Palestinian students' complaint against Columbia sparks DOE civil rights investigation
The U.S. Education Department is opening a civil rights investigation into Columbia University after Palestinian students and their allies filed a complaint last month alleging discrimination in violation of federal law.
The U.S. Education Department is opening a civil rights investigation into Columbia University after Palestinian students and their allies filed a complaint last month alleging discrimination in violation of federal law.
Palestine Legal, a Chicago-based advocacy group representing four students and the Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine, received notice Thursday from the agency's Office for Civil Rights that an investigation would commence based on whether the university is adhering to Title VI regulations that prohibit discrimination based on race, color or national origin and retaliated against students based on those factors.
The students initially complained about being targeted by school administrators with "extreme anti-Palestinian, anti-Arab, and Islamophobic harassment" after speaking out and protesting against Israel's war in Gaza that began in October. The students say they have received death threats, subjected to doxxing or harassed for wearing hijabs or keffiyehs, while "high-ranking administrators," including university President Minouche Shafik, have failed to respond promptly and end intimidation on campus.
"Instead, Columbia has reinforced the hostile anti-Palestinian environment, including by suspending Students for Justice in Palestine — a student organization that advocates for Palestinian human rights — for engaging in speech activity supporting Palestinian rights, and by repeatedly engaging in different treatment of Palestinian students and their allies," Palestine Legal wrote in its complaint to Education Secretary Miguel Cardona.
The Education Department says schools that intentionally violate Title VI can be forced to create certain policy requirements as a remedy or face penalties that affect federal funding. The department may also help mediate an agreement between parties.
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