The Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights concluded its probe of the University of Michigan and the City University of New York on Monday, finding that both schools failed to meet their legal obligations to protect Jewish students from harassment and discrimination.
In one of the cases, reports of pro-Hamas protestors calling for “Nazi liberation” on the Ann Arbor campus were shrugged off. Instead of seriously addressing this disturbing call for the murder of Jewish students, administrators simply forwarded the case along to the university’s public affairs office in order to prepare for potential media backlash.
In another situation, a Jewish student viewed the Instagram story of a pro-Hamas teaching assistant member. When the instructor noticed this, he attempted to publicly shame the student in a follow-up post.
“OCR found no evidence that the university complied with its Title VI requirements to assess whether incidents individually or cumulatively created a hostile environment for students, faculty, or staff, and if so, to take steps reasonably calculated to end the hostile environment, remedy its effects, and prevent its recurrence,” the office said in reference to the 75 complaints it reviewed regarding incidents at the University of Michigan.
One of the most egregious situations that took place at the City University of New York involved leftist students and faculty members working together to silence the voices of Jewish and pro-Israel students. Those who agreed with the professor’s pro-Hamas positions were allegedly allowed to participate in classroom conversations, while those who objected were told to “listen and not talk.”
Both UMich and CUNY have agreed to review their policies and procedures, provide staff training, and reopen dismissed cases, especially those that included calls for violence, in order to handle them properly.
Young America’s Foundation has been at the forefront of countering the pro-Hamas campus movement and standing up for Jewish students. In addition to equipping and inspiring students to set up Israeli flag displays on some of the most hostile campuses in the country, YAF has filed civil rights complaints and taken legal action against schools that fail to live up to their duties.
