New race and ethnicity options coming to Nevada government forms

April is Arab-American Heritage Month, and it comes with welcome news for the valley's rapidly growing Middle Eastern and North African community.

The federal government recently announced it'll have its own category on the next census.

Channel 13's Anjali Patel spoke with people in the community, including some at the University of Nevada Las Vegas, about what this change means to them.

In college, everyone is looking for a sense of belonging.

Loren Alkhazzouz found it in the Empowered Arab Sisterhood. The sorority at UNLV is a home away from home for these young women who feel the world hasn't always acknowledged their existence.

"It was really a big drastic change going from a place where everybody was like me and then moving here," she said.

Born in Jordan, Alkhazouz had to fill out a lot of paperwork when she moved to the states. A lot of times it involved putting herself in a box she didn't fit in.

"When I was first moved here when I was 16 in high school, people would just be like, 'You can just put Asian, you can put white, you can pick.' That's not really something I can pick. I want something of my own. I want something to say, 'OK, you are something,and you count for something,'" she said.

It's a feeling shared by her Jerusalem-born sorority sister Mayra Bandek.

"Even sometimes, I felt like putting 'other' if it was available because I didn't even feel comfortable putting white or Asian," she said.

That's why they're thrilled to learn that for the first time, the next census will have a category for people who self-identify as Middle Eastern or North African.

Nevada Assemblywoman Brittney Miller said collecting more specific data could make a real difference.

"It is long overdue. We look at our school district, we look at our communities and and like every community, this data is what pulls in the resources and programs for education, healthcare, housing, employment, even FAFSA for students all are based on numbers," Miller said.

Half-Black and half-Lebanese, she's led a push to gather more granular data at the state level. This January, a new law goes into effect requiring all Nevada government forms that collect data on race and ethnicity to include a Middle Eastern and North African questions.

"Emotionally, what did it feel like to see Gov. Lombardo sign that bill last year?" Patel asked.

"Not just for me, but for many people in the community, friends and family, it was very validating," Miller said. "It was beautiful, and it felt very nice to be recognized and acknowledged. It's the idea of value when someone properly sees you."

For the Empowered Arab Sisterhood, these changes at both the state and federal level mean recognition of the identity they're so proud of and that their existence in American will be as unquestionable as their presence on campus.

"It feels like I actually belong somewhere. There's a place for me too, not just for everybody else,"