The Pioneer Press Feburary 20, 2024

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The Pioneer Press

VOL. 107, ISSUE 3

University of Michigan in Ann Arbor is held in the hearts of many students at Dearborn High School as a dream college. For insight on the recent controversy regarding protests in support of Palestine versus the recent football game celebration turn to ( PAGE 7)

Photo: Marissa Kenrick

Editors-in-chief

Alyssa O’sada

Husayn Hamoud

Managing

Angela Chehade

News

Alyssa O’sada

Feature

Mariam Baiz

Sports

Marissa Kenrick

Opinion

Claire Simon

Advertisment

Angela Chehade

Photo

Mohammed Barakat

Social Media

Marissa Kenrick

Manar Alsarraf Web

Mohammed Alali

Wilson Inyang Staff Writers

Asher Andrews

Hawraa Alzergani

Hussain Barakat

Mahdi Bazzi

Zahraa Bazzi

Sabrina Baiz

Julia Chehade

Simona Horia

Korben

Worlds Apart: Injustice

Angela Chehade and Manar Alsarraf ManagingEditorandSocialMediaManager

In the past decade, the world has witnessed a great number of injustices that have echoed across continents, societies, and generations. From systemic inequalities and human rights violations to environmental degradation and political unrest, the global community has grappled with the complexities of injustice in various forms. These injustices have left indelible marks on countless lives, often overshadowing progress and perpetuating cycles of suffering and inequality. In the following story, we delve into a narrative that encapsulates some of these injustices, shedding light on the struggles, resilience, and resilience of individuals navigating turbulent times amidst a backdrop of societal inequities.

CONGO

Imagine a man setting himself on fire just to get attention to a genocide happening. That’s what happened in the Democratic Republic of Congo on Nov. 8, 2023. The man held a sign reading, “Stop the genocide in Congo”. The roots of the conflict trace back to the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide in 1994. Many of the Hutu militias responsible for the genocide fled to Congo, which ultimately let to tension which the locals. The Congolese government, rebel groups, and neighboring countries have fought for land, mineral resources, political power, etc. In addition to previous conflicts, many countries like the United States, Great Britian, France, etc, have been illegally mining Colbat from Congo. Colbat is a chemical element used to create phones, laptops, e-cigarettes, and many more. The demand for Colbat is expected to reach 244713.111 tons in 2025. Both conflicts have led to the displacement, sexual violence, and human rights abuses to the Congolese people. Efforts have been made to address the situation, including peace agreements and the presence of United Nations peacekeeping forces. However, achieving lasting peace and stability remains a significant challenge.

SUDAN

Conflicts in Sudan began mid April 2023 when heavy fighting broke out between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces, resulting in over 300,000 Sudanese citizens to evacuate their homes after the RSF forced them to.

The Darfur region has been impacted with violence, resulting in over 12,000 people dead and 9 million people displaced within the country, making it the largest internal displacement crisis globally. Basic necessities, such as water and food, are exteremely limited. Around 17.7 million people in Sudan are experiencing extreme levels of food scarcity, a child dies from malnutrition every 2 hours. On Feb. 7, 2024, all 3 of Sudans internet operators were cut off, leaving the citizens with no way of communicating with anyone outside the country. According to Al Jazeera, two of the networks had been offline since Friday Feb. 2, 2024, The United Nations recently appealed for $4.1bn to meet citizens’ humanitarian needs and help flee the country.

CHINA

PALESTINE

132 days ago, the Israel-Palestine genocide had began, after 3 attempts of a ceasefire, nothing has been resolved. At this point, over 30,000 people had been killed, 3 million displaced. Over 172 journalists have been killed, popular journalist Wael Dahdouh had to flee Palestine for medical aid in Qatar only 3 days after his last living family member was killed by a Isareli airtstrike. Many believe the conflict dates back to Oct. 7, 2024, however this has been happening since 1948. From the Nakba till modern day, Palestine still faces extreme violence. Palestines were forcibly removed out of their homes and into the Gaza Strip or West Bank. The Gaza Strip is 25 miles long, from 3.7 to 7.5 mi wide, and has a total area of 141 sq mi and as of last month, only has around 2 million Palestinians in shelter. While the IDF (Israeli defense force) was bombing the Gaza strip, they dropped pamphlets for the innocent civilins trapped in Gaza to go south to Rafah or they will be bombed. On the way south, the IDF continued to drop bombs, even though the civilians were doing as they were told. Rafah has over 250K civilans taking shelter, but on Feb. 11th the IDF started attacking Rafah, where they bombed the 148th mosque since the beginning of this genocide.

Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang, China are being held in what’s called by the Chinese Communist Party, “reeducation camp”. Uyghurs are of Turkish ethnicity originating in central and east China. This all began when the “Big Development of the Northwest Plan ‘’ where China had planned to colonize Xinjiang Uyghurs Muslims with Han Chinese Communists. According to the government, in these reeducation camps, Uyghurs are expected to harvest cotton and other Chinese goods. Along with this, they’re forced to abandon their religion and faith. The Uyghur language is forbidden and they are instead forced to speak Mandarin. According to Genocide Watch, “The Chinese governments family planning program restricts Uyghur and Turkic Muslim reproduction, preventing births in violation of Article 2d of the Genocide Convention.” Essentially stating in order to eliminate the Uyghur population, it is going as far as being illegal for them to have kids. As a result, Uyghur population growth rate fell by 84% between 2015-2018. The article continues, “State-sponsored forced inter-racial marriages between Uyghur women and Han Chinese men are apart of ‘family planning’ policies,” Things such as sterilization, forced abortions, sexual assault, etc are all apart of the “family planning policy”.

Funding at Stake

Dearborn Public Schools urges its citizens to vote on the upcoming millage renewal controlling 16% of its funding

On Feb. 27, 2024, Dearborn citizens will be asked to vote on the renewal of the Dearborn Public Schools (DPS) district’s operating millage.

revenue fund comes the lost, the district would general fund covers all regular and much more. Loss of per pupil funding

A millage, unlike a bond, would not give new funds to sponsor major projects. Rather, it would be used to continue funding daily school operations such as, but not limited to, staff salaries, curriculum materials, classroom supplies, utility bills, busing, and athletics programs. If this millage renewal is not passed, then the DPS district will face a loss of 16% of its general funding, totaling $41 million out of $274 million. These funds are crucial in ensuring that the district’s schools function

properly without significant changes.

DPS Communications Director David Mustenon addressed the negative consequences that students will face in the event of a hypothetical blockage of the millage proposal.

“We would lose just over $2000 per student if this operational millage is not renewed,” Mustenon said.

Operating Millage revenue

Not only will this lead to a lower per-pupil general fund, but also the layoff of a notable portion of DPS staff.

District per pupil funding over time

pay the staff the amount that’s in that contract, so we cannot cutback their salaries. What we would have to do is have fewer people to pay to make up that difference.”

Currently, $41 million of the district’s $274 million general fund comes the operating millage approved by voters. If these funds were lost, the district would have to cut its spending to cover the reduction. The general fund covers all regular expenses including salaries, classroom materials, utilities and much more. Loss of this income would give Dearborn Schools one of the lowest per pupil funding revenues in the state.

Operating millage $41 million

“Failure to renew the millage won’t mean a cutback in salaries, it’ll actually mean fewer people,” Mustonen said. “We are obligated by a union contract to

Other general fund $233 million

Infographic: Dearborn Public Schools

a fourth social worker here at Dearborn High. So a lot of those supports would be caught.”

To reiterate, DPS is only able to change salaries with the approval of the Dearborn Federation of Teachers (DFT), a union designed to protect teachers from exploitation. Through the union, teachers are given a sense of security when it comes to the stability of their salaries.

“The best way, the best thing that we can do is to advocate for all of our registered voters to go out and vote in our city.”

-ZeinaJebril

Dearborn High School principal Zeina Jebril explained the rationale for the inability to change the teacher’s salary.

