Department of Education opens civil rights investigation for Cal Poly Humboldt

Cal Poly Humboldt publicized last week that the university was under probe by the Civil Rights office of the US Department of Development It follows a March complaint by Washington D C -based Louis D Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law along with Jewish on Campus who called for the university to be investigated by the office over a series of new incidents The March complaint alleged the university has not taken meaningful efforts to eliminate the hostile environment for Jewish students at Cal Poly Humboldt The administration has opened investigations into universities over statements of antisemitic discrimination and harassment including at California State University at Sacramento Stanford University UC Davis UC San Diego and UC Berkeley The University of California also faces a U S Justice Department examination over states the system allowed an antisemitic hostile work atmosphere And a federal task force charged with combating antisemitism is set to visit UC Berkeley to investigate statements the university failed to protect Jewish students and faculty from harassment and discrimination On Friday Cal Poly Humboldt interim president Michael E Spagna wrote in a letter to the campus that The U S Department of Coaching s Office for Civil Rights OCR has now formally opened an assessment into the complaint We are working closely with The California State University to respond to OCR s research and ensure we are compliant with all federal requirements At this stage we are not able to share any additional information but we remain committed to addressing the process thoughtfully and responsibly We also recognize that this may be an especially tough and painful time for our Jewish students faculty and staff and we are committed to doing everything in our power to ensure our entire campus group can feel safe he wrote He declared the campus has zero tolerance for antisemitism discrimination harassment or any actions and speech that infringe on the rights dignities or safety of others and he encouraged anyone who spectators these to overview it to the Title IX and Discrimination Harassment and Retaliation Prevention office or the University Police Department The March complaint cited incidents ranging from anti-Israel protesters being allowed to convene near a scholar group s table on Oct at the campus quad with one activist later throwing red paint on the students at the table The letter revealed campus police did not respond to the paint occurrence It also noted a spread of messages decrying Israel and Zionism being penned on signs and in chalk in multiple incidents plus various responses on behalf of administrators to heated political debates on campus that have gone on for the past year that the letter alleges administrators did not properly respond to Another development at a trainee club fair allegedly involved a learner shouting at Chabad at Cal Poly Humboldt s table calling the students baby killers and further blocking conversation there The letter stated the students were informed by an associate dean they should leave the fair and administrators later issued a two-way no-contact order between the students at the table at the one who approached the table Cal Poly Humboldt has been a hotspot for protests against Israel including a nearly week long pro-Palestinian occupation of the campus calling for the end of the Israel-Hamas war The letter reported one scholar has stopped attending classes in person due to the hostile surroundings on campus Related Articles US State Department orders embassies to pause participant visa appointments as it considers expanding social media vetting Trump administration moves to cut million in federal contracts for Harvard Elias Several California colleges could afford to stand up to Trump Trump s speech to West Point graduates mixes praise politics and grievances injured when tree falls during Diablo Valley College graduation ceremony On college campuses including Humboldt the word Zionist is frequently used as a codeword proxy term or dog-whistle for Jew among those seeking to disguise their anti-Semitism the letter commented which called for particular anti-Zionist rhetoric to be considered antisemitism including denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination along with holding Jews collectively responsible for actions of the state of Israel The complaint calls for the university to establish and enforce policies forbidding protests in classroom buildings dormitories libraries dining halls etc and a zero tolerance program for classroom and learning habitat disruptions among other recommendations A Department of Training press contact did not return questions sent via email before the Times-Standard s print deadline Notably the department s staff has been slashed by the Trump administration which aims to dismantle it entirely The Office for Civil Rights is also inspecting Cal Poly Humboldt among universities for its affiliation with an organization that encourages African American Hispanic American and Native American students to get Ph Ds because it limits eligibility based on the race of participants though the Ph D project stated earlier it opened membership to anyone this year Bay Area News Group reporter Molly Gibbs contributed to this document Sage Alexander can be reached at - -