UCLA, other campuses resolve Gaza protest discrimination complaints from Jewish, Muslim students

2 days ago

By JOCELYN GECKER

The U.S. Department of Education said Friday it has reached an agreement with the University of California system resolving complaints from Jewish and Muslim students of discrimination and harassment during protests last spring over the war in Gaza.

The department’s Office for Civil Rights said it investigated nine complaints against University of California schools in Los Angeles (UCLA), Santa Barbara, San Diego, Davis and Santa Cruz. The complaints alleged the schools failed to respond effectively to antisemitic and anti-Arab harassment.

The civil rights office concluded the universities “appear not to have responded promptly or effectively” to allegations of discrimination and harassment that were brought to the administrations’ attention.

Under the agreement, the schools must step up reporting of complaints to the OCR office and review all complaints and reports of harassment from the past two academic years to determine if further action is needed. The agreement also calls for more training of university employees and campus police officers about their obligations under federal law.

A pro-Palestinian protester is beaten by counter-protesters during violent clashes at the protest encampment on the UCLA campus in Los Angeles early Wednesday morning, May 1, 2024. Administrators called in law enforcement officers after violent clashes broke out, a university official said early Wednesday. (Mark Abramson/The New York Times)

Demonstrators clash at an encampment at UCLA early Wednesday, May 1, 2024, in Los Angeles. Dueling groups of protesters have clashed at the University of California, Los Angeles, grappling in fistfights and shoving, kicking and using sticks to beat one another. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

A person with a stick is seen after counter-protesters attacked the pro-Palestinian encampment early Wednesday, May 1, 2024, at UCLA. (Photo by Emily Holshouser/Southern California News Group)

A person is carried away at a pro-Palestinian encampment at UCLA late Tuesday, April 30, 2024, in Los Angeles. Dueling groups of protesters clashed at the University of California, Los Angeles, grappling in fistfights and shoving, kicking and using sticks to beat one another. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

A bloodied pro-Palestinian protester is given aid after he was beated by counter-protesters at the protest encampment on the UCLA campus in Los Angeles early Wednesday morning, May 1, 2024. Administrators called in law enforcement officers after violent clashes broke out, a university official said early Wednesday. (Mark Abramson/The New York Times)

A crowd control barrier is hurled during a violent clash between pro-Palestinian protesters and counter-protesters on the UCLA campus in Los Angeles early Wednesday morning, May 1, 2024. Administrators called in law enforcement officers after violent clashes broke out, a university official said early Wednesday. (Mark Abramson/The New York Times)

A person is carried away as counter-demonstrators confront a pro-Palestinian encampment at UCLA Tuesday, April 30, 2024, in Los Angeles. Violence erupted as protests sweep across college campuses in America. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

Demonstrators clash at an encampment at UCLA late Tuesday, April 30, 2024, in Los Angeles. Dueling groups of protesters have clashed at the University of California, Los Angeles, grappling in fistfights and shoving, kicking and using sticks to beat one another. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

Demonstrators clash at a pro-Palestinian encampment at UCLA early Wednesday, May 1, 2024, in Los Angeles. Dueling groups of protesters have clashed at the University of California, Los Angeles, grappling in fistfights and shoving, kicking and using sticks to beat one another. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

Police push back as demonstrators a pro-Palestinian encampment at UCLA late Tuesday, April 30, 2024, in Los Angeles. Dueling groups of protesters have clashed at the University of California, Los Angeles, grappling in fistfights and shoving, kicking and using sticks to beat one another. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

Police move in at a pro-Palestinian encampment at UCLA early Wednesday, May 1, 2024, in Los Angeles. Dueling groups of protesters have clashed at the University of California, Los Angeles, grappling in fistfights and shoving, kicking and using sticks to beat one another. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

Hundreds of students outside the Palestine Solidarity Encampment on the campus of UCLA in Los Angeles on Wednesday May 1, 2024.
(Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/ SCNG)

A man with a flag from the state of Israel waves in a crowd outside of the Palestine Solidarity Encampment on the campus of UCLA in Los Angeles on Wednesday May 1, 2024. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/ SCNG)

Los Angeles, – May 01:

Los Angeles, CA – May 01: Students march to the opposite side of the Palestine Solidarity Encampment on the campus of UCLA in Los Angeles on Wednesday May 1, 2024. (Photo by Keith Birmingham/MediaNews Group/Pasadena Star-News via Getty Images)

Los Angeles, CA – May 01: A man dances around with a flag from the state of Israel, as people surround him outside, the Palestine Solidarity Encampment on the campus of UCLA in Los Angeles on Wednesday May 1, 2024. (Photo by Keith Birmingham/MediaNews Group/Pasadena Star-News via Getty Images)

Los Angeles, CA – May 01: Hundreds of students outside the Palestine Solidarity Encampment on the campus of UCLA in Los Angeles on Wednesday May 1, 2024. .. (Photo by Keith Birmingham/MediaNews Group/Pasadena Star-News via Getty Images)

Protestors gather outside the Pro-Palestinian encampment on the campus of UCLA in Los Angeles on Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/ SCNG)