“We have to deal with their union. They have a strong union, so unless the district agrees with them to cut their salaries, we won’t be able to change them. But most of the time, that’s not what happens,” Jebril said. “What ends up happening is that we have fewer teachers. So that means larger class sizes, less support, less social workers. We just hired

A popular misconception regarding the millage renewal is the addition of a new tax; however, as stated previously, the renewal of the millage will not fund new projects, and thus will not lead to the creation of a new tax. According to DPS, the tax maximum on homeowners will decrease from $6.17 million to $4 million. This will also cause lower taxes on the homeowners, causing them to pay less with a lower maximum cap. Inversely, the majority of the tax burden will now be funded by non-homestead properties. This includes businesses, commercial sites, rentals, and vacation homes.

Citizens of Dearborn, on Feb. 27, 2024, you will be presented with a very significant and consequential decision that will impact the future of our public schools for a long time. In voting there is strength, so make sure to go out and exercise your civic duty.

Mohammed Alali PhotoEditor WebsiteEditor

Ahmad Rammal NewsEditor

Infographic: Dearborn Public Schools

This diagram presented by Dearborn Public Schools displays the per pupil funding from 1995-2023. Failure to renew the operating millage will result in a severe decline of around $2,000 out of the current $9,921.

Lucky No. 7

DHS senior Nassim Mashhour made history earlier this January by being the seventh person to acquire 1,000 career points at DHS.

Alyssa O’sada Co-Editor-In-Chief

As the basketball court buzzes with excitement and anticipation, the players take their positions on the court with the confidence to win and excel in this game. The mutual feeling of anxiety settles among the players as the crowd cheers become deafening and overwhelming. Among the many players standing on the court is Nassim Mashhour, standing tall and wearing an expression of determination.

Dearborn High School senior and point guard of the varsity basketball team, Nassim Mashhour first joined DHS’s varsity basketball team his freshman year and has continued to play ever since. His skill has only increased since his freshman year and has left a tremendous impact on DHS and the community. Earlier this January, Nassim Mashhour became the seventh DHS student to achieve 1,000 career points in boys basketball and continues to

excel at this season with the team currently having zero loses.

Mashhour said that he started taking basketball seriously around the age of 10-11 from the inspiration that he got from his dad and has made numerous efforts to better his skills over the years.

“I started playing because I grew up around basketball from my dad. He coached for around 30 plus years and used to play,” Mashour said. “Going to the gym as much as possible has definitely helped me improve. As well as my dad helping me through different drills, so I try to listen to what he says and learn from it.”

Mashhour said that he no longer gets nervous while playing due to his exposure and experience that he’s gained from playing since his freshman year.

“I used to get nervous a lot in my freshman, sophomore, and even like in the beginning of junior

year,”

Mashhour said.

“While playing basketball the I feeling I get, is kind of like a flow state almost where I’m just playing because I’ve done it so many times; it’s repetition. I don’t really like not thinking about what we need to do.”

Rammal NewsEditor

always going to pressure me to getting better in practice and stuff like that,” Mashhour

Mashhour said that his dad, Ibrahim Mashhour, was appointed as DHS’s head coach this year and feels that their relationship has grown stronger because of it.

“It makes it a little bit more comfortable. I know what he’s thinking because I live with him all the time. So we’re kind of on the same wavelength, in a way and that gives me comfort but at the same time he’s always on my head, because he knows how good I can be. So he’s

DHS varsity basketball head coach and

Photo: Alyssa O’sada

DHS senior Nassim Mashhour plays against Fordson High School in Boys Varsity Basketball on Feb. 9, 2024. DHS emerged victorious between both teams with a final score of 63-41. Mashhour ended the game with a total of 13 points.

Ahmad

Mashhour’s dad, Ibrahim Mashhour said that he values the time that they spend together and feels that it was always a strong relationship before his recent promotion.

“We have a great relationship, we always have. He’s a blessing to have and just a great kid. He’s always have been well behaved, handles his business academically and we’ve always had a great relationship, all of us do,” Ibrahim said. “Our relationship has always been great. I mean he doesn’t like to feel that he’s let me down any way so he’s sensitive to that at times. But, at the same time, he’s always been easy to coach and it’s always been an open dialogue with him, like it is with all the players.”

