Source: Los Angeles Daily News
On June 7, 2003 Los Angeles Daily News reported that "when Yara Mikhaeil and Vida Chitsazzadeh met two years ago in an honors biology class at Canoga Park High School, the teenagers viewed each other as academic rivals. Vida, a Muslim who had just emigrated from Iran, sat down next to Yara, a Christian who had come from Egypt three months earlier. Neither spoke much English, and each was struggling to adjust to a new life in America. Today, the two graduating seniors have not only transcended their academic rivalry and religious differences but have become best friends... They have introduced themselves to each other's families and found that despite their religious differences, their families have a lot in common."