I came to the University of Michigan-Dearborn campus in 1973.  As I look over the grade books from the decade after my arrival, very few Arab names appear on those lists.  During my first year here (1973-74), not a single one was present.  However, when I developed my course on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in 1979, more began to take that class. Likewise, when Frank Wayman and I did our Dearborn Public Opinion Study in the 1970s (we interviewed a scientific sample of 801 residents), we found few Arab Americans. Those who were in the region prior to that time were mostly second, or third generation, whose ancestors had come seeking jobs, often in the automobile industry. 

As the 1980s progressed, especially after the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982, we saw a new wave of Arab students.  They were refugees from that war; mostly Shia Muslims from southern Lebanon.  By that decade, there was a more politicized student body.  This is a common pattern among those who come to this country as refugees, or who come from countries under occupation, or stress.  While some immigrants embrace a broader “American” culture and leave behind their historic identities, others carry what Jacobson calls “silent sorrows” for their distressed homeland.  

We began to witness more rallies and speakers on campus.  During the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon, an unpleasant clash occurred between Lebanese students,  who were putting up anti-Israeli posters and a pro-Israeli faculty member, who was tearing them down. The institution often wants “diversity” for its own purposes.  However, with diversity comes tension…and benefits.  

I recall one event, around 1980 or 1981, which affected me personally. It was during the visit of Sami Ismail.  Ismail was a master’s degree student at Michigan State and a Palestinian from the West Bank.  When he learned that his father was dying, he rushed home to bid him farewell.  He was arrested when he arrived at Ben Gurion Airport.  After serving time for affiliation with a Palestinian nationalist group, he was released and returned to the U.S.  When he came to UM-D, the room was packed. During the question and answer session of his presentation, someone asked him how they were able to function when people worked against them; informing on them.  His answer was very powerful.  He said, “There are informants in every organization.  There are probably people in this room who will write up what we say.  But you cannot allow yourself to be intimidated by this.”  I found this reassuring.  I have since assumed that everything I say will end up in a file.  Therefore, I say only what I am willing to have in a file.  It is amazing how much you can say if you use this approach.   

The Arab Student Union at the University of Michigan-Dearborn has been an active organization for years now.

I think theory serves as a reflection the culture of this community.  I am often interviewed by reporters from elsewhere who say that Arab Americans in New York, or some other place, are intimidated and afraid to speak out.  I always tell them that this is not the case in Michigan. People are registered to vote and are unafraid to express their views.  They march, they demonstrate, they criticize government policy, and UM-D has served as a training ground for those students.  Over the years, several Arab-Americans have served as student government president, or on the student senate.  UM-D has sent many of its Arab American graduates into the public realm.    

By the late 1980s to early 1990s, a new pattern emerged.  The student organizations began to fragment.  This was not surprising, given how complex it is. I often say that there is not one Arab American community, but rather a mosaic of communities. We have, on campus, Lebanese, Iraqis, Palestinians, Yemenis, Jordanians and Egyptians. We have Christians and Muslims, Chaldean Iraqi Catholics, Lebanese Shia Muslims, Iraqi Shias, Christian Orthodox, and others.  In the 1990s, the Yemeni Student Organization was founded.  The national organization requires that five Yemeni students must be on campus, in order to have a charter.  When they had reached that threshold, they asked me to be the faculty sponsor.  I was pleased to agree.  Today, far more than five Yemeni students attend UM-D and the numbers continue to grow.   

The 1990s brought an influx of Iraqi refugees to Dearborn. Most were Shia from the south.  Some had participated in the uprising of 1991.  The Americans had encouraged this uprising, but then had backed off when it was on the verge of success. Refugees began pouring into Saudi Arabian refugee camps, where they often stayed for a decade before getting permission to go to the U.S.  Others began to arrive from Syria and Jordan. These tended to be professionals.  Whatever their background, they have made a significant impact on campus.  They are exceptionally hard working and have amazing stories to tell. Once you get beyond the surface, you realize that these students have experienced things beyond the imagination of most Americans.  

At one point, five different Arab groups existed on campus; each presenting a candidate for president of the Arab Student Union. The organizations tried for a five-person presidency, but that did not last for long. Now, several organizations exist on campus; The Arab Student Union is the largest of the groups.  There is also a Shia group, a Chaldean group and a Muslim Student Union, which includes Pakistanis, African-Americans and others. Off and on, there are also Palestinian groups, Christian Orthodox and others.   

Disagreement has always existed over exactly how many Arab Americans are on campus. We do not ask the ethnicity of entering students, so we have no exact figures. Twice, in two decades, I have received a list of all students on campus and have asked my Arab American and Chaldean students to go through the list to identify those of Middle East background.  This is not easy, because some names are multiethnic (Abraham), and some Arab Americans modify their names (Zeitoun becomes Olive, and Harb becomes Harp). In addition, we have Muslims from Pakistan, or Iran, or elsewhere who are not Arabs, even though their names may resemble Arab names. Using students who know individuals is a good methodology. We found on both occasions that the number of identifiable Arab Americans was in the 7-8% range.  Today the University uses a figure of 10-15% Middle Eastern, which includes Turks, Iranians and Pakistanis.  

In 1999, we founded the Center for Arab American Studies.  I was the first head of that organization. Unfortunately, we brought in a full time director who was not successful.  The Center is now a dormant organization.  On the positive side, we have hired two new faculty members, who specialize in the area, so hope remains for the future.   Over the years, our campus has sometimes been attacked, as a result of its Arab population.  In the 1990s, a non-violent, sit-down demonstration, against a visiting Israeli basketball team took place.  We received national attention and hate calls from around the country.  One of the most extreme exclaiming, “You may have to kill some to restore order.” A Jewish, off campus, leader said to me, “They were afraid for their lives.” A Palestinian student and refugee from the West Bank, who participated in the demonstration, said, “That was the first time I had been able to protest what the Israelis are doing without fear of being beaten.” 

When we created a facility for Muslim students to wash their feet for prayer, we again received exceptional hostility from around the country, and when Lebanese and other students protested the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 2006, a right wing blogger re-labeled us the “University of Michigan-Dearbornistan.” Some of this is very nasty.  

Overall, Arab Americans have played an exceptionally positive role on campus. Some are in the Honors program and many have gone to professional schools. Some have also won top awards, such as the Chancellor’s Medallion.   

Written for the fiftieth-anniversary history of the University, The Gift Matured, 2013, Elton Higgs, editor.