Mashhour said that he shares a strong bond with his teammates and enjoys playing with them.

“We’re really close. Like we’re either hanging out with each other or we’re always communicating. It makes playing so much fun,” Mashhour said.

DHS junior and player on the varsity basketball team, Ali Sabbagh, said that he knew Mashhour since middle school and has played with him for two years. Sabbagh said that there relationship is very close and described his most unforgettable memory of him this season was during there first game of the season.

“Nassim’s like my brother, we’re very close. We’re always trying to push each other to our best and our limits,” Sabbagh said. “Our most memorable moment is when he had his first dunk against Grand Haven High School and when there coach called a time out we all went to him celebrating.”

DHS Junior and younger brother of Nassim, Muhammad Mashhour has been on the

varsity basketball team since his freshman year and said that he enjoys playing with Nassim not only because of there bond but because of his skill.

“He runs the team and everything so when he’s not there I have to step up a little bit but he’s definitely a really good player,” Muhammad said.“In practice me and him usually go against each other and make each other better. He’s the best player and it’s always good going against better competition.”

19.6 pt Avg.

three years. Barkoff said that he believes that the current team has a high possibility of winning state this year

DHS P.E. teacher and former head coach of DHS’s varsity basketball team, Kevin Barkoff was the head coach when Mashhour first joined the team when he was a freshman and said the reasoning for “Stature wise he wasn’t as big as some of the other kids that he’d be going against especially the juniors and seniors. I was a little reluctant. You know, I knew that he had the competitive spirit and his skill was very good. But I was just concerned about the physical stature when he had to compete against some of the other bigger kids, the older kids at that time,” Barkoff said. “But with his motivation, and that push from the assistant coaches I put him on the team. Once he stepped on the quarte as a varsity player, he really was a varsity player and it was very evident. It didn’t matter whether he was a little bit smaller and less weight than those who didn’t matter. He competed and he was good.”

“While playing basketball the I feeling I get, is kind of like a flow state.”

“This team though, has a good chance. They are ready. That’s what they’re preparing themselves for. They got to the regional finals last year, and ended up losing to Cass tech. So that is obviously I would think one of their their most important goals is to get to take that next step. And then continue to work hard and see how far they can go after that,” Barkcoff said. “This team is being led the right way by both their coaches, leaders, and captains of the team. I think they all have the same vision and it’s been exciting to watch.”

Ibrahim said that Mashhour has received several offers of recruitment for playing in college but he hasn’t made a decision yet and that he’s happy with whatever his decision may be.

Barkoff said that DHS’s varsity basketball team hasn’t won state in around 30-40 years but they have won districts in the past

-Nassim Mashhour

“Wherever he decides to go, it’s totally his decision, whether he wants to stay or wants to move to a different state as he finds a school that he thinks he’ll enjoy playing and going to school. He has our blessings with whatever he decides,” Ibrahim said.

Analysis of the difference in responses Ann Arbor law enforcment has had to recent incidents involving University of Michigan students, Palestinian rights, and football.

Despite drastic social change in America originating from activism and protesting during the Civil Rights era, protesters today are still treated unlawfully

On Nov. 17, 2023, Pro-Palestinians stormed the Administration building in Ann Arbor Michigan. That same night,

Marissa Kenrick SportsEditor SocialMediaManager

40 people were arrested. According to Michiganadvance.org, it was reported that students were given multiple warnings for “civil disobedience” and “trespassing” but didn’t listen. It then would lead to 40 students either getting tickets

or arrested. Two months later, on Jan. 9th, 2024, the University of Michigan students celebrated the recent title of “National Champions’ granted to the University’s football team. Students crowded the streets, set couches on fire, and destroyed

buildings and other structures. ZERO arrests were made following the incident. Once news struck the internet and across social media platforms, specifically The City of Dearborn Instagram Page (TCD), that these students were destroying property which within itself is a federal crime, followers started freaking out.

One comment read; “Sooo it’s ok to take to the streets for a football game but not for protesting?”

