Oct 08, 2013 11:25 AM EDT By Russell Westerholm, UniversityHerald Reporter

Melona Clarke, a student at Hampton University, carries papers with her wherever she goes but it is not for any immigration purposes, it is so she can prove she is Muslim.

According to Hampton, Va. news station WTKR, Clarke could not be issued a student ID card because of her headdress. Clarke, like many Muslim women, chooses to wear a headscarf known as a hijab.

"I went to go get my ID in the police office, and I was in the front of the line and I was told that I would not be able to get my ID because I wear a hijab," said Clarke.

She had to obtain a note from the school chaplain and from her mosque to prove that she does, in fact, practice the Muslim faith. She must carry that written proof with her as long as she wishes to wear her hijab on campus.

"I feel like that is absurd," said Francine Marquis, a Hampton student.

Another student, Joshua Senegal felt the same.

"I understand why they do it, but I don't think it is necessary to do," he said.

Hampton is a private institute, so it may impose as strict a dress code as it pleases.

"Students seeking approval to wear headgear as an expression of religious or cultural dress may make a written request for a review through the Office of the Chaplain," the dress code policy reads. "Students that are approved will then have their new ID card picture taken by University Police with the headgear being worn."

Clarke said she will put up with the policy so she may wear her hijab and not have to go through what she already experienced.

"If I am ever stopped and asked who I am, what I am doing on campus," Clarke said, "I want to have all the proof that I can that I am a student here because I don't want to have to go through anything like I went through in the first place, and I don't want other people to have to go through that either."

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