Dive Brief:
- Top House Republicans are demanding that the leaders of 10 high-profile universities detail how they will respond to encampments, protests and other demonstrations this fall.
- Missouri Rep. Jason Smith, the chair of the Ways and Means Committee, and North Carolina Rep. Virginia Foxx, chair of the Committee on Education and the Workforce, sent letters last week asking that the institutions share their campus plans with lawmakers by Sept. 5.
- The two legislators also asked the college officials to explain what changes they’ve made to their disciplinary procedures to “help deter future misconduct.” The letters signal that Republican lawmakers will continue to scrutinize how colleges are responding to campus unrest in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war.
Dive Insight:
House Republicans have repeatedly accused top-ranked colleges of not doing enough to prevent antisemitism on their campuses and have called on university leaders to crack down on pro-Palestinian protesters.
Smith and Foxx are two of the lawmakers leading a House investigation into antisemitism at college campuses. As part of the probe, lawmakers are also looking into the federal funding and tax benefits many colleges receive.
The letters referenced the multiple hearings House lawmakers have held on campus antisemitism since the Israel-Hamas war broke out. During those hearings, lawmakers have grilled several university presidents over their handling of student protests, including the leaders of Harvard, Northwestern and Columbia universities.
Three presidents have since resigned amid anger over their responses: Claudine Gay of Harvard, Elizabeth Magill of University of Pennsylvania and Minouche Shafik of Columbia.
During these hearings, however, some Democratic lawmakers have accused Republicans of merely engaging in political theater instead of trying to root out antisemitism on college campuses. Others have noted that House Republicans have attempted to slash funding for the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, which investigates discrimination on college campuses.
In their letter, Smith and Foxx said that colleges have had an entire summer to prepare for campus demonstrations this fall.
“As such, we expect that your institution will be ready, willing, and able to prevent such antisemitic conduct and disruptions that violate campus policies and the law and, when such conduct cannot be prevented, hold those responsible for such conduct accountable with real consequences,” they said.
Several colleges signaled their intent to crack down on demonstrations this fall. Earlier this month, the University of California and California State University systems said they will prohibit encampments and face coverings used to conceal one’s identity.
The letters were sent to:
- Barnard College, in New York.
- Columbia, in New York.
- Cornell University, in New York.
- Harvard, in Massachusetts.
- The Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
- Northwestern, in Illinois.
- Rutgers University, in New Jersey.
- The University of California, Berkeley.
- The University of California, Los Angeles.
- The University of Pennsylvania.
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