By Simon Albaugh \u2013 Yemeni American News<\/p>\n
Dearborn, Mich. \u2013 Henry Ford Early College is at an uproar after allegations surfaced that the school\u2019s principal made disparaging remarks against Yemeni and certain Lebanese students, as well as a complaint of him physically mishandling another student.<\/p>\n
A google doc prepared and shared by Samraa Luqman<\/span><\/a>, a candidate for State Representative in Michigan\u2019s District 3, alleges that principal Majed Fadlallah made disparaging remarks against certain Yemeni students, saying \u201cif you don\u2019t do well, I\u2019m going to send you back to Yemen\u201d and telling a student to thank cafeteria workers for food, because of the famine that\u2019s currently decimating Yemen.<\/p>\n The google drive also details a complaint by one student in which principal Fadlallah grabbed a student by his arms and pushed him against the wall in order to threaten the student after cheating on a test. The student was later expelled from the early college program for what the student says was a mistaken identification and later dropped out of Dearborn Public Schools entirely.<\/p>\n Students and parents at a Dearborn Board of Education meeting last Tuesday<\/a><\/span> spoke both in favor of the principal and against him, with a few talking about how the principal has affected theirs or their childrens\u2019 lives.<\/p>\n \u201cI am the mother of an exceptional student in Dearborn who has been failed by many staff and especially leaders in this district,\u201d said Amal Harhara, a mother who made a public comment at the board meeting. \u201cMy son was physically, verbally and mentally abused by your staff member. It was my son.\u201d<\/p>\n To make the meeting more complicated, Luqman\u2019s google doc details a staff member who encouraged students to come to the meeting to speak in favor of principal Fadlallah.<\/p>\n \u201cMy son wanted to speak to you directly today but because we have educators and community members who are coming here today to publicly dismiss, ignore or outright erase patterns of ethnic intimidation and racism, I decided to keep him safe and at home,\u201d Harhara continued.<\/p>\n Five students spoke in favor of Principal Fadlallah, allegedly at the request of a district employee. The students who spoke in favor were all leaders in the school, including Ali Barry, the Henry Ford Early College Student Council President.<\/p>\n \u201cAs your president of the early college student council, I speak today as a representative of the overall student body and bear witness to the undeniable generosity of our principal,\u201d Barry said. \u201c\u2026He not only promotes fostered ethnic diversity in our school and carries every student to their fullest potential, but he treats every student \u2013 every student \u2013 as a child of his own.\u201d<\/p>\n