U.S. Education Department  finds ‘evidence’ of widespread ‘shared ancestry discrimination’ on campus 

The U.S. Department of Education has mandated changes at Rutgers University following an investigation that found the school likely “operated a hostile environment” for some students.

The department’s Office for Civil Rights “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),” its news release states.

It also states that the “evidence the university has produced during OCR’s investigation so far reflects that [it] likely operated a hostile environment.”

OCR’s investigation reviewed over 400 reports of “shared ancestry discrimination” from July 2023 to June 2024. Of these, 293 involved allegations of discrimination or harassment against students of Jewish ancestry or Israeli origin, while 147 involved similar allegations against students of Palestinian, Arab, South Asian, or Muslim ancestry.

Reports included incidents such as individuals encouraging violence against an Israeli student on social media, threatening Jewish fraternity members, barring Jewish students from entering an encampment, vandalizing the school’s “Center for Islamic Life,” doxxing students based on their ethnicity, and more.

To resolve the concerns, Rutgers must now better train campus police officers and “employees responsible for investigating complaints and other reports of discrimination,” according to the Resolution Agreement.

The school will also host “listening sessions” and develop an assessment to “evaluate the climate with respect to national origin.” Rutgers must “submit for OCR’s review and approval a description of the tools used for conducting the climate assessment,” the agreement states.

However, The Washington Free Beacon called the settlement “toothless” ​​as “the school didn’t admit wrongdoing and agreed only to underwhelming measures, such as reviewing its nondiscrimination policies.”

A university spokesperson told the Free Beacon that the school “reached a voluntary agreement with the U.S. Department of Education Office of Civil Rights to continue to take steps to clarify, communicate, and review its policies and procedures related to discrimination and harassment, especially around national origin.”

“The Rutgers community stands firmly against discrimination and harassment in all its forms, and the university will always strive to strengthen the policies and practices that protect our students, faculty, and staff. Rutgers is grateful to the Office of Civil Rights for its guidance,” the spokesperson said.

Last month, Rutgers faculty unions approved a resolution to divest from what they claim is “genocide in Palestine,” The College Fix previously reported.

The joint resolution, which was approved by the main faculty union and the one representing adjuncts, called on the school to adopt a boycott, divestment, and sanctions movement against Israel.

MORE: Rutgers RAs walk out of trainings, allege ‘anti-Palestinian racism’

IMAGE: Colin Rugg/X

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