Outline:
The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art will implement measures to decrease antisemitism and other forms of harassment on campus, in order to resolve a legal case alleging that it did not provide adequate support.Jewish studentswho were confined within a library as safeguard againstpro-Palestinian demonstrators.
The agreement was disclosed on Thursday by attorneys representing 10 Jewish students, who claimed that the private Manhattan college’s creation of a hostile academic atmosphere breached Title VI, a U.S. civil rights regulation that prohibits recipients of federal funding from permittingprejudice rooted in race, faith, and country of birth.
Cooper Union will establish a Title VI officer to supervise its management of discrimination and harassment, along with providing trainingemployees and studentsregarding its regulations, and ban the use of masks to hide faces during protests, lawyers stated. It will also provide unknown compensation to the 10 students.
Jewish students should have the right to study without facing targeting, bullying, or exclusion based on their identity or beliefs,” said Ziporah Reich, director of litigation at the non-profit Lawfare Project, which advocates for these students. “Universities are legally obligated to safeguard them.
Cooper Union and its legal representative did not promptly reply to inquiries for statement.
Antisemitism on campuses increased following the Hamas attack on October 7.
Following the Hamas attack on Israel in October 2023, US higher education institutions encountered numerous legal actions alleging that they fostered or allowed antisemitism on their campuses, causing Jewish students and staff to feel insecure. Columbia University, Harvard University, and New York University are some of the institutions that have reached agreements.
A legal action against Cooper Union occurred after a rally on October 25, 2023, outside the library, where pro-Palestinian supporters bypassed security personnel, made loud noises on doors and windows, held up signs, and shouted “Free Palestine.”
Pupils inside mentioned they felt insecure. They also reported that school officials took no action to halt the demonstration and instructed the police, who were willing to assist, to withdraw.
In February last year, US District Judge John Cronan in Manhattan declined to drop the legal case, stating that freedom of speech safeguards did not validate the way the students were handled.