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Over 200 students and faculty walked out in protest yesterday against Chapman University’s decision to put the head of their Diversity, Equity and Inclusion office mysteriously on leave last week amid concerns the university is failing to protect Jewish students on campus.
Groups like the Brandeis Center are concerned that Chapman University – like other colleges in the country – have not been doing enough to protect Jewish students in the midst of protests, calling on the federal government to step in at several universities.
It comes after colleges and universities across the country, including Chapman and UC Irvine, saw a surge in pro-Palestine protests, activism and encampments after a surprise Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023 triggered Israeli Defense Forces to launch retaliatory attacks in Gaza and beyond.
The protest also comes as a former Columbia student and pro-Palestinian activist could face deportation for organizing protests at his university – sparking questions what that could mean for pro-Palestinian immigrant activists here.
On Monday morning, over 30 student organizations including Students for Justice in Palestine, Judaism on Our Terms, Peace Studies Union, Chