The U.S. Department of Education said Friday it reached an agreement with the University of California system to resolve complaints from Jewish and Muslim students about discrimination and harassment. protests last spring Because of the war in Gaza.
The department’s Office for Civil Rights said it investigated nine complaints against schools at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Santa Barbara, San Diego, Davis and Santa Cruz. Complaints alleged that schools did not respond effectively to anti-Semitic and anti-Arab bullying.
The civil rights office concluded that the universities “appear not to have responded promptly or effectively” to allegations of discrimination and harassment reported to the administration.
Under the agreement, schools must increase reporting of complaints to the OCR office and review all complaints and reports of bullying over the past two school years to determine if further action is needed. The agreement calls for more training for university employees and campus police about their obligations under federal law.
The University of California system said the agreement is one of several steps it is taking to make its campuses more respectful and welcoming to all.
“Ensuring an inclusive university environment requires sustained attention and action,” the system said in a written statement.
Colleges and universities across the nation saw tension and sometimes violence explode on campuses After the start of the Israel-Hamas war, campus rallies and widespread allegations of anti-Semitism and anti-Arab harassment.
The Department of Education has investigated eleven complaints from campuses VI. Because they violated the title, which prohibits discrimination or harassment based on race, color, or national origin at federally funded colleges and universities. Examples of harassment, according to the department’s website, can include insults, taunts, stereotyping, name-calling and racially motivated attacks or hateful behavior.
The department came to a similar conclusion Agreement with Brown University in July
Another investigation found that the University of Cincinnati failed to adequately respond to reports of harassment, the Office for Civil Rights said Friday. Examples of about two dozen complaints include a Palestinian student who reported receiving death threats that the university did not investigate, and an anonymous complaint that a Jewish student’s home was covered in eggs and smeared with feces.
The University of Cincinnati said in a statement that it will review its policies and previously filed complaints and take steps to “practically improve efforts to prevent discrimination and harassment.” The university said it investigated the complaint of vandalism at the Jewish student’s home, which was made directly to the federal office, but found no news or evidence of the incident.
from UCLA handling to disperse his camp received widespread criticism in the spring. Chaos erupted after hundreds of protesters defied orders from campus police to leave the camp. One night, counter-protesters attacked the pro-Palestinian camp, throwing traffic cones and throwing pepper spray, and continued fighting for several hours before the police moved in.
The investigation into UCLA stemmed in part from compliance concerns related to about 150 reports the school received about rallies in October and November 2023 and about 150 reports related to a pro-Palestinian camp in the spring, the department said.
“Reports of violence against students of Jewish origin … and a violent attack by counter-demonstrators on pro-Palestinian demonstrators” at the camp were “particularly troubling,” the department said.
During the rallies, the demonstrators chanted “death to Israel” and “no peace till death”, the department said. At the camp, protesters maintained checkpoints that kept Jewish students out of the protest area and parts of the campus, and the school’s chancellor issued a statement saying that Jewish students on campus felt, among other things, “a state of anxiety and fear.”
Muslim and Palestinian students experienced “unwanted filming, doxing and tracking” on or near the UCLA campus, the department said. A task force report cited by the department said that counter-protesters were shouting at people inside the camp, saying things like “you’re a jihadist” and “you’re a terrorist”.
Four other UC campuses also had “widespread incidents” of alleged harassment against students, the civil rights office said. Anti-Semitic vandalism was reported to UC Santa Barbara in a classroom and signs placed in a student center named after Jewish students; UC San Diego and UC Davis also received complaints about students who experienced or witnessed anti-Semitic comments or actions from students and faculty.
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