Another comment read; “wild people get out into the streets over a sport game but won’t get out and protest for basic human rights”

Commenters made good points such as how storming and vandalizing the streets for a football game is considered fun and just students being students yet when protesters take the streets to put out their message, it’s “civil disobedience”.

While police aren’t allowed to speak explicitly on the situations in interviews, public information is given both on the University website and the city of Ann Arbor.

“Recent events at the University of Michigan and elsewhere emphasize the pressing need for members of the University community–including administrators, faculty, staff, and students–to reaffirm formally their deep commitment to freedom of speech and artistic expression and to clarify the implications of that commitment. Freedom of speech in this context will be taken to encompass all forms of communication and artistic expression as well as the freedom to listen, watch, protest, or otherwise participate in such communication. It is hoped that this reaffirmation will win the support, in spirit and in letter, of people representing

A recreatement photo of the Palenstine Protest in Ann Arbor taken on Jan. 25th, 2024. 40 tickets/arrests were made on Nov. 17th, 2023 after students and residents protested for Palestine to be free and Israel to ceasefire.

Photo: Marissa Kenrick

the entire spectrum of opinion of the University community in order to create a truly open forum, one in which diverse opinions can be expressed and heard.” Read the University’s policy. “Expression of diverse points of view is of the highest importance, not only for those who espouse a cause or position and then defend it, but also for those who hear and pass judgment on that defense. The belief that an opinion is pernicious, false, or in any other way detestable cannot be grounds for its suppression.”

The date when the guidelines were added was July 8, 1988, and was last updated on April 1, 1993, when AntiNazis demonstrated SS (Schutzstaffel) actions towards members at Ann Arbor’s city hall.

While protesting can be considered both a good and bad thing depending on how protestors react, the University of Michigan should update its rules and regulations to more modern times, especially with the Palestine and Israel war going on currently.

the protest is thereby rendered totally ineffectual. Organizers of the event or University representatives should make clear in advance which areas have been cordoned off, and for what purpose.”

The guideline shows that participants involved in the protest on Nov. 17 were allowed to say

City of Dearborn) should take responsibility for being biased and not considering it a riot because according to Cornell.edu, the legal definition of a riot is “riot is a public disturbance where three or more people behave in a violent and uncontrolled manner”. On Jan 1, students were going around

Followers under The City of Dearborn (TCD)’s post on Instagram shared strongly worded comments following the post about students behavior after the university won a national championship. This post was made on Jan. 9th, 2024.

The current guidelines provided by the University of Michigan Standard Practice Guide (SPG) are as follows;

“The University should provide appropriate platforms for free speech and artistic expression. Whenever areas surrounding a public event are cordoned off for security purposes, this must not be done in such a way as to remove the possible location of any protest so far from the center of action that

what they wanted to say due to the First Amendment in the Bill of Rights, but for the University, you may not protest during a public event or destroy any buildings or agriculture. This may have been the reason for 40 people getting tickets for storming a building but what about the celebration that took place on Jan 1st? Is it because they are “celebrating” the university? That should be taken under consideration and Police and Media Platforms like TCD (The

Located on State Street in Ann Arbor Michigan, a graffiti painting that reads “The Call for a Free Palestine is a Call for Freedom Everywhere”. While in Dearborn this may seem normal, it is unique in Ann Arbor, especially with a mostly white population.

or recklessly cause or create a serious risk of causing public terror or alarm.”

Comparing the two situations, the only publicized disturbance caused by the protesters fighting for the freedom for Palestine and for Israel to ceasefire was that they stormed the administration building. They did not ruin or destroy any cityowned property. Yet 40 tickets were given to individuals involved. But none to the people destroying public properties after the National Championship?

Downtown Ann Arbor creating disturbance by chanting the University’s well known “Hail to the Victors” chant as well as blasting the Killers “Mr Brightside” and setting 21 couches on fire and breaking lamp posts.

