Lafayette responded unsatisfactorily to online anti-Semitism, says Energy Department investigation and college disputes – The Lafayette

The U.S. Department of Education sent Lafayette College a letter on Friday expressing its concerns and offering a settlement over what it said were the college’s failure to adequately address alleged incidents of anti-Semitic harassment by students online.

The accusation was part of the conclusion of a months-long Investigation by the Department’s Office of Civil Rights into a Complaint alleges there was an anti-Semitic incident on campus. By signing the resolution, the college committed to making policy changes, providing campus-wide training on discrimination policies, and providing the department with information on similar investigations of alleged discrimination over the next two academic years.

As part of the investigation, the agency also reviewed eleven previously undisclosed incidents of alleged anti-Semitic and Islamophobic harassment.

In the letter In a summary of the investigation’s findings, the department acknowledged that while the college had taken proactive steps to prevent a hostile environment, “the college’s practices, particularly with respect to reporting harassing conduct on social media, were not adequately designed to eliminate a hostile environment as required by Title VI.”

According to the Office for Civil Rights, Section VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 “prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, and national origin, including common ancestry, in all programs and activities receiving financial assistance from the United States Department of Education.”

On his website, Lafayette describes his politics on “Equal Opportunities, Harassment and Non-Discrimination” and outlines a solution Proceedings for alleged violations of its policies.

According to the website The policy may be applicable in cases of off-campus misconduct that “effectively denies someone access to the college’s educational program.”

“The College may also extend its jurisdiction to conduct off-campus and/or online if the Title IX Coordinator determines that the conduct affects the vital interests of the College,” the website continues.

The incidents under investigation occurred during a six-week period when the college’s Title IX coordinator position was officially vacant; according to the letter, Chaplain Alex Hendrickson held the position during that period. Hendrickson could not be reached for comment. Sarah Moschenross, vice president for Student Life, the department to which the Title IX coordinator position reports, referred comment to Audra Kahr, vice president for finance and administration, who also could not be reached.

Five of the 11 incidents investigated involved material posted to students’ personal social media accounts. In all five incidents, the college took no action, claiming the material fell under students’ right to free speech. This response differed from the college’s response to an incident involving material posted to a social media account associated with a college-recognized student group: in that incident, college administrators met with the group’s board of directors to discuss the material.

“The college appears to have a categorical policy of not responding to allegations of harassment on private social media” unless the harassment constitutes a direct threat, the department’s letter states.

“This practice falls short of the obligation under Title VI to take prompt and effective steps to eliminate a hostile environment known to the College; this requirement is not limited to conduct that occurs on campus or off social media,” the letter continued.

In the letter, the department contrasted the college’s response to two incidents related to the controversial phrase “from the river to the sea.” When a student carried a poster with the phrase on a campus protest In October, the college chaplain said she met with the student at least three times to discuss the impact of the sign and received a commitment from the student that he would not use the phrase in future protests. However, when the college received a report of the same phrase being used on social media, the department claimed it “took no action to respond.”

“In this case and repeatedly in other cases, the college’s documents show that they did not address whether social media and off-campus conduct, individually or collectively, created or contributed to a hostile environment based on shared ancestry, which does not meet the requirements of Title VI,” the letter said.

A press release from the Department of Education on Friday said that while Lafayette attempted to respond to the harassment complaints, “the college nevertheless misapplied legal standards.”

Lafayette objected to this assessment.

“The college has some concerns about OCR’s interpretation of how the college responds to students’ engagement on certain issues on their private social media accounts and in their off-campus engagement in protests or other related activities,” college spokesman Scott Morse wrote in an email.

Morse emphasized that the college has voluntarily entered into an agreement with the Office for Civil Rights to “improve the climate on campus for all students, faculty and staff.”

By signing the resolution, the college stated that it admitted neither wrongdoing nor liability.

The agreement requires Lafayette to do the following:

• Review policies and procedures to better meet Title VI requirements
• Training of staff responsible for investigating reports of discrimination –– Hurd wrote in an email to the entire campus that this would be completed by December 17
• Training students and staff on policies and procedures related to discrimination and harassment –– Hurd said this too will be completed by December 17
• Review the response to all reports of discrimination and harassment “on the basis of common ancestry” in the 2023-24 academic year
• Inform the Office of Civil Rights to investigate all alleged reports of discrimination based on common ancestry for the next two academic years.

Fully adhering to the agreement is “consistent with the college’s strong stance against anti-Semitism, Islamophobia and hate speech of any kind and with our determination to remain vigilant to protect the safety and well-being of all our students, faculty and staff,” wrote Lafayette College President Nicole Hurd in an email sent to the entire campus on Thursday. Hurd could not be reached for comment.

Isabella Gaglione (class of 25) contributed to the reporting.