DEARBORN — Top University of Michigan-Dearborn administrators are engaging American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) and Congress of Arab American Organizations representatives in an ongoing dialogue addressing accusations of discrimination raised by members of the Arab Student Union on campus.

Representatives of the Congress of Arab American Organizations meet at the Lebanese American Heritage Club in Dearborn on May 20 to discuss various community issues, including accusations of discrimination toward Arab Student Union members at the University of Michigan-Dearborn. PHOTO: Khalil AlHajal/TAAN

“They assured us that the rules of the university don’t tolerate discrimination toward any group,” said ADC Michigan Director of Policy and Community Affairs Nadia Fadel about a May 14 meeting.
She said the students began making accusations over a month ago of administrators making an effort to tamp down outspoken Arab American political activity on campus, and influence a student government election.

“The kids are just outraged… Our job is to engage in dialogue with the university, being that we’re friends with the university, and see if we can resolve the issues,” said Fadel.

Neither Fadel nor UM-D Vice Chancellor Stanley Henderson would divulge the details of the discussion. Fadel said more meetings are being scheduled.

Henderson said hindering engagement of any group on campus would be counterproductive to goals of education and expanding enrollment, and denied any bias on the part of the university in overseeing an April student government election.

“We are here for our students. We are committed to providing opportunities for them to be heard, to be engaged,” he said.

The students believe administrators worry that a university image too connected to Arab Americans would hurt enrollment, particularly from within the Jewish community.

Henderson did not acknowledge such a concern among university officials and said only that there is a desire to increase enrollment from the current 8,700 students pursuing degrees to about 12,000.

“I want more of every group,” he said. “We really cannot be saying ‘Gee, we really need to limit this group or that group.’ …All are welcome here and there’s an expectation that the larger community be respected here.”

Tensions between the Arab Student Union and university administrators came to a head as students prepared to run for the student government body.

Ahead of the April election, candidates were required to produce 100 student signatures to be placed on the ballot.

Eighteen students were not allowed on the ballot because they fell short of 100 after some signatures were deemed invalid. Nearly all were Arab American. Sixteen of the eighteen denied a spot on the ballot belonged to a student party strongly connected to the Arab Student Union. Three belonged to the opposing Maize and Blue party and one was independent.

Henderson could not explain the discrepancy but said that all candidates were informed of the new requirement to produce 100 signatures, and that there was clear understanding that some unclear signatures would be rejected.

“The election guidelines were scrupulously attended to,” he said.

Henderson said that while some students may not agree with the results, the election was fairly overseen and all appeals and complaints were heard.

“Review of the signatures was essentially done blindly,” he said. The process came out that some students were disqualified. The process was followed scrupulously… I’m not sure that anyone can say why some students didn’t have the right number of signatures and some did.”

At least one Arab American student agrees with Henderson.

“They’re making these accusations because of the fact that they want to win,” said student senator Moneer Al-Nabolsi about the Arab Student Union members who’ve alleged discrimination.

“They’re just doing their job as administration,” he said about the officials who oversaw the process.

He said members of the Maize and Blue student party, of which he is a member and which he said was formed to foster diversity beyond Arab American inclusion in student government, simply made more of an effort to collect extra signatures, anticipating that some would be rejected.

He said he’s never felt intimidated or discriminated against by administrators as an Arab American student.

“There’s no personal bias,” he said.

Arab Student Union leaders disputed Al-Nabolsi’s explanation.

“The majority of us gathered 115 to120 signatures,” said the group’s Vice President Abdullah Hammoud.

He and Arab Student Union President Rashid Baydoun said their complaints go beyond the election.

The group has been banned from using many of the facilities in the University Center, for reasons that remain unclear.

Henderson said students sometimes lose the privilege to reserve rooms in the center and that he and the group are close to resolving that issue.

During a meeting of the Congress of Arab American Organizations in Dearborn on Wednesday, Ron Amen, a 63-year-old patriarchal figure in the Arab American activist community and a UM-D alumnus, said he believes the students’ complaints are valid.

“I’m mortified,” he said.

He said listening to the students’ complaints and hearing details of the meeting between university officials and community leaders made him want to have his UM-D transcript removed from the record books.

“That’s how embarrassed I am.”