Section one of the Michigan Government’s Riot Procedures reads “ It is unlawful and constitutes the crime of riot for five or more persons, acting in concert, to wrongfully engage in violent conduct and thereby intentionally

Although on Jan 29, 2024, the University of Michigan Faculty Senate passed a resolution calling for University divestment from Israel after the president of the University has publicly acknowledged his support for Israel, it is still unjustifiable that they were given tickets for asking the freedom of Palestinians and nobody was given anything for the “celebration” better known as a riot.

Photo: Marissa Kenrick

“Beep, Beep”

The onceforgotten sound rings again in my head. I struggle to get out of bed, wondering about the new school I am about to go to. My legs quiver at the thought of being the token black kid in an all-Arab school. I get into the car, and I get dropped off at school at 7:40 a.m. I look left and right; not a single person looked like me. I wondered if I would encounter racism simply for my skin color, but my brother reassured me saying, “They are a minority too, outside Dearborn.” I held that thought in mind as I walked into my first hour, having confidence in myself and the student population.

I sat in class waiting for the bell to ring, thinking to myself how I was going to make friends in this new school, I let my thoughts run rampant until I heard it, “N***a.” I paused and thought, ‘Did I just hear that?’ I contemplated it to myself, thinking ‘Ain’t no way’, they repeated it among their group, and I looked around the class just to make sure that there wasn’t a Black person I missed when scanning faces. When I saw that I was the only one, and everyone else was from a different ethnic group. I came to terms with the fact that a non-Black person said the n-word.

When I lived in Nigeria, before immigrating to the United States, in April of 2019, I had never had to deal with anyone or anything saying the n-word. Even using curse words was not normal. The everyday person in Nigeria didn’t use insults like this, we were a little bit more creative with our insults. Sort of as a way of learning about American life after we got our visa, my siblings and I were watching movies. Ironically one of the movies we happened to watch was The BlacKkKlansman by Spike Lee. At first, I noticed how they always said “N***a ‘’ when they were referring to a Black person, I was skeptical about the word, and upon doing research on the word

I found out its meaning. I was very shocked that a word used to dehumanize Black people was still being used to this day.

Echos of Racism

Upon reaching the U.S. I was enrolled in a middle school in Detroit. I was surrounded by people who looked like me saying the n-word, but coming to Dearborn High was the first time I had experienced someone who didn’t look like me saying the n-word. Never did I know that this experience would become a daily occurrence for me. Every school day, I think I hear the word at least five times. Some days I definitely hear it more than others. However, without fail, I hear the word every single day. It is honestly hurtful to listen to people who haven’t been impacted by generational trauma, systemic racism, and disruption of unity, saying that word that was used to make humans feel like they are less than human or mere lambs for slaughter. It is outright wrong and an injustice.

The n-word was a word that once carried weight compared to that of a mountain, but coming to the United States, the constant use of racial slurs has put me in a situation where, sometimes, I have to pause and realize that I am slowly becoming accustomed to hearing this word. Sadly, it may be losing its meaning to me. The once enormous mountain has slowly become a pebble. I have tried limiting the use of the word around me, but some people try to justify their actions by saying, “I am using a soft ‘a’ and not the hard ‘er’.” That doesn’t change the fact that they are still using that word. Regardless of how it is said, it keeps its negative connotation. Adding an “-ing” to the end of a word doesn’t change the meaning entirely, which is the same thing as using the n-word.

In the back of my mind, I thought that the use of the word was condoned in the school, that was until I had an interview

Navigating High School’s Unseen Challenge as an African American Immigrant

Wilson Inyang WebsiteManager

Feb. 15, 2024 was culture day for spirit week at DHS. I wore a Senator, a traditional Nigerian robe. The Africa necklace is something I wear every day, it’s a reminder to me and those around me of my culture and history.

Tae volo beribus. molup.” -Burger

with Principal Jebril, and it came to mind to just ask. What she said left me shocked, she told me that there are multiple ways the school was trying to combat the obvious racism in the school. She mentioned that they have social workers who are trained to

talk with students to be able to help them open up about their emotions, she also mentioned that there are teachers like my geometry teacher Steven Holt who are ready to listen to students’ concerns and has genuine care for their well-being.

Photo: Mohammed Alali

It Lingers

As administration continues to improve the environment for all students, black students and staff share their experience being a part of the Dearborn community.

