Dept of Ed launches federal investigation into both anti-Semitism and Islamophobia on campus
The U.S. Department of Education has initiated investigations into five universities for reported incidents of anti-Semitism and two for reported incidents of Islamophobia.
The U.S. Department of Education has initiated investigations into five schools for reported incidents of anti-Semitism and two for reported incidents of Islamophobia. This scrutiny is part of a broader national inquiry, probing whether these institutions have failed to uphold a non-discriminatory educational environment as mandated by Title VI of the Civil Rights Act.
The investigations announced Thursday include Lafayette College, Cornell University, Columbia University, Wellesley College, University of Pennsylvania, The Cooper Union, and Kansas’ Maize Unified School District.
Notable incidents that have sparked this federal inquiry include the locking of Jewish students in a library at Cooper Union during a pro-Palestinian demonstration, and Columbia University’s suspension of two student groups after an unauthorized event that included “threatening rhetoric and intimidation” against Jews.
Jewish students at Cooper Union are in the library as protestors pound on the door.
Listen with sound on. pic.twitter.com/pwYRo5KA9X— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) October 25, 2023
“When students are targeted because they are — or are perceived to be — Jewish, Muslim, Arab, Sikh or any other ethnicity or shared ancestry, schools must act to ensure safe and inclusive educational environments where everyone is free to learn,” Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said Thursday. “These investigations underscore how seriously the Biden-Harris Administration, including the U.S. Department of Education, takes our responsibility to protect students from hatred and discrimination.”