A California college agreed to sweeping changes on Wednesday as part of a settlement agreement reached in response to a civil rights complaint alleging widespread antisemitism on campus.
In the first Title VI settlement since President-elect Donald Trump’s electoral victory, Occidental College agreed to some of the most drastic changes any school has agreed to after being investigated for fostering antisemitism on campus.
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“This agreement demonstrates Occidental College’s commitment to counter all forms of contemporary antisemitism and underscores their recognition that effectively combatting antisemitism requires understanding the relationship between Jewish identity, Israel, and Zionism,” President of the Brandeis Center Alyza D. Lewin said.
The complaint alleged that Jewish students at the liberal arts college encountered a “pervasive and hostile environment” that included severe antisemitic bullying, intimidation and physical threats in the wake of Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023 terrorist attack on Israel.
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Trump has vowed to remove federal funding and accreditation from schools found to be fostering campus antisemitism. Frederick M. Hess, senior fellow and director of education policy studies for American Enterprise Institute, told the Washington Examiner that Trump will likely put enormous pressure on schools being investigated over such claims to settle during his second administration.
Following the Oct. 7 attack, physical assaults against Jewish students increased by 2500% while violent threats increased by 900%. The rise in campus antisemitism led to countless civil rights lawsuits and complaints being filed, and well over 100 investigations from the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights. California had the most investigations into its schools.
The California college agreed to update its Discrimination, Harassment, and Retaliation Policy to include examples of prohibited conduct related to shared ancestry, such as Jewish identity. It also agreed to consider the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism in reviewing complaints and incorporate it into educational materials.
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The school will require training on Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 for all students, update the school’s time place, and manner policies to place “reasonable limitations” on campus demonstrations, and administer two surveys on the campus climate to get a gauge of how many people experienced antisemitic harassment.
Civil rights employees will receive new training, which will specifically state that “posting a threatening statement about Zionists on a Jewish or Israeli student’s door” and “applying a ‘no Zionist’ litmus test for participation in any Occidental activity” are off-limits.
An associate director of Jewish student life will be appointed, while a presidential advisory group will be established. This group will create a report during the 2024-2025 academic year, which will provide recommendations for specific programs. The school will also offer additional training on the “historical antecedents and modern manifestations of antisemitism and the connections between Jewish identity, Israel and Zionism.”
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“We are gratified by the school’s engagement in meaningful discussions at the highest levels of the administration, and we are heartened that Occidental has committed to creating a safer environment for Jewish students,” Lewin said. “When implemented, this agreement will help ensure that Jewish students are able to learn and thrive in an environment free from anti-Semitic hate, discrimination, and harassment.”
The Washington Examiner reached out to Occidental College for comment.
This article was originally published at www.washingtonexaminer.com