Dearborn, despite having a minoritymajority population and bordering Detroit (a city with a black-dominant population) is a city where black people are still marginalized.

Dearborn holds the highest concentration of Arabs found outside of the Middle East, 54.4% of residents are Middle Eastern according to 2023 U.S. Census data. Although this creates a safe environment for Arab Americans, it does not clear the air for other walks of life that live here. At Dearborn High School, clubs such as the Black Student Union (BSU), Gay-Straight Alliance, Active Minds, and the Palestine Student Association (PSA) work to ensure anyone can call Dearborn home.

Jazmin Ward is a senior at Skyline High School (SHS) in Ann Arbor Michigan. Before she attended SHS, Ward was a student of DHS from her freshman to her junior year. Ward said that she decided to leave the school in the middle of her Junior year due to the toxic environment at the school.

“I made the decision to leave Dearborn High School because of the harassment I faced, the lack of accountability and response towards any reports of racism from the school, and the overall disrespect I faced as a student every day during my three-and-a-half year stay at DHS. At first, I was able to drown out the slurs, ignorance, and even violent connotations of racism towards black students that occurred almost every day at the school,’’ Ward said. “But that lingering buzz became an incessant noise that was almost unbearable. My academic career, my attendance, and my mental health were suffering from it. It came to the point where I could not genuinely see myself going through my senior year at DHS without a mental collapse. I promptly left in the middle of my Junior year, and it was the best decision I have made for myself.”

Ward said that the best response to harassment is sometimes

Husayn Hamoud Co-Editor-In-Chief

Wilson Inyang WebsiteManager

having like meetings about it, but not including the students because it’s all stuff you have to involve the students in order for something to work,” Taylor said. “Some places I see that are beneficial. Like assemblies, like if you talk about it at an assembly or like you actually have an open discussion about it in the classroom, then I feel like that will be good. I feel like the staff is scared to talk about it.”

DHS Principal Zeina Jebril says that DHS offers many outlets for students to lean on when it comes to racial discrimination.

quit?...

Schmitt’s Student-Approval Rating

“Some students might feel comfortable going to the social workers, some students might feel comfortable with their counselors, some students might feel comfortable with a teacher that they have, you know, some kind of relationship with,” Jebril said. “But anytime it comes to the main office, we always address it.”

As of late, Dearborn Public Schools teachers are provided with education training from the district administration in charge of diversity, equity, and inclusion to ensure teachers are prepared for when a student is at the receiving end of hate speech or crime.

Jebril explains that DHS staff have ways to respond to race-related incidents directly and in staff-involved processes.

to have no response. Leaving a situation is the best way to deescalate it and detach yourself from it.

“I would say racism stems from utter ignorance and avoidance,” Ward said.

“Some advice I would give to black students is to protect your peace. You can’t argue with every racist student, and frankly, you shouldn’t.”

DHS Junior and BSU president Kalee Taylor explains that just the

acknowledgment of racism here from staff can lead to a more conscious and socially aware environment all around. “I just feel like we gotta do better, the students and the staff just gotta come together to do better about the whole racist thing. I feel like it just goes under the rug, and nobody really talks about it because they’re scared to. We just need to talk about it, and actually bring it to the light instead of slowly teaching about it and teachers

“There’s always a discipline piece and consequences that people face for their actions, but also, we put a big emphasis on restoring the harm that was done and educating the person as to the impact that they’re causing to other people,” Jebril said. “Sometimes we would ask the person receiving the comments if they would be willing to be involved in a restorative circle. And what that entails is that both people would be sitting in the circle, and an adult that we have trained in restorative practices would facilitate the conversation, asking each person what happened, and how it impacted them.”

“Rum etur? Quia sa suntis evendig eniscillab il modias sit idia nam qomnimus, seque pore. Tae volo beribus. molup.” -Burger

Photo collage of influental people and their achievments in the fight for black Civil Rights displayed in the intersection between B and D hall at DHS It was created by students of the BSU throughout spirit week.

Photo: Husayn Hamoud

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