09/03/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 09/03/2024 10:28
OCR's review of 139 incidents of shared ancestry discrimination reported to the university from 2015 through December 2023 does not reflect that the university met its obligation under Title VI to assess whether a hostile environment was created for students, faculty, or staff related to any of the complaints the university received. Of the 139 reports OCR reviewed, 135 related to allegations of anti-Jewish discrimination and 4 related to anti-Muslim, anti-Palestinian, or anti-Arab discrimination.
These unassessed incidents regarding a possible hostile environment included, for example, an allegation that a student attacked a Jewish student and ripped off "his Jewish chain" and later said to the Jewish student that he had attacked him because he is Jewish and that, "I wish my ancestors finished the job on you"; flyers distributed around campus via plastic bags containing rocks stating, "Every single aspect of the Covid agenda is Jewish," and listing several people with the word "Jewish" next to their names; and a student throwing a rock toward an event at the Hillel Center. Other incidents included a university employee sending messages on social media such as, "I won't tolerate Islam," and a pro-Palestinian student protestor who reported being struck multiple times by a counter-protesting employee.
OCR's investigation also reflected that university programs charged with responding to complaints of national origin harassment lacked coordination and inconsistently applied university policies and procedures, leading to potential gaps in the university's ability to address a hostile environment on the basis of national origin discrimination, including on the basis of shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics.
To resolve the Title VI concerns OCR identified, the university agreed to:
"The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign has now agreed to take the steps necessary to ensure its education community can learn, teach, and work without an unredressed antisemitic hostile environment, or any other hostility related to stereotypes about shared ancestry," said Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Catherine E. Lhamon. "OCR will work with the University in the coming years to ensure its fulfillment of this core federal civil rights guarantee."
The resolution letter and resolution agreement are available on the Office for Civil Rights website.