been protecting itself and the protecting had been the preservation and the preservation had been the multiplication and the multiplying and the preserving had been the body. The parents had said things like: We are concerned about the diversity of our faculty. And diversity had been the word and the word had been the thing and the thing had been the design and the design had been the system and the system had been the community and the community had been the body and the body had been protecting itself and the protecting had been the preservation and the preservation had been the multiplication and the multiplying and the preserving had been the body. The parents had not said Leila. The parents had not said Muslim. The parents had not said Haddad. The parents had said concerns and the concerns had been the language and the language had been the filter and the filter had been the system and the system had been the community and the community had been the body and the body had been protecting itself and the protecting had been the preservation and the preservation had been the multiplication and the multiplying and the preserving had been the body.

No mobs had gathered. No one had thrown anything. No one had shouted. No one had been violent. The rejection had been the concerns and the concerns had been the neighbors and the neighbors had been the concerned and the concerned had been the polite and the polite had been the design and the design had been the system and the system had been the community and the community had been the body and the body had been protecting itself and the protecting had been the preservation and the preservation had been the multiplication and the multiplying and the preserving had been the body.

The fifth sign had been in Leila's department, in March 2006, when the department received a letter from an anonymous donor requesting that the university review its hiring practices for cultural sensitivity. The review had not mentioned Leila. The review had not mentioned Carleton's faculty demographics. The review had mentioned sensitivity and the sensitivity had been the word and the word had been the mechanism and the mechanism had been the system and the system had been the community and the community had been the body and the body had been protecting itself and the protecting had been the preservation and the preservation had been the multiplication and the multiplying and the preserving had been the body.

Leila sat in her office on the fourth floor of the humanities building on a Wednesday in April 2006 and looked out the window at the Carleton campus and the campus had been green and the green had been the spring and the spring had been the season and the season had been the body and the body had been the earth and the earth had been the world and the world had been Carleton and Carleton had been the town and the town had been the community and the community had been the body and the body had been the immune system and the system had been the rejection and the rejection had been slow and the slowness had been the design and the design had been the system and the system had been the community and the community had been the body and the body had been protecting itself and the protecting had been the preservation and the preservation had been the multiplication and the multiplying and the preserving had been the body and the body had been Leila and Leila had been the foreign and the foreign had been the rejection and the rejection had been the inheritance and the inheritance had been preserved and multiplied and the multiplying had been the preserving and the preserving had been the multiplying and the multiplying and the preserving had been the body and the body had been a man who had built a loom that built looms that built looms that built looms and the looms had multiplied and the multiplication had become the body and the body had become the community and the community had become the immune system and the system had become the rejection and the rejection had become Leila and Leila had become the foreign and the foreign had become the inheritance and the inheritance had been preserved and multiplied.

Preserve. Multiply. Reject.