The missing numbers: Arab American identity versus identification

WSU currently boasts a diverse body of 27,222students. However, some Arab-American students are unhappy that they’re considered white in official race-based statistics.

Sophomore classics major Nehan Qasim said classifying both Arab Americans and Caucasians as white is insulting because Arabs are not treated like white people are treated.

“As a white person, you are entitled to many, many privileges,” said Qasim. “But as an Arab person, even though you’re considered white, you’re not entitled to those privileges, simply because you’re Arab.”

A junior majoring in nutrition and food science, Hana Alasry said if she were truly white, she would not be randomly selected every time she went to an airport.

“We live in a country that is made up of many different colors, many different faiths, ethnicities, and we need to recognize it,” said Alasry.

However, Alasry said it is clear that WSU has made sacrifices as a champion of diversity.

“Wayne State has actually taken a great deal of hits when it comes to government funding, specifically because oflow graduation rates and low general GPA,” she said.

Alasry said welcoming a population regardless of background means WSU has had to figure out how to support students who have grown up in disadvantaged communities and circumstances that have affected the development of their skills and study habits.

“It’s something that we don’t really consider. What does it mean to be diverse? It means that you’re willing to be impacted negatively, systematically, and institutionally to fight for justice,” said Alasry.

The most recent racial statistics are as follows:

WSU’s system for recording race parallels federal protocols. For instance, the United States Census Bureau has legally considered Arab Americans as white since 1944.

All students who identify as Arab American or Middle Eastern are included within the percentage of white students. Therefore, WSU is statistically considered a predominantly white institution.

Ahmad Sabbagh, President of WSU’s Arab American Student Union and recently accepted WSU Law School student, said he is very proud to be Arab and would like the chance to formally state his ethnicity on various forms.

When filling out information regarding his race, Sabbagh sees the gray area between ‘other’ and Caucasian.

“Personally, it makes more sense to be ‘other,’ but it also makes sense for me to put Caucasian because I was born here,” said Sabbagh.

As a result of the popularization and circulation of negative stigmas regarding Arabs and Muslim, Sabbagh said conversations about race and ethnicity are more important than ever.

“It is very easy to fall into the trap of associating certain ethnicities and races with negative things,” said Sabbagh. “Being able to really differentiate yourself and say, ‘Hey, I’m Middle Eastern, this is all the good that I stand for, and this is all the good that I’m doing,’ it’s different than the assumptions that are made.”

In conjunction with the Arab American Student Union, Sabbagh has worked with the Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services (ACCESS) to help spread a petition for a new racial classification option, Middle Eastern-North African (MENA) in the 2020 census.

Executive director of ACCESS, Hassan Jaber said advocates for MENA will be meeting with officials in Washington in April.

“If this phase of the process goes well, it’s going to take an act of Congress to include a new question in the 2020 census,” said Jaber.

According to Jaber, the addition of MENA means Arab Americans will finally have robust information regarding their community and needs.

“For the first time, we can look at economic communities, health equity issues, support services, and really make sure that the numbers are being captured properly,” said Jaber. “The numbers are an implication of the socioeconomic and political health of an entire community.”

On the other hand, Dr. Hayg Oshagan, professor of mass communications said he is unsure if changing the current system would affect WSU’s status as a predominantly white institution.

“I don’t think it’s a huge, huge number [Arab American population], but Wayne is a very diverse place,” said Oshagan. “Yes, if you want to have a sense of the richness of the diversity, then you would want to have a way of assessing the ethnicity of the different cultures here.”

While Oshagan said Arab Americans deserve to have a box to check off for themselves, using a system of check boxes does not efficiently capture the world.

“Identities in these boxes are less and less equivalent,” said Oshagan. “I think, ethnicity, the way it’s defined by these check boxes, is maybe an older concept that maybe works for first generations or people coming from somewhere or those that identify themselves solely with one ethnicity.”

Oshagan addressed that while someone can check off Asian, there are different kinds of Asian, and within Arab countries there are different Arab ethnicities.

“I’m reluctant to just put everyone into one box and just say, that’s who you are,” said Oshagan. “If you just want this gross indicator of who’s who, then fine. But, if you really want to know what’s going on, if you really want to know who’s there, then you need to have a finer measure of ethnicity.”

For more information, contact reporter Aleanna Siacon: aleanna.siacon@wayne.edu. Follow her on Twitter: @AleannaSiacon