President Joe Biden’s Department of Education reached an agreement with the University of California system to settle civil rights complaints that alleged widespread discrimination against Jewish students. To do so, the university system agreed to develop voluntary campus “climate surveys” and take other underwhelming measures.
In the agreement, released Friday, university leaders made no admission of wrongdoing. Instead, they agreed to “provide training” to campus police officers and “employees responsible for investigating complaints and other reports of discrimination.” They also agreed to “create a plan to work with respective campuses to develop climate surveys” meant to evaluate “the extent to which students are subjected to or witness discrimination, including harassment, based on actual or perceived race, color, and/or national origin.”
The settlement comes in the wake of shocking scenes that played out at the University of California, Los Angeles, in the spring. Anti-Semitic radicals at the school physically prevented Jews from accessing portions of campus if they didn’t denounce their religious beliefs.
Three Jewish students subsequently sued the school in June, arguing that UCLA officials “routinely turned their backs on Jewish students, aiding and abetting a culture that has allowed calls for the annihilation of the Jewish people, Nazi symbolism, and religious slurs to go unchecked.” Judge Mark Scarsi agreed, issuing a scathing ruling that ordered the school to ensure its Jewish students had equal access to campus.
“Jewish students were excluded from portions of the UCLA campus because they refused to denounce their faith,” Scarsi wrote. “The fact is so unimaginable and abhorrent to our constitutional guarantee of religious freedom that it bears repeating.”
In a Friday statement, the University of California said it was “pleased to share that it has entered a voluntary resolution agreement … furthering UC’s commitment to cultivate a respectful and welcoming environment free from discrimination and harassment based on national origin.” In addition to UCLA, schools impacted by the agreement include the University of California, Santa Barbara, the University of California, San Diego, the University of California, Davis, and the University of California, Santa Cruz.
“The University of California unequivocally rejects anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, and all forms of harassment and discrimination,” the statement read. “Ensuring an inclusive University environment requires sustained focus and action.”
Under Biden, the Department of Education has opened dozens of investigations into schools accused of discriminating against Jewish students. While many are unresolved, settled cases have resulted in insignificant changes like the employee training and anti-discrimination statements seen in the University of California agreement.
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