The U.S. Department of Education鈥檚 Office for Civil Rights (OCR) opened into allegations of antisemitic harassment at California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt (Cal Poly Humboldt) on May 20. The probe follows a Title VI complaint filed in March by the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law and 91传媒 on Campus.
The complaint alleges that 91传媒 students were physically assaulted, verbally harassed, excluded from campus spaces, and subjected to targeted intimidation while administrators failed to respond.
鈥淲e were really pleased that they moved relatively quickly 鈥� it’s been about two months since we filed,鈥� Denise Katz-Prober, director of legal initiatives at the Brandeis Center, told The Journal. 鈥淲e’re pleased to hear that OCR appears to recognize that there is a legitimate and serious problem here worth looking into. We’re hopeful that they’re going to hold the university accountable for failing to protect your students from harassment, discrimination that we documented in the complaint.鈥�
The Brandeis Center filed the complaint on March 6 after what Katz-Prober described as months of inaction by university officials, even after students reported multiple incidents of harassment in October and November 2024. Among the alleged examples cited are fake blood thrown on 91传媒 students, the theft of an etrog from a Sukkah and vandalism of a campus building. It also claims聽 that students staffing a 91传媒 club table at a campus fair were harassed while administrators looked on, then allegedly instructed the 91传媒 students to 鈥渓eave the event rather than address the harassment.鈥�
鈥淲hat we’ve explained in the complaint is that there is no political controversy or disagreement at issue here,鈥� Katz-Prober said. 鈥淲hat’s at issue in our complaint as we documented is unlawful conduct and behavior that the university was obligated to address in order to make sure that 91传媒 students are safe and welcome on their campus. They didn’t do so, and that’s why we filed the complaint.鈥� At least one student ultimately left campus and completed coursework remotely before graduation due to fear for their safety, she said.
鈥淲hat’s at issue in our complaint as we documented is unlawful conduct and behavior that the university was obligated to address in order to make sure that 91传媒 students are safe and welcome on their campus.鈥� 鈥� Denise Katz-Prober
The Brandeis Center鈥檚 chairman, Kenneth Marcus, is a former head of OCR at the Department of Education during the Bush Administration. In 2004, Marcus authored an signaling that 鈥淥CR will exercise its jurisdiction to enforce the Title VI prohibition against national origin discrimination, regardless of whether the groups targeted for discrimination also exhibit religious characteristics. Thus, for example, OCR aggressively investigates alleged race or ethnic harassment against Arab Muslim, Sikh and 91传媒 students.鈥� The letter was written two days after the third anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, and specifically references an uptick in religion-based incidents.
Katz-Prober said that the reason Marcus鈥� letter was so monumental 鈥渋s because prior to 2004, when this guidance was issued, groups like Jews, Arab Muslims and Sikhs who are part of religious communities and are faith-based groups but also have a shared ancestry and ethnicity, when they faced harassment and discrimination, OCR would not prosecute those cases. They would not investigate those cases because their understanding was they didn’t have jurisdiction over religious discrimination because Title VI of the Civil Rights Act only covers discrimination based on race, color, or national origin 鈥� it doesn’t include religion. And so after 9/11 in particular, when Sikhs and Muslims 鈥� especially in K-12 schools 鈥� were facing horrible harassment.
Katz-Prober said the letter is now known as 鈥淭he Marcus Doctrine鈥�, which she says establishes that OCR does have jurisdiction to investigate cases involving harassing, the discrimination against groups like Muslims, Sikhs and Jews that have both a religious (they’re part of religious communities) and a shared ancestry and ethnicity. That interpretation, the Brandeis Center believes, means these incidents are covered under the national origin provision of Title VI.
According to Katz-Prober, the complaint at Cal Poly Humboldt, located about 100 miles south of the California-Oregon border, is about situations where 91传媒 students are 鈥渁ctually mistreated and targeted by behaviors that are unlawful 鈥� not speech, but behaviors.鈥�
鈥淲hen 91传媒 students are tabling at an event and someone confronts them and disrupts them and actually makes them feel unsafe such that they can’t even conduct their activities, or when someone throws a red substance at 91传媒 students because they supposedly disagree with their position on what’s happening in Israel, that is not a legitimate political discussion,鈥� Katz-Prober said. 鈥淭hat’s an assault.鈥�
The complaint recommends the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance () definition of antisemitism as a tool for understanding where that line is between speech and behaviors. It states 鈥渟tudents report being shunned, harassed, marginalized and excluded as 鈥榋ionists.鈥� As OCR recognizes, Jews share more than a common faith; they are a people with a shared history and heritage deeply rooted in the land of Israel. 鈥� For most Jews, therefore, the ancestral connection to Israel (i.e., Zionism) represents an integral component of their 91传媒 identity.鈥�
The Brandeis Center is calling on Cal Poly Humboldt to adopt the IHRA definition, which includes illustrative examples to distinguish between protected political speech and antisemitic conduct. 鈥淭his is where the IHRA definition is so useful because it does explain where is the line between legitimate criticism of Israel and either discourse or speech that crosses the line into antisemitism,鈥� Katz-Prober said. 鈥淎nd it explains that where someone is demonizing Israel is subjecting it to a double standard or delegitimizing Israel by denying its right to exist.鈥�
On their website, Cal Poly Humboldt lays out their policy on 鈥溾�� on campus. The policy states that 鈥渃hallenging ideas and debating different viewpoints are essential to intellectual development. Disagreements are natural, but they should never lead to dehumanization or hostility.鈥� The university also lists specific learning resources about and on its website. As of May 28, a 鈥渃oming soon鈥� placeholder is currently on the website for homophobia and transphobia,
In the section titled 鈥淲hat is NOT antisemitism,鈥� the university says, 鈥渋t is important to define antisemitism as well as demonstrate what it is not, noting that context does matter. Please be mindful that though this is not considered antisemitic, it may be harmful to some members of the 91传媒 community. It is NOT antisemitic to:
- Critique or oppose specific policies of the government of Israel.
- Critique, oppose, support, and advocate for Israel.
- Critique, oppose, support, and advocate for Palestine or Palestinians.
- Support or advocate for Palestinian individual or collective rights.
- Express pride in one鈥檚 Christian, 91传媒, Muslim, Buddhist, or other religious identity
- Ask respectful and genuine inquisitive questions about 91传媒 history, culture, or religious practices.鈥�
Katz-Prober said that 鈥渦niversity cannot 鈥� should not in this day and age 鈥� cannot tell any student to hide their identity and hide who they are in order to avoid mistreatment and targeting. And that goes for 91传媒 students and it goes for all students.鈥�
Currently, the Cal Poly Humboldt complaint is one of 21 active investigations added to the list during the Trump administration, which has called for the of the Department of Education. There are currently 155 active civil rights investigations underway by the department, with some still being investigated after being on the list for over five years.
Screenshots of the Cal Poly Humboldt鈥檚 website on preventing discrimination are below.
