The Department of Education opened an investigation into Princeton University last week in response to a complaint that alleged the university did not adequately respond to antisemitism after October 7.
A complaint filed to the Department of Education (DOE) on January 10, 2024 alleged that Princeton University discriminated against students on the basis of national origin, specifically Jewish ancestry, by failing to respond to incidents of harassment that occurred on campus after October 7. Since Princeton receives federal financial assistance from the DOE, its alleged failure to respond could violate Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
“The Department of Education notified the University of the existence of a complaint Wednesday. We are in the process of assessing the Department’s notification,” a spokesperson for Princeton University told National Review. “Based on our familiarity with events on our campus and other information available to us, we are confident we are in full compliance with the requirements of Title VI.”
The complaint was filed by Zachary Marschall, the editor-in-chief of the publication Campus Reform. Marshall has filed more than 30 antisemitism-related complaints to the DOE since October 7, and he is responsible for opening at least 12 investigations, according to the Times of Israel.
The Office for Civil Rights within the DOE will investigate whether Princeton “responded in a manner consistent with the requirements of Title VI to alleged harassment of students based on national origin (including shared Jewish ancestry),” according to a letter dated April 3 from the DOE to Marshall, part of which was published by Campus Reform.
“Based on the complainant’s published description of the complaint, we know that he is not a member of the University community and that his complaint appears to be premised on chants at protests,” a Princeton University spokesperson told National Review in an email. “While disciplinary approaches are not always applicable given the University’s robust commitment to freedom of expression, the University has responded to every complaint of bias against Jewish community members brought to its attention and continues to offer support.”
“We, the Princeton Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), hold the Israeli apartheid state ultimately responsible for the tremendous loss of life in Occupied Palestine, Gaza, and the West Bank,” reads a statement released in October by a Princeton student organization. The students “call[ed] for the full dismantling of the Zionist apartheid state” and further “reject[ed] any discourse that uses the word ‘terrorism’ to describe Palestinian attacks on Israelis while not using the same label for the Israeli state violence that is the everyday reality for Palestinians.”
Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill (D., N.J.) sent a letter in December to leaders of New Jersey higher education institutions and asked, “What is your institution doing to ensure your students are free from harassment and bullying on campus?”
“In the two months since the terrorist attack committed by Hamas on October 7, we have seen a dramatic increase in antisemitic incidents across the country,” Sherrill wrote. “The problem is particularly acute on college campuses, where Jewish students report feeling targeted by faculty and their fellow students, being threatened verbally and physically by student activists, and harassed with hurtful antisemitic tropes.”
Princeton University president Christopher Eisgruber responded that the university has procedures to address harassment complaints, offers supplementary or alternative resources depending on the nature of the complaint, and promotes the values of “mutual respect and free inquiry.”
“Of course, like anyone who is fully committed to First Amendment principles, I must sometimes protect speech that I find repugnant, hateful, or awful,” Eisgruber wrote in a response dated December 13. “When Princeton cannot — and should not — suppress or discipline immoral speech because it is protected under our policies and the First Amendment, the University can still respond in many ways.”
In January, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) and the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) condemned Princeton University over alleged free-speech violations. The letter sent by FIRE and ADL to Princeton states that an undergraduate journalist was physically pushed while she was reporting on a pro-Palestinian demonstration for the Princeton Tory, a student-run conservative publication.
“I’ve also communicated with the [Princeton University] administration and tried to get them to understand how difficult a time this is for Jewish students,” Jewish undergraduate student Alexandra Orbuch told National Review in November. “I will say, I wish I could be doing more; the climate is really terrifying. But I’m doing all that I possibly can.”