A Stanford University student walks in front of Hoover Tower on the Stanford University campus in Palo Alto, Calif., Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2012. The latest annual college fundraising figures out Wednesday show donations to colleges and universities rose 8.2 percent in fiscal 2011, crossing back over the $30 billion mark for just the second time ever, and improving many schools' financial footing after several lean years due to the economic downturn. Stanford University, which recently broke an all-time record by completing a 5-year, $6.2 billion fundraising campaign, led with $709.4 million collected in fiscal 2011. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)

Black Lives Matter

A Muslim teen wrote '#BlackLivesMatter' 100 times on his Stanford application. He got in.

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April 04, 2017 01:20 PM EDT

Ziad Ahmed got into Stanford University, which is no small feat.

But his application essay turned heads. Instead of a formal essay, he wrote "#BlackLivesMatter" 100 times when asked "What matters to you and why?"

Ahmed, a senior at Princeton Day School in New Jersey, told Mic he was "stunned" when he found out he got in.

"It's quite refreshing to see that they view my unapologetic activism as an asset rather than a liability," Ahmed said.

I submitted this answer in my @Stanford application, & yesterday, I was admitted...#BlackLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/R5YxM77bWL
— Ziad Ahmed (@ziadtheactivist) April 1, 2017

Here's proof from Ahmed's Twitter.

To me, to be Muslim is to be a BLM ally, and I I honestly can't imagine it being any other way for me.

Ziad Ahmed

Ahmed said his Muslim faith played a key role in his support of BLM.

He's been politically active before. He interned for Hillary Clinton's 2016 campaign after leading the youth campaign for former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley's short-lived presidential run.

Ahmed has also hosted a TEDx talk and runs a youth-focused consulting business.

stop pretending like he's anything other than a minority being propped up
— moderate GOP👌🏼 (@basedPotus) April 4, 2017

His essay was not without critics.

LOL this is Satire right there. Why not write "I hate white ppl" ?
— ☆ ravingloonys ☆ (@KOTZE5) April 4, 2017

But Ahmed said he chose the hashtag on purpose.

"The insistence on an explanation is inherently dehumanizing," Ahmed told Mic. "Black lives have been explicitly and implicitly told they don't matter for centuries ... it is our responsibility to scream that black lives matter because it is not to say that all lives do not matter, but it is to say that black lives have been attacked for so long."