Dearborn Public Schools combat teen vaping with new detectors placed in bathrooms
January 17th, 20250 DEARBORN — A Metro Detroit school district is taking measures to hopefully stop students from vaping on campus with vape detectors. Dearborn Public Schools is tackling vaping, which school officials say is not isolated to Dearborn, as more public school districts are taking actions on the three fronts of epidemics affecting teens:...
Dearborn High School senior earns full-ride scholarship to Ivy League institution Columbia University
December 30th, 20240 DEARBORN — Bissan Elzein, a senior at Dearborn High School, has earned a full-ride scholarship to Columbia University, an Ivy League institution located in New York City. Through the QuestBridge National College Match Program, a program that that helps connect high-achieving low-income students with top universities across the...
MiLEAP announces 2025-26 FAFSA now available for students and families to complete
November 29th, 20240 LANSING – The Michigan Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement and Potential (MiLEAP) has announced that students and families can now complete the 2025-26 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The FAFSA serves as the gateway for students to access grants and scholarships, including the Michigan Achievement...
Voters return Crestwood School Board members to their seats, approve bond proposal to upgrade school buildings
November 9th, 20240 DEARBORN HEIGHTS – On Tuesday, voters in the Dearborn Heights Crestwood School District approved an election proposal to issue more than $120 million in bonds to upgrade school facilities and buildings, and they also renewed their confidence in five current school board members who ran to retain their seats on the seven-member...
Two Arab American candidates secure seats on Dearborn Board of Education, making Arab American majority for first time
November 9th, 20240 DEARBORN – The Dearborn Board of Education race concluded with the success of two Arab American candidates out of 10 contestants vying for two full six-year terms. This result will give Arab Americans a majority on the Dearborn Board of Education for the first time, with four Arab Americans out of seven members, starting in...
Two new members join Hamtramck School Board
November 9th, 20240 HAMTRAMCK – On Tuesday, Hamtramck voters approved a referendum to renew the property tax dedicated to funding public schools in the city for 10 years. This decision came as the number of Arab American members on the local school board decreased, with the current board president, Yemeni American Jihan Aiyash, losing her bid for one of...
Wayne State Students for Justice in Palestine hosts pro-Palestine rally, continues calls for university divestment
October 12th, 20240 Wayne State Students for Justice in Palestine and affiliated groups hosted a “Rally for Pali” on Wayne State’s campus on Wednesday to show support for Palestine and university divestment from weapons manufacturing companies. Thirteen groups, including Wayne Law Justice for Palestine, WSU Alumni for Justice in Palestine, WSU...
Rights groups respond to AG Nessel’s charges against 11 pro-Palestinian protesters during spring encampment at U of M
September 14th, 20240 Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel charged 11 people involved in protests on the University of Michigan’s campus in April and May for violations including trespassing, disturbing the peace and malicious destruction of personal property, according to a press release from the Attorney General's Office. The press release said the...
Pro-Palestinian protesters demonstrate outside Columbia University as classes begin
September 6th, 20240 NEW YORK — On Tuesday, two arrests were made as pro-Palestinian protesters demonstrated outside Columbia University, just as students returned to class for the fall semester. The NYPD put up barricades and anyone entering the campus was subject to an identification screening. A university spokesperson released the following...
San Francisco State University divests from weapons companies aiding Israel’s war on Gaza
August 30th, 20240 San Francisco State University has begun the process of divesting from four weapons manufacturers currently involved in Israel's war on Gaza, in a move activists are describing as a "major victory" for Palestinian rights advocacy in the United States. The announcement by Students for Gaza SFSU comes at a crucial time for the student...
Divest from Israeli killing machines or else: Pro-Palestinian student government at U of M makes good on its promise
August 30th, 20241 ANN ARBOR— Pro-Palestinian activists at the University of Michigan were frustrated by their inability to persuade the university to divest endowment funds from Israel and military-weapons manufacturers, so they came up with an idea: Run a slate of candidates for student government based on a provocative platform. If elected, they’d...
18 more electric school buses coming to Dearborn Public Schools
August 23rd, 20240 DEARBORN – Throughout the years, the Michigan Department of Education has made grant funds available for schools to buy electric buses. And while the ride on these buses are smooth, change can be a bumpy ride. The Dearborn Public School District currently has one electric school bus, but come this fall, 18 additional electric buses...
The new Community College Guarantee scholarship covers Henry Ford College students’ in-district tuition
August 10th, 20240 DEARBORN — Beginning this fall, most Michigan high school students from the classes of 2023 and 2024 will be eligible for the Community College Guarantee. This new state-funded program covers in-district tuition for students to attend a community college and earn a degree or certificate. This opens another pathway to a valuable,...
