Northwestern University among 5 colleges in Trump probe by Education Dept. over alleged antisemitism

ByLissette Nuñez WLS logo
Tuesday, February 4, 2025
NU students react to probe into alleged antisemitism
Northwestern University is under federal investigation for allegations of antisemitism.

EVANSTON, Ill. (WLS) -- Northwestern is one of five universities that are being accused of "tolerating widespread antisemitic harassment..

Pro-Palestinian encampments were set up across college campuses last year in response to the Israel-Hamas War.

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At Northwestern, demonstrators called on the university to divest from Israel as part of a nationwide movement.

Northwestern University leadership met with student and faculty and eventually reached an agreement to end the encampment.

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Last May, Northwestern's President Michael Schill also testified on these protests before the House Education Committee stating that the university's actions during the encampments remained consistent with university values.

Tuesday, students reflected on how the university handled the protests.

"There was a lot of uncertainty around what was going to happen especially what would happen to the students involved in the encampments," Hannah, a junior, said.

"I think better communication overall, more frequent emails to the students.," another student said. "As far as where they were at with negotiations, what their policy is."

Other students, thought the university did the best they could.

"I think It's free speech," Rohan, a sophomore, said. "I don't think the university could have done any better."

Under the new administration, The U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights is now reviewing how pro-Palestinian protests were handled across campuses.

The five universities being targeted by the probe are Columbia University in New York University of California - Berkeley, Portland State University in Oregon, the University of Minnesota and Northwestern University.

In a statement Northwestern says, "Northwestern has received notice of the Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights investigation and we intend to fully comply with federal investigators as we have with the House Committee on Education and the Workforce over the past year. There is no place for antisemitism or any form of identity-based discrimination or hate at Northwestern University. Free expression and academic freedom are among our core values, but we have made clear that these values provide no excuse for behavior that threatens the well-being of others. We are confident in the actions we have taken to address antisemitism on our campus, including updating our Student Code of Conduct, our disciplinary procedures and making investments in public safety. We continue to work tirelessly to make our university a safe and non-discriminatory educational institution."

Last week, President Donald Trump signed a new executive order vowing to take aggressive action to fight antisemitism on college campuses.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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