NEW YORK — New York University recently reached a settlement with three Jewish students who accused the educational institution of failing to properly enforce its anti-discrimination policies amidst reports of antisemitic incidents on campus. This settlement, which agreed on July 8 for an undisclosed sum, concludes a lawsuit initiated in November 2023 by students Bella Ingber, Sabrina Maslavi, and Saul Tawil.
The legal action spotlighted the university’s handling of discriminatory and harassing behavior directed at Jewish students, centering on antisemitic slurs and provocative chants that surfaced following the outbreak of conflict between Israel and Hamas in October. Among the offensive expressions reported were “gas the Jews” and affirmations that “Hitler was right.”
As part of the resolution, NYU has committed to strengthening its response to allegations of discrimination. A key element of the agreement is the creation of a new Title VI coordinator role tasked with ensuring consistent and adequate responses to such allegations across all protected traits. This role will also include the responsibility of producing an annual report evaluating the university’s actions concerning instances of discrimination and harassment reported since 2018.
The lawsuit’s resolution at NYU coincided with a similar development at Brown University, which also entered into a resolution agreement with the U.S. Department of Education. The agreement ensures Brown’s compliance with Title VI as it relates to its own challenges with allegations of harassment based on national origin, inclusive of Jewish, Palestinian, Arab, and/or Muslim students.
Furthermore, the issue of campus antisemitism is not isolated to these institutions. Other prominent universities like Carnegie-Mellon, Columbia, Harvard, UCLA, MIT, UC Berkeley, and the University of Pennsylvania are similarly navigating lawsuits concerning alleged discrimination and harassment.
In parallel legal actions linked to campus politics and Middle East conflicts, the University of Florida is facing a lawsuit from the pro-Palestinian group, Students for Justice in Palestine. The lawsuit challenges Governor Ron DeSantis’ directive to deactivate chapters of the organization within the state’s university system, arguing that it infringes on their First Amendment rights. The university system’s Chancellor, Ray Rodrigues, has countered this claim by accusing the group of providing “material support” to Hamas, a designated terrorist organization by many international bodies.
These series of events underscore a complex web of legal, social, and political challenges facing universities across the nation as they balance commitments to free speech and anti-discrimination. Schools are increasingly finding themselves at the intersection of national policy debates and charged international issues, prompting them to examine and reinforce their policies to better safeguard their students against all forms of bigotry and ensure compliance with federal anti-discrimination laws. This evolving scenario reflects the ongoing struggle within American higher education to foster environments that simultaneously embrace free expression and protect individuals from harassment and discrimination based on their identities or beliefs. Such efforts are pivotal not only to the well-being of university communities but also to the broader quest for a more inclusive and respectful society.