Summary
The provision of the Civil Rights Act that, as The Palestine Exception to Free Speech: A Movement Under Attack in the US presents it, prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color or national origin by institutions that receive federal funding; a university violates it when it acts with deliberate indifference, in a way that is “clearly unreasonable”, to known acts of harassment that deny a student’s educational opportunities (PDF p.36).
Details
- The Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, the Zionist Organization of America and the AMCHA Initiative (or their leaders) filed at least six complaints with the US Department of Education alleging that campus expression in support of Palestinian rights creates a hostile educational environment for Jewish students in violation of Title VI — against UC Irvine, UC Santa Cruz, UC Berkeley, Rutgers University, Barnard College and Brooklyn College (PDF p.6, p.36).
- No such complaint has been sustained: the Department of Education dismissed UC Irvine, UC Santa Cruz and UC Berkeley in 2013, Rutgers in 2014 and Barnard in 2012, stating that the First Amendment protects speech critical of the state of Israel; the Brooklyn College complaint reportedly settled during investigation in 2014 (PDF p.36-37).
- The UC Santa Cruz determination (2013) found the complained-of events “constituted (or would have constituted) expression on matters of public concern directed to the University community”, not actionable harassment; the UC Berkeley determination added that “in the university environment, exposure to such robust and discordant expressions, even when personally offensive and hurtful, is a circumstance that a reasonable student in higher education may experience” (PDF p.37).
- The report argues the complaints nonetheless chill speech, quoting Brandeis Center director Kenneth Marcus on their publicity effect even when rejected, and noting threats of further complaints against Northeastern (2013) and DePaul (2015) (PDF p.37).
Related pages
The Palestine Exception to Free Speech: A Movement Under Attack in the US, Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, AMCHA Initiative, Antisemitism Awareness Act, Academic freedom