University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign settles federal civil rights complaint

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has agreed to comply with federal civil rights laws following a U.S. Department of Education investigation into antisemitic and anti-Muslim discrimination complaints at the school, the federal department announced Tuesday.

The Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights investigated 139 incidents reported at the school between 2015 and 2023, of which 135 were anti-Jewish discrimination complaints and the others were allegations of anti-Muslim, anti-Palestinian and anti-Arab discrimination, the department said.

Allegations included reports of swastikas drawn throughout campus, a brick thrown through a Jewish fraternity’s window, and a university employee posting, “I won’t tolerate Islam,” on social media, the department said. Another employee allegedly hit a pro-Palestinian student who was protesting the war in Gaza.

The investigation concluded that the university did not meet federal obligations to assess whether a hostile environment was created for students, faculty or staff related to any of the complaints.

It also found that the university “lacked coordination and inconsistently applied university policies and procedures, leading to potential gaps in the university’s ability to address a hostile environment on the basis of national origin discrimination,” the Education Department said.

The university agreed to review its nondiscrimination and protest policies, as well as provide training to university law enforcement and staff on national origin discrimination and how to address discrimination complaints.

The university will also review complaints from last year and the current school year to determine any remedial action needed.