The Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR) announced on Jan. 2 that it has reached an agreement with Rutgers University over three complaints regarding the university’s handling of reported discrimination against Jews, Israelis, Arabs, Muslims, and Palestinians.
In its announcement, OCR said that its investigation concluded that “the university likely operated a hostile environment based on national origin/shared ancestry in university programs or activities without redress as required under Title VI [of the Civil Rights Act] and that the university subjected some students to discriminatory different treatment.” OCR received more than 400 reports of discrimination between July 2023 and June 2024, 293 of which were against Jews and Israelis and 147 were against Arabs, Muslims and Palestinians.
Examples of reported antisemitism at the university included a social media post featuring a Jewish student’s address and encouraging violence against that student, the Bildner Center for the Study of Jewish Life being egged and allegations that Jews were not allowed at the anti-Israel encampment at the New Brunswick campus. Examples of reported anti-Palestinian and Islamophobic discrimination at the university included the Center for Islamic Life being vandalized and a Palestinian memorial, flags and flyers being removed at the law school.
Under the agreement, Rutgers will issue a statement condemning discrimination and that it will take any action to address it, provide training on the matter to employees and students, conduct a campus climate assessment and review “all students, and/or student groups, whom the university notified of potential violations of the Standards and Discipline Policy, referred for suspension, suspended, expelled, and/or referred to law enforcement to redress different treatment as necessary, and reporting results of these reviews to OCR for review and approval” over the past academic year.
“Rutgers University has committed to resolution terms that will address serious Title VI noncompliance indicated in their records regarding different treatment of students based on stereotypes about the countries students and their families come from as well as unredressed harassment of students and faculty that appear to have created a hostile environment in university campuses, inconsistent with the university’s federal civil rights obligations,” OCR Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Catherine Lhamon said in a statement. “OCR looks forward to the change that will come for Rutgers University as a result of this agreement and to ongoing work with the university to ensure its compliance.”
University spokeswoman Dory Devlin told NJ.com, “Rutgers has reached a voluntary agreement with the U.S. Department of Education Office of Civil Rights to continue to take steps to clarify, communicate, and review its policies and procedures related to discrimination and harassment, especially around national origin and shared ancestry. The Rutgers community stands firmly against discrimination and harassment in all its forms, and the university will always strive to strengthen the policies and practices that protect our students, faculty, and staff. Rutgers is grateful to the Office of Civil Rights for its guidance.”
“Rutgers must now make an unequivocal commitment to meaningful reform, which can be achieved without infringing on academic freedom and the right to assemble and protest. Jewish students, like all students, are entitled to an education free of threats and intimidation because of who they are or what they believe in.” – Rabbi David Levy
American Jewish Committee New Jersey Director Rabbi David Levy said in a statement, “By entering into this agreement, Rutgers has acknowledged Jewish students have faced a hostile learning environment across its campuses both before and since the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas massacre in Israel. The nearly 300 complaints of antisemitic and anti-Zionist vandalism, doxing, and harassment investigated by the Department of Education are abhorrent and unacceptable. Rutgers must now make an unequivocal commitment to meaningful reform, which can be achieved without infringing on academic freedom and the right to assemble and protest. Jewish students, like all students, are entitled to an education free of threats and intimidation because of who they are or what they believe in.”
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