The U.S. Department of Education sent letters to 60 institutions of higher education across the country warning them of “potential enforcement actions” if they do not protect Jewish students on their campuses, including nine colleges and universities in New England.
The letters come after students at college and universities around the nation held protests last year against Israel’s war in Gaza, which was started after Hamas launched a surprise attack on the country that killed 1,200 people but has since led to the death of 48,000 Palestinians.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon said the department was “deeply disappointed” that Jewish students studying in the United States “continue to fear for their safety amid the relentless antisemitic eruptions that have severely disrupted campus life for more than a year.”
“University leaders must do better,” McMahon said in a statement Monday. “U.S. colleges and universities benefit from enormous public investments funded by U.S. taxpayers. That support is a privilege and it is contingent on scrupulous adherence to federal antidiscrimination laws.”
The letter was sent to Boston University, Emerson College, Harvard University, Tufts University, the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and Wellesley College as well as Middlebury College in Vermont, Brown University in Rhode Island, and Yale University in Connecticut.
The U.S. Department of Education said the “potential enforcement actions” against the colleges and universities could come if they do not fulfill their obligations under the Civil Rights Act “to protect Jewish students on campus, including uninterrupted access to campus facilities and educational opportunities.”
“The letters are addressed to all U.S. universities that are presently under investigation for Title VI violations relating to antisemitic harassment and discrimination,” the department said in a statement.
In a statement posted online, officials at the UMass Amherst acknowledged receipt of the letter and said it directed universities “take all lawful and appropriate measures to protect Jewish students, faculty, and staff from the predations of antisemitic antagonists, whether in the classroom, on campus, or within educational programs and activities.”
The university was notified in February 2024 of an investigation by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights that was opened after a complaint alleged that the university had “failed to respond appropriately to incidents of harassment during October and November 2023.”
“The university has not seen the complaint but is aware of a report stating that it was filed by the editor-in-chief of Campus Reform, an outside organization unaffiliated with the university,” the university said in a statement. “Importantly, the Department of Education Office of Civil Rights (OCR) is obligated to evaluate every complaint it receives.”
Opening an investigation into a complaint does not imply the Office of Civil Rights has made a determination on the merits of the allegations, according to the office.
More than 130 people were arrested last year at UMass Amherst after administrators ordered an encampment on the campus to break up.
A spokesperson for Tufts University declined to provide a copy of the letter, which he said was “under review.” Spokespeople for the other institutions did not immediately respond to Herald inquiries.
Officials at Harvard University sanctioned 35 students who protested against the war in Gaza last year by setting up an encampment at the institution.
Boston police arrested over 100 people last year at an Emerson College encampment set up in the Boylston Place Alley in downtown Boston. College officials later banned protests in the alleyway and put in place restrictions on public demonstrations.
Harvard University implemented a hiring freeze this week in the face of “substantial financial uncertainties” as the Trump administration targets federal funding for institutions of higher education.
Federal officials revoked $400 million in federal grants and contracts to Columbia University in New York because of the school’s “continued inaction in the face of persistent harassment of Jewish students.”
“For too long, Columbia has abandoned that obligation to Jewish students studying on its campus,” McMahon said in a separate statement. “Today, we demonstrate to Columbia and other universities that we will not tolerate their appalling inaction any longer.”
Federal immigration officials arrested a Palestinian activist over the weekend who played a major role in protests against Israel at Columbia University.
The arrest marked the first publicly known deportation effort under the Trump administration’s promised crackdown on students who joined protests against the war in Gaza that swept college campuses last spring.
Materials from the Associated Press were used in this report.