Hundreds of students outside the Palestine Solidarity Encampment on the campus of UCLA in Los Angeles on Wednesday May 1, 2024.
(Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/ SCNG)

Los Angeles, CA – May 01: Protestors gather outside the Pro-Palestinian encampment on the campus of UCLA in Los Angeles on Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (Photo by Keith Birmingham/MediaNews Group/Pasadena Star-News via Getty Images)

Police enter an encampment set up by pro-Palestinian demonstrators on the UCLA campus Thursday, May 2, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Police line up at an encampment set up by pro-Palestinian demonstrators on the UCLA campus Thursday, May 2, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Police advance on pro-Palestinian demonstrators on the UCLA campus Thursday, May 2, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

Demonstrators clash with police on the UCLA campus, Thursday, May 2, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)

Crews clean up the encampment occupied by Palestinian supporters at UCLA on Thursday, May 2, 2024. At around 3:30am law enforcement began arresting the supporters who had been camped out on the quad in front of Royce Hall for about a week. 132 occupiers were taken into custody and clean-up of the area began immediately. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

A “Free Palestine” banner still hangs on a barricade at UCLA on Thursday, May 2, 2024. At around 3:30am law enforcement began arresting the supporters who had been camped out on the quad in front of Royce Hall for about a week. 132 occupiers were taken into custody and clean-up of the area began immediately. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators gather at LAPD’s Van Nuys station after protesters and media were arrested during an early morning protest at UCLA on Monday, May 6, 2024. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

FILE – Police advance on demonstrators on the UCLA campus May 2, 2024, in Los Angeles. As pro-Palestinian protests escalate on college campuses around the country, critics of President Joe Biden’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war suggest this summer’s Democratic National Convention could be marred by protests and scenes of chaos that undermine his reelection. It raises the specter of a replay of 1968’s Democratic convention in Chicago, where a violent police crackdown created indelible scenes of chaos. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope, File)

Students, faculty and union members protest at UCLA on Thursday, May 23. Photo: Clara Harter, SCNG

Pro Palestinian protesters are pushed back by police on the campus of UCLA in Los Angeles on Thursday, May 23, 2024. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

Pro Palestinian protesters rally on the campus of UCLA in Los Angeles on Thursday, May 23, 2024. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

A security office pushes pro Palestinian protesters back on the campus of UCLA in Los Angeles on Thursday, May 23, 2024. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

Police monitor pro Palestinian protesters during a rally on the campus of UCLA in Los Angeles on Thursday, May 23, 2024. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

Pro Palestinian protesters rally on the campus of UCLA in Los Angeles on Thursday, May 23, 2024. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

Unionized academic workers at UCLA stage a rally on the school’s campus on Tuesday, May 28, 2024 in Los Angeles. The workers are upset about the University of California’s response to pro-Palestinian protests on campuses and are holding walkouts in response. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

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The University of California system said the agreement is one of several steps it is taking to ensure its campuses are respectful and welcoming to all.

“Ensuring an inclusive University environment requires sustained focus and action,” the system said in a written statement.

Colleges and universities nationwide saw tension and at times violence erupt on campuses after the onset of the Israel-Hamas war, with dueling campus rallies and widespread allegations of antisemitism and anti-Arab harassment.

The Department of Education has been investigating dozens of complaints that campuses violated Title VI, which bars discrimination or harassment on the basis of race, color and national origin at colleges and universities that receive federal funding. The department reached a similar agreement with Brown University in July.

Examples of harassment can include slurs, taunts, stereotypes, name-calling and racially motivated attacks or hateful conduct, according to the department’s website.

UCLA’s handling of dispersing its encampment in the spring drew widespread criticism. Chaos erupted after hundreds of protesters defied orders from campus police to leave the encampment. One night, counter-protesters attacked the pro-Palestinian encampment, throwing traffic cones and firing pepper spray, with fighting that continued for hours before police stepped in.

The investigation into UCLA stemmed partly from concerns of compliance related to about 150 reports the school received about rallies in October and November 2023 as well as a pro-Palestinian encampment in the spring, the department said.

“Of particular concern were reports of violence against students of Jewish ancestry … and of a violent assault by counter-protesters on pro-Palestinian protesters” at the encampment, the department said.

At rallies, protesters chanted “death to Israel” and “no peace until they’re dead,” the department said. At the encampment, protesters maintained checkpoints that excluded Jewish students from the protest area and parts of the campus, prompting the school’s chancellor to issue a statement saying Jewish students on campus, among others, felt “a state of anxiety and fear.”

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Muslim and Palestinian students experienced “unwanted filming, doxing, and being followed” on or near the UCLA campus, the department said. A task force report cited by the department said counter-protesters heckled people inside the encampment, saying things like, “you’re a jihadist,” and “you’re a terrorist.”

The four other UC campuses also had “widely reported incidents” of alleged harassment against students, the civil rights office said. UC Santa Barbara was notified of antisemitic vandalism at a dorm and signs posted at a student center that targeted Jewish students by name; UC San Diego and UC Davis also received complaints about students experiencing or witnessing antisemitic comments or actions by students and professors.

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