20 | MAY 18 • 2023 

T

here has been much fallout in the 
two months that have followed 
a contentious diversity, equity 
and inclusion assembly on March 14 at 
Bloomfield Hills High School. 
Outspoken Palestinian-American 
Huwaida Arraf, who was given audience to 
the entire student body, went off the topic 
about personally facing discrimination in 
high school and instead used the platform 
to spread what Jewish students felt were 
distortions about Israel and events in Gaza 
during the Second Intifada. 
On a recent episode of commentator 
Peter Beinart’s Occupied Thoughts podcast, 
Arraf admitted she doesn’t remember much 
discrimination she personally faced in 
American high school. She said, however, 
“freedom is not available to any Palestinians 
living within [Israel’s] 1948 borders — where 
they are treated like second-, third- or 
fourth-class citizens — or under Israeli 
military occupation in the West Bank or 
Gaza.
”
She said on the podcast that she told 

the student organizers of the assembly 
beforehand that she had not experienced 
much discrimination in high school, “but 
I can certainly talk about my experience 
with racism and discrimination in my work 
campaigning for Palestinian rights.
” She 
claimed the students who planned the event 
said a shift in topic would be “perfect.
” 
Since the assembly occurred, students of 
both Jewish and Muslim backgrounds have 
alleged that they have faced new incidents 
of hate and discrimination, which are under 
investigation by the district. 
At a heated March 20 Board of 
Education meeting, parents of all ethnic 
and religious backgrounds said they felt 
the administration had failed by allowing a 
divisive atmosphere to exist at the school. 
There were also unresolved issues of anti-
Black tension at the school. 
On March 24, the district announced 
that Bloomfield Hills High School Principal 
Lawrence Stroughter was put on leave. He 
resigned on April 27. Superintendent Pat 
Watson on April 18 also announced his 

resignation effective July 31 after being with 
the district since December 2019. 

A ‘HEALING’ PLAN
Since the March 20 meeting, the Board 
of Education released a vague timeline 
of action items to further investigate 
the assembly and the allegations of hate 
incidents occurring afterward. It said it 
would put into place “healing and restorative 
practices” for students and faculty. 
Released by the district on April 15, it 
outlined several phases of investigation 
and action. During March, the first phase 
of the plan, the memo stated: “The district 
responded, investigated and addressed all 
reports of hate post-assembly. The [high 
school] administration met with students 
affiliated with the Muslim Student Alliance 
and the Jewish Student Alliance and offered 
and prioritized restorative conversations in 
the form of listening circles, small group 
discussions, and one-on-one meetings 
facilitated with administrators, counselors 
and social workers.
” 

OUR COMMUNITY

Fallout continues at Bloomfield Hills High School 
in wake of anti-Israel speaker.
Assembly Aftermath

STACY GITTLEMAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

SHARI COHEN

Bloomfield Hills 
High School

continued on page 22

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