Published by ABC7 on 05/27/2025 ARCATA, Calif. — The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) opened an investigation into a complaint filed by The Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law and Jewish on Campus against Cal Poly Humboldt alleging the university fostered an environment that permitted verbal and physical harassment, exclusion and abuse of Jewish students. “Not only did the Cal Poly administration refuse to prosecute brazen, violent acts of anti-Semitism, but they allowed their students to be victimized over and over, offering them nothing but a callous disregard for their continued harassment,” said Hon. Kenneth L. Marcus, chairman of the Brandeis Center and former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Education. Marcus expressed hope that the investigation would compel Cal Poly to address anti-Semitism and serve as a warning to other universities that indifference to bigotry and hatred will not be tolerated. The complaint details incidents where Jewish students were attacked, forced out of campus areas and subjected to anti-Semitic acts. Protestors allegedly threw fake blood on Jewish students, vandalized property with anti-Semitic slurs and shouted chants glorifying Hamas. Jewish students were reportedly taunted with messages such as “go away Nazis” and “Zionists are all homophobes” during a Jewish holiday celebration. The OCR claims that instead of addressing these issues, Cal Poly’s administration allegedly advised Jewish students to conceal their identity to avoid targeting. In one incident, a student disrupted a Jewish student group’s table at a club fair, shouting accusations and blocking access. The Associate Dean for Student Life reportedly told the Jewish students to leave the fair rather than reprimanding the disruptor. The complaint asserts that the university’s message to Jewish students is to downplay their identity to avoid targeting, as the university will not protect them. Jewish students have reported fearing for their safety and being denied opportunities, with some leaving campus. “All students deserve equal access to campus life; Jewish students must be no exception. At a time of rising campus tension, universities must understand that discrimination against and harassment of Jewish students on the basis of their national origin is not political,” said Jewish on Campus CEO Julia Jassey. “Jewish students should not fear for their safety while celebrating holidays or expressing their identities openly. Civil rights are the benchmark of a healthy democracy, and we hope that this complaint can motivate positive change to campus life at CalPoly Humboldt.” In response to a separate complaint, Harvard recently agreed to measures addressing anti-Semitism, including applying the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of anti-Semitism to its policies. The Department of Education has also announced investigations into similar complaints at other institutions, including UMass Amherst and Yale University.