Former Crestwood School Board Trustee Nadia Berry awarded resolution
July 19th, 20240 DEARBORN HEIGHTS — Former Crestwood School Board Trustee Nadia Berry has been recognized for her service to the community as a trustee for seven and a half years. Berry, who received an honorable resolution from Wayne County Commissioner David Knezek, leaves a lasting imprint on the Crestwood School District. In 2016, she...
Arab American Rasha Demashkieh seeks a seat on Wayne State University Board of Governors
July 13th, 20240 Arab American and Wayne State University Alumna Rasha Demashkieh is running for an eight-year term on the Wayne State Board of Governors in the Nov. 5 election. Demashkieh, a Syrian immigrant who graduated from WSU’s College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences in 1979, said the university played a special role in her life and she......
Dearborn native Ahmad Hider making his mark on the world of medicine
July 11th, 20240 DEARBORN — Dearborn native Ahmad Hider is leading an accomplished and decorated academic and professional career. Hider, a general surgery resident at the University of Colorado and the first in his family to graduate from college, received his B.S. in biomolecular science from the University of Michigan, where he also attended...
Wayne State BOG meets virtually amid Pro-Palestine protesters’ concerns
June 28th, 20240 Members of the Wayne State University community have been advocating for the university to divest from companies with ties to Israel since November. WSU’s Board of Governors met virtually in its first meeting since the removal of the pro-Palestine campus encampment and discussed what the investment process looks like. It also hosted......
Crestwood High School vandalized as part of a senior prank
June 7th, 20240 DEARBORN HEIGHTS — As part of a common senior prank, several students were caught vandalizing Crestwood High School on May 24. Through a thorough investigation conducted by the Crestwood administration, multiple students were identified vandalizing the school with spray paint. “The investigation consisted of camera footage,...
Dearborn Heights student earns nearly $10 million in scholarship money
June 7th, 20240 DEARBORN HEIGHTS — Star International Academy student Ahmed Jawad has a set a new record for the amount of scholarship money earned in the district. Jawad earned $9,926,344 in scholarships. "We are incredibly proud to announce that Ahmed Jawad, a distinguished senior at Star International Academy, has achieved an...
Protesters demand Wayne State University divest from companies supporting Israel and refrain from prosecuting students
June 7th, 20240 DETROIT – Dozens of professors, employees, alumni and students at Wayne State University protested on Tuesday evening against the forced removal of a student encampments and the dispersal of the pro-Palestinian protest on Thursday, May 30. An open letter sent to the university’s administration and Board of Governors asked them to...
Police raid and remove Wayne State University’s pro-Palestinian encampment, students vow to return
May 31st, 20240 Wayne State University police removed a pro-Palestine encampment and arrested 12 people on Thursday morning. During a press conference after the removal of the encampment, WSU’s Muslim Coalition President Ali Hassan said arrests included students, a medic and a third party observer. In a call Thursday afternoon, University......
FLIP awards 31 high school graduates-bound to college and five teachers from Dearborn and Dearborn Heights
May 24th, 20240 Huntington Bank and The Arab American News awarded 31 college-bound Dearborn and Dearborn Heights graduating seniors $115,000 in scholarships at the Future Leaders In Progress (FLIP) Scholarship Dinner on Wednesday, May 22. FLIP also recognized five outstanding educators from Dearborn Public Schools and Crestwood Public Schools in...
Dartmouth College students speak out about their pro-Palestinian protests; city of Hanover passes ceasefire resolution
May 17th, 20240 Several protests on Dartmouth College's campus have sparked, with a more recent one leading to 90 arrests, including students, faculty and community members. The university, located in Hanover, New Hampshire, has seen student protesters' presence grow on campus to voice their support for the Palestinians and call for......
Henry Ford College student Soliman Touelh awarded national Jack Kent Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship
May 17th, 20240 DEARBORN — The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation (JKCF) has announced that Henry Ford College (HFC) student Soliman Touelh (pronounced "Twee-la") has been awarded the Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship. “I was between classes at the HFC Honors Hub when I found out I was selected,” Touelh, of Dearborn Heights, said in a press...
More than 100 faculty and staff at Wayne State University support student protesters
May 10th, 20240 A previous version of this article cited a version of the 2003 BOG bylaws and said the president, chair and vice chair of the Board sets the agenda 14 days before the meeting. The updated 2021 bylaws state in section 1.1.3 that the president, chair and vice chair of the Board set the agenda within five days of the meeting. More than......
