The Department of Education has opened an investigation into Harvard following a complaint that accused the school of failing to protect Palestinian and Muslim students from harassment. File Photo by HBS1908/Wikimedia Commons
Feb. 7 (UPI) — The Department of Education has opened an investigation into Harvard after a Muslim organization filed a civil rights complaint accusing the university of failing to protect students from threats and harassment for supporting Palestinian rights.
The investigation by the federal department’s Office of Civil Rights was opened Tuesday, according to its website, making Harvard the latest institution to come under a Title VI probe amid an increase in claims of antisemitism and Islamophobia on university campuses and school property since Israel launched its war against Hamas in the Palestinian enclave of Gaza on Oct. 7.
Title VI prohibits race, color or national origin discrimination based on a person’s shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics, and since the start of the war, the department has opened more than 60 investigations into potential civil rights violations, compared to fewer than 20 such probes launched during the first nine months of last year. In 2022, there were only 16 Title Vi investigations.
The department does not disclose the nature of the investigations, but the announcement concerning Harvard comes a little more than a week after the Muslim Legal Fund of America filed a complaint with the department, stating the university failed to protect students from “rampant harassment and racist attacks” including doxxing, stalking and assault for being Palestinian, Muslim and supporters of Palestinian rights.
The nonprofit said instead of providing resources to protect them, Harvard ignored the students’ requests for help and retracted some of their future academic opportunities.
On Tuesday, the MLFA said they “applaud the DOE’s swift action.”
“We look forward to these students having their complaints taken seriously and finally investigated fully,” MLFA Civil Litigation Department head Christina Jump said in a statement.
“Harvard failed these students. It did not act when it could have and should have, and allowed a bad situation to get much worse. We trust that the Office of Civil Rights will do what Harvard did not and create concrete, usable solutions.”
Harvard spokesman Jason Newton told The Harvard Crimson in a statement that they support the federal department’s work “to ensure students’ rights to access educational programs are safeguarded and will work with the office to address their questions.”
The department is already investigating Harvard for potential Title IV violations for failing to protect students of Jewish or Israeli origin.
Early this year, Harvard University President Claudine Gay resigned amid backlash over her response to anti-Semitism on campus by appearing to evade questions about the issue during House testimony. She is also facing new accusations of plagiarism that arose following her appearance before Congress.
The backlash, which includes the loss of wealthy donors, prompted Interm President Alan Garber to announce presidential task forces, one to combat antisemitism and the other to fight Islamophobia and anti-Arab bias.
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