Stanford issues apology for past discrimination of Jewish students

Stanford University issued an apology after a recovered 1953 memo showed the school discriminated against Jewish students. 

The memo reportedly expressed concern about the number of Jewish students admitted to the California school. 

President Marc Tessier-Lavigne issued an apology on Oct. 12, stating:

“On behalf of Stanford University I wish to apologize to the Jewish community, and to our entire university community, both for the actions documented in this report to suppress the admission of Jewish students in the 1950s and for the university’s denials of those actions in the period that followed. These actions were wrong. They were damaging. And they were unacknowledged for too long. Today, we must work to do better, not only to atone for the wrongs of the past, but to ensure the supportive and bias-free experience for members of our Jewish community that we seek for all members of our Stanford community.”

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The memo indicated Stanford identified Los Angeles high schools which were “95 to 98% Jewish.” Enrollment from two high schools with a high Jewish population decreased following the memo, The Advisory Task Force On The History Of Jewish Admissions And Experience At Stanford University found in its September report.

“If we accept a few Jewish applicants from these schools, the following year we get a flood of Jewish applications,” the memo read. 

The memo also raised concern about admission data showing “that more than one quarter of the applications from men are from Jewish boys” and recommended “disregard[ing] [Stanford’s] stated policy of paying no attention to the race or religion of applicants.”

The task force was created “to explore assertions…that [Stanford] used admissions quotas to limit the number of Jewish students admitted to the university in the 1950s and to recommend steps for enhancing Jewish life on campus,” according to SU’s website.  

The task force is composed of “faculty, staff, trustees, alumni and students” and began their work in January of 2022.

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In addition to an apology, the task force recommended “a comprehensive, thorough, and systematic study of Stanford’s Jewish community” to analyze the campus climate.

The university intends to establish a Jewish advisory committee and will include anti-Semitism as a category in its anti-bias trainings. It will also consider Jewish holidays when issuing academic calendars.

Additional measures include providing housing and dining accommodations for Jewish students and working to “clarify” the university’s relationship with Hillel. 

The findings of the task force’s report were presented during a livestream event titled “The History of Jewish Admissions and Experience at Stanford University” on Oct. 13.

Campus Reform contacted Stanford University, the task force, and Tessier-Lavigne for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.