Hebba Aref, one of the two women asked to change seats at a 2008 Obama rally because she was wearing a hijab and former board member for the Muslim Students' Association (MSA) at UM- Dearborn, is now advocating security over privacy and profiling for air travel checks.

Aref, who has been an advocate of privacy rights and an opponent of profiling in the past, was one of the passengers aboard Northwest flight 253 when a Nigerian man, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, attempted to detonate explosives he had smuggled aboard the flight in his underwear.. She says the experience caused her to change her beliefs about what is necessary to keep passengers safe.

In an interview Aref said that she now "acknowledges the fact that there has to be attention paid to Muslims." Aref also hopes that in the future "body scans will be mandatory." She explained that "balanced against national security, it's worth the invasion of privacy."