Wayne State Medical School Dean Dr. Wael Sakr placed on paid administrative leave, reasons unclear
August 23rd, 20250 DETROIT – Wayne State University has placed the dean of its School of Medicine, Dr. Wael Sakr, a Syrian American physician, on paid administrative leave without offering any explanation for the move. The decision, which was announced in an email sent to faculty and staff, has sparked concern and unease among members of the...
Dearborn School Board seeks applicants to fill seat vacated by Trustee Irene watts resignation
August 15th, 20250 DEARBORN — The Dearborn Public Schools Board of Education is accepting applications to fill a vacant seat following Trustee Irene Watts’ resignation. Watts, who served on the board since 2021 and was vice president at the time of her resignation on August 11, stepped down because her family is moving out of the district. The...
Michigan AG Dana Nessel escalates crackdown on pro-Palestine activists as students vow to resist
July 27th, 20250 LANSING — Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel is continuing to target student activists supporting Palestinian rights, despite mounting criticism in recent weeks, through what the TAHRIR Coalition — a broad coalition of student organizations at the University of Michigan — describes as an ongoing campaign of intimidation and...
Four CUNY professors say they were fired for supporting Palestine
July 18th, 20250 As Congress grills CUNY’s chancellor, the terminated Brooklyn College faculty say Palestine activism is “the only thing we have in common.” By Sanya Mansoor Four adjunct professors at the City University of New York say the university fired them because of their activism for Palestine. The administration’s decision...
Columbia student Mahmoud Khalil freed after 100 days in ICE detention, vows to keep fighting for Palestine
June 27th, 20250 NEW YORK — A federal judge in New Jersey has ordered the release of Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil from immigration detention, marking a major civil rights victory for pro-Palestinian advocates amid an escalating crackdown by President Trump’s administration, which has accused campus demonstrators of...
WSU students sue over Gaza encampment crackdown, alleging police abuse and constitutional violations
June 27th, 20250 DETROIT — A group of pro-Palestinian students is suing Wayne State University in federal court, alleging that the university violated their constitutional rights during a solidarity encampment held on campus on May 23, 2024, to protest the Israeli war on Gaza and demand divestment from companies tied to the Israeli government. The...
LAHC awards $60,000 in scholarships to 20 local students, honors Michigan officials with the Excellence Awards
June 15th, 20250 DEARBORN – The nonprofit organization Leaders Advancing and Helping Communities (LAHC) awarded $60,000 in scholarships to 20 high-achieving high school graduates from the Dearborn area and honored several high-ranking Michigan officials during its 42nd Annual Awards Gala, held Tuesday evening at the Henry Hotel in Dearborn. The event...
Dearborn bids farewell to transformative Henry Ford College President Russell Kavalhuna
June 15th, 20250 DEARBORN – On the eve of Henry Ford College President Russell Kavalhuna’s transition to the presidency of Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo in July, The Arab American News Publisher Osama Siblani and longtime community leader and activist Ali Jawad hosted a farewell dinner in his honor, in recognition of his leadership and...
Students, CAIR slam U of M for covert surveillance, harassment and intimidation of pro-Palestine voices on campus
June 15th, 20250 ANN ARBOR — The Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MI) is demanding an independent and transparent investigation into allegations that the University of Michigan deployed undercover investigators to surveillance, intimidate, and harass pro-Palestinian students on campus. “U of M Ann Arbor being...
Trump administration bars Harvard from enrolling foreign students, says thousands must transfer
May 23rd, 20250 WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Trump administration revoked Harvard University’s ability to enroll international students in its escalating battle with the Ivy League school, saying thousands of current students must transfer to other schools or leave the country. The Department of Homeland Security announced the action Thursday, saying...
Dearborn Board of Education unanimously appoints Dr. Lori Gonko as interim president of Henry Ford College
May 16th, 20250 DEARBORN – On Tuesday, the Dearborn Board of Education announced the unanimous appointment of Dr. Lori Gonko as interim president of Henry Ford College. Gonko, who is currently vice president of strategy and human resources at HFC, succeeds outgoing President Russell Kavalhuna, who will leave his position in early July to become...
Nessel drops charges against pro-Palestinian students at the University of Michigan amid pressure, bias allegations
May 9th, 20250 ANN ARBOR – After sustained pressure from civil rights and advocacy groups, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced the dismissal of charges against seven pro-Palestinian student protesters who were arrested in May 2024 during a campus encampment at the University of Michigan. The protest condemned what demonstrators described...
DEARBORN PUBLIC SCHOOLS NOTICE OF A PUBLIC HEARING ON PROPOSED 2025-2026 BUDGET
May 7th, 20250 PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that on May 12, 2025, at 7 o’clock pm., at the Ten Eyck Administration Building, 18700 Audette, Dearborn, MI. 48124, the Board of Education of Dearborn Public Schools will hold a public hearing to consider the district’s proposed 2025-2026 budget. The Board may not adopt its proposed 2025-2026 budget until after...
Russell Kavalhuna named president of Western Michigan University, leaving Henry Ford College and returning to Kalamazoo
May 2nd, 20251 DEARBORN – Last month the Board of Trustees at Western Michigan University (WMU) elected Russell Kavalhuna, president of Henry Ford College in Dearborn, to become the new president of the public university in Kalamazoo, effective July 1. Kavalhuna, a 2001 graduate of WMU, will succeed current president Dr. Edward Montgomery, becoming...
Student crackdown intensifies: Mahmoud Khalil’s case takes alarming turn as federal lawsuit filed in Michigan
April 18th, 20250 A sweeping federal crackdown on international students has intensified, with the U.S. government canceling the visas of approximately 1,000 current and recent foreign graduates from American universities. Among them is Palestinian student Mahmoud Khalil, a legal U.S. resident and Columbia University graduate, whose potential deportation......
CAIR accuses Wayne State University police of discrimination against Arab and Muslim students
April 18th, 20250 DETROIT — The Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MI) has filed a formal complaint with the Michigan Department of Civil Rights (MDCR), accusing Wayne State University (WSU) campus police of racial and religious discrimination against Arab and Muslim students. The complaint follows a pro-Palestinian...
Federal crackdown continues on pro-Palestinian protesters: Visa cancellations hit international students at Michigan universities
April 11th, 20250 ANN ARBOR –As part of a federal crackdown on pro-Palestinian student voices at U.S. universities, at least five universities in Michigan have reported the cancellation of student visas by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The University of Michigan stated that visas for four international students were revoked, including......
Know Your Rights: CAIR releases educational guide for dealing with ICE officers
April 11th, 20250 WASHINGTON, D.C. – Under the title “Know Your Rights”, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) recently published an educational guide outlining what to do when interacting with officers from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other federal law enforcement agencies. CAIR said in a statement that the guide...
Religious leaders, human rights activists urge Wayne State University officials to protect students supporting Palestinian rights
April 4th, 20250 DETROIT – On Wednesday, religious leaders and human rights activists in Michigan sent an open letter to Wayne State University President Kimberly Andrews Espy and members of the university’s Board of Governors, expressing deep concern over what they described as repressive campaigns targeting students protesting acts of genocide in...
Trump administration detains Turkish student at Tufts for voicing support for Palestinians, revokes visa
March 29th, 20250 BOSTON - U.S. immigration authorities have detained and revoked the visa of a Turkish doctoral student at Tufts University near Boston who had voiced support for Palestinians in Israel's war on Gaza. Rumeysa Ozturk's supporters say her detention, late on Tuesday, is the first known immigration arrest of a...
These universities are in Trump’s crosshairs. Many don’t know why.
March 29th, 20250 NEW YORK — When Muhlenberg College learned in January 2024 — as pro-Palestinian protests were sweeping campuses across the United States — that it was under investigation for discriminating against Jewish students, the small liberal arts institution in Pennsylvania took action. The college fired a......
Federal court rejects deportation of Palestinian student arrested under Trump’s order for protesting against Israel
March 15th, 20250 Mahmoud Khalil: A Columbia University student becomes a symbol of free speech in America WASHINGTON, D.C. – The arrest of a Palestinian student from Columbia University and the federal authorities' attempt to deport him despite being a lawful permanent resident and a Green Card holder, have sparked the largest wave of protests...
“Mina’s Ramadan Adventure” – A children’s book by three Dearborn students, now available on Amazon
March 7th, 20250 DEARBORN – On the eve of Ramadan, three students from Dearborn Public Schools celebrated the signing of their children's book about a young girl attempting to fast during the holy month. The book, titled Mina's Ramadan Adventure, is now available on Amazon. The project began last year as a school assignment by two Muslim American......
Facing Trump’s threats, Columbia investigates students critical of Israel
March 7th, 20250 NEW YORK — Columbia University senior Maryam Alwan was visiting family in Jordan over winter break when she received an email from the school accusing her of discriminatory harassment. Her supposed top offense: writing an op-ed in the student newspaper calling for divestment from Israel. The probe is part of a flurry of recent...
Trump executive order urges universities to “monitor, report” protesters on student visas
February 7th, 20250 President Trump issued an executive order to combat anti-Semitism on January 29 that pushes higher education institutions to actively monitor and report international students engaged in activities perceived as anti-Semitic or supportive of terrorism. With the backdrop of heated pro-Palestinian protests on campuses in response to the......
