Emory University is forced to revise campus protest policies, nondiscrimination policies, and bias report process even as it cuts student complainants out of the resolution process.
(Atlanta, GA, 1/17/25) – Emory Students for Justice in Palestine (ESJP), the Georgia chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Georgia), and Palestine Legal, today addressed the announcement and resolution by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR). The resolution sets out several substantive remedial measures Emory University must take after OCR identified important Title VI compliance concerns at the University for alleged harassment of students based on their Palestinian, Arab, Muslim, and Black identities. The Civil Rights groups note that the resolution affirms critical concerns shared by complainants but falls short of addressing specific harms to Palestinian, Arab, Muslim and Black students on Emory’s campus.
OCR stated in a letter to Emory University President Fenves “that the University may have contributed to and at a minimum appears to have failed to respond promptly or effectively to a hostile environment based on race and national origin, including shared Palestinian, Muslim, and/or Arab ancestry (hereinafter “national origin”) consistent with the requirements of Title VI; and 2) that the University’s policies and procedures for responding to reports of discriminatory harassment based on race and national origin may impede its ability to provide a prompt and effective response.”
Now, the Department of Education will monitor Emory University as it revises campus protest policies, current nondiscrimination policies and the process of resolution of student-filed bias reports. As a result of OCR’s investigation, Emory University has agreed to create a definition of harassment that includes perceived or actual shared ancestry. Further, Emory University will have to submit all national-origin-related bias incident reports from 2023-2025 to OCR for OCR to review and determine whether they were resolved appropriately or remedial action by Emory is needed.
READ: OCR’s Concerns and Full Analysis of Complaints Against Emory University
Yesterday’s resolution comes after OCR opened an investigation against Emory University on April 30th, 2024 into the University’s alleged discrimination against students with Palestinian, Muslim, or Arab ancestry since October 7th, 2023. The complaint was filed jointly by CAIR-Georgia and Palestine Legal on April 5th, 2024 on behalf of ESJP students and other complainants.
Some of the scathing remarks by OCR highlight the “gratuitous violence of the law enforcement activity in widely publicized videos from the April 2024 arrests” that “may have created a hostile environment within the campus community for Palestinian, Arab, or Muslim university members and those perceived to have associated with them.”
OCR took issue with the university’s policies and procedures for receiving and responding to discrimination reports based on national origin and race, stating they “lack the clarity necessary to ensure that the university provides a prompt and effective response, consistent with the requirements of Title VI, to reports and complaints of race and national origin discrimination.”
“OCR’s legal analysis is a searing critique of Emory University and affirms what the students have been highlighting for over a year: Emory University directly contributed to the creation of a hostile campus for Muslim, Arab, and Palestinian students and failed to protect them despite their many documented reports of bias,” said CAIR-Georgia Executive Director Azka Mahmood. “We hope that OCR’s detailed review of the Emory’s handling of dozens of national-origin bias complaints filed by students will result in long-awaited justice for students who have suffered without recourse at Emory.”
ESJP, CAIR-Georgia, and Palestine Legal are disappointed that instead of engaging with the impacted students after OCR opened an investigation into the University, to avoid findings of any wrongdoing, Emory intentionally cut out students from the process and participated in a closed-door resolution process with OCR unilaterally.
“After over a year of unchecked harassment and a major lack of transparency, I am relieved that OCR is finally holding Emory accountable to the policies that any fair institution would have practiced in the first place. However, it is unconscionable that OCR allowed Emory University to sideline students out of the resolution process to avoid admission of guilt and is a reflection of their dismissive attitude towards the harassment students faced,” said an Emory student complainant.
The student continued, “Emory’s play to avoid an investigation is a direct contradiction to their claim that they were absolved from wrongdoing. This claim is at odds with OCR’s long list of measures Emory must undertake to comply with Title VI. Their refusal to take accountability is merely a continuation of their blatant discrimination against Muslim, Arab, and pro-Palestine students.”
“Emory has never made an effective attempt to address student bias reports and harassment outlined in the Open Expression and Conduct policies. We hope that under OCR’s monitoring, Emory will adhere to its own policies and deal with bias accordingly. No students should have to go through what we have endured,” said a second student complainant from Emory.
“By circumventing an OCR investigation, Emory not only shut out the voices of Palestinian, Arab, Muslim, and Black students and their allies but also sidestepped any kind of finding being made. Emory has not been exonerated in any way by this process,” said Palestine Legal staff attorney Sabiya Ahamed. “We urge the university to take serious steps towards accountability for its students, especially in light of the incoming Trump administration’s threats to further crack down on campus demonstrators.”
CAIR-Georgia’s mission is to protect civil rights, promote justice, empower American Muslims, and enhance the understanding of Islam.
Palestine Legal’s mission is to bolster the Palestine solidarity movement by challenging efforts to threaten, harass, and legally bully activists into silence and inaction.
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CONTACT: Azka Mahmood, CAIR-Georgia Executive Director, [email protected], Nazia Khanzada, Communications Manager CAIR-Georgia, [email protected], Palestine Legal, [email protected]