U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) Versus Rutgers University

One of the reasons I’m publishing this press info from OCR is because subject manner resonates in ways that reflects what’s happening at Hunter College of City University of New York where I am a tenured assistant journalism professor.

I haven’t forgotten what it was like dealing with the racist acrimony and quagmire in Rutgers School of Communication and Information (SCILS) where the old Department of Journalism and Media Studies was located.

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) today announced the resolution of three complaints against Rutgers University that had alleged discrimination on the basis of national origin, including shared ancestry, throughout the university’s four Chancellor-Led Units (CLUs): New Brunswick, Newark (including Rutgers Law School), Camden, and Rutgers Biomedical Health Sciences (RBHS), since October 2023.

During investigation, OCR identified Title VI compliance concerns regarding both different treatment of students based on their shared ancestry as well as the university’s response to reports of alleged harassment and possible hostile environments for students based on students’ national origin (including shared Jewish, Israeli, Palestinian, Arab, Muslim, and/or South Asian ancestry and/or association with these national origins/shared ancestries).

The evidence the university has produced during OCR’s investigation so far reflects 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 and that the university subjected some students to discriminatory different treatment based on national origin, including shared ancestry, actual or perceived national origin/ethnicity, and/or association with certain national origins/shared ancestries.

OCR’s investigation included review of information about more than 400 reports the university received alleging shared ancestry discrimination between July 2023 and June 2024. Of those reports 293 alleged discrimination, including harassment, against students on the basis of shared Jewish ancestry and/or Israeli national origin and ancestry, and 147 reports alleged discrimination, including harassment, against students on the basis of shared Palestinian, Arab, South Asian, and/or Muslim ancestry.

These reports included:

A report that a student posted on social media, encouraging violence against an Israeli student, identifying where the Israeli student lived.
A report about vandalism to a student’s dorm room door that included a drawing of a swastika and defacement of a mezuzah.
Reported threats against members of a Jewish fraternity, because they are Jewish.
Reports regarding protest chants on campus that made Jewish students feel unsafe, including, “Say it loud, say it clear, we don’t want Zionists here.”
Reports alleging that Jewish students were prohibited from entering an encampment at the New Brunswick CLU, in April 2024.
Reported egging of the Bildner Center for Jewish Studies.
Reports regarding vandalism to the university’s Center for Islamic Life.
Reports regarding the removal of a Palestinian memorial, flyers, posters, and flags placed around the university’s Law School (Newark CLU), while the university record documents it did not remove flyers, posters, flags, and other items placed on campus by other students unrelated to pro-Palestinian activities since October 2023.
Reports regarding doxxing of students based on their actual or perceived national origin/ethnicity (including shared Palestinian, Arab, South Asian, and/or Muslim ancestry), or their association with this national origin/ethnicity.

To resolve the Title VI compliance concerns that OCR identified to date, the university has committed to:

Reviewing its policies and procedures that would affect the provisions and enforcement of Title VI to ensure that they adequately address the Title VI prohibition on discrimination based on race, color, and national origin, including discrimination based on a student’s actual or perceived shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics.
Issuing a statement to all university students and employees that the university does not tolerate acts of discrimination, including harassment, on the basis of national origin, including shared ancestry and ethnic characteristics (including shared Jewish, Israeli, Palestinian, Arab, Muslim, and/or South Asian ancestry and/or the association with these national origins/ancestries), and that the university will take all necessary actions, to address and ameliorate such discrimination.
Reviewing complaints and reports alleging discrimination, including harassment, on the basis of national origin, including shared Jewish, Israeli, Palestinian, Arab, Muslim, and/or South Asian ancestry, or association with these national origins/ancestries, to determine if further action is needed to provide an equitable resolution of each reported incident for academic years 2023-2024 and 2024-2025.
Reviewing, for academic year 2023-2024, 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.
Providing training to employees responsible for investigating complaints and other reports of discrimination, including harassment, based on national origin/shared ancestry or association with the national origin/shared ancestry, to ensure thorough and impartial investigations, including that the investigators know how to identify relevant witnesses to interview and how to conduct interviews about such harassment.
Providing annual training for Campus Police Officers who will respond to and/or investigate incidents at the university on the university’s nondiscrimination obligations under Title VI, how to work with the university’s students in a manner consistent with the requirements of Title VI addressed in this agreement, and how to ensure accurate collection and reporting of data or information, including complaints, regarding public safety officer-student interactions.
Providing training to employees responsible for investigating complaints and other reports of discrimination, including harassment, based on national origin/shared ancestry or association with the national origin/shared ancestry, to ensure thorough and impartial investigations, including that the investigators know how to identify relevant witnesses to interview and how to conduct interviews about such harassment and whether it created a hostile educational environment.
Providing training to all employees and students addressing the university’s prohibition of discrimination based on race, color, and national origin, including harassment based on shared ancestry and ethnic characteristics.
Conducting listening sessions between relevant university administrators and representatives from relevant affinity groups to identify any needed additional university responses.
Developing and administering a climate assessment to students and employees in the university to evaluate the climate with respect to national origin, including shared Jewish, Israeli, Palestinian, Arab, Muslim, and/or South Asian ancestry, or association with these national origins/ancestries, and sharing with OCR for review and approval any university responses.

“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,” said Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Catherine E. Lhamon. “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.”

The resolution letter and resolution agreement are available on the Office for Civil Rights website.