The Campuses of the U.S. have No Place. Antisemitism, Islamophobia, or Anti-Muslims
Title VI of the Civil Rights Act prohibits any discrimination based on race, color, or national origin. If a school has federal funds, they have to comply with Title VI or lose them.
The social tensions across the U.S. have spilled onto U.S. the country’s campuses, with colleges coming under increasing pressure to curb antisemitism and Islamophobia. Federal prosecutors had charges filed against a 21-year-old Cornell University student in late October, who is accused of making threats against Jewish students.
The Department of Education had released a list of colleges under investigation for alleged incidents of antisemitism and Islamophobia.
“Hate has no place in our schools, period.,” Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said in the department’s announcement. “When students are targeted because of their race or ancestry, schools need to act to ensure safe and inclusive educational environments where everyone is free to learn.”
The Students for Justice in Palestine promoted atool kit for activist that proclaimed “glory to our resistance,” after the Hamas attack on Israel. The group has been banned or suspended by Brandeis, Columbia and George Washington University. It was the target of thundering speeches on Capitol Hill and chastised during a Republican presidential debate.
Concerns among pro-Israel groups that the network drives antisemitism on campuses often with little accountability have been fueled by the flat structure. A 2016 report from the Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies at Brandeis asserted that the presence of a chapter on a campus was “one of the strongest predictors of perceiving a hostile climate toward Israel and Jews.”
The Office for Civil Rights said in a news release the investigations were opened as part of an effort to address the rise in reports of anti-Muslim and anti-Arab discrimination.
Catherine E. Lhamon, assistant secretary of education for civil rights, said that the appearance of a school on the list does not “reflect a conclusion that the law has been violated.”
The New York Times reported on Antisemitism in the Collapse of a Jewish Student’s ‘Incident’
The conflict in New York has been very bitter. The number of hate crimes in the city tripled in October over the previous month. Antisemitic incidents more than tripled.
Pro-Palestinian students at Cooper Union banged on doors and windows of a library where Jewish students relocated after a demonstration, which became part of the national conversation about the war. There were no arrests or summonses as a result of the incident, the police said.
Ben Chang, a spokesman for Columbia, said that the university had received notification from the civil rights office and would cooperate with any investigation.
Earlier this month, Columbia announced the formation of a task force on antisemitism and a group to support individuals whose personal information has been posted online.
The University of Pennsylvania hosted a Palestinian literary conference before the war began, and faced backlash over it. Since then, the campus has been buffeted by criticisms from different sides over its response.
The N.Y.U. has decided to set up a center for the study of antisemitism. And John Beckman, a spokesman for N.Y.U., said Wednesday that the claims made in the suit were inaccurate. N.Y.U. was not listed one of the institutions the federal agency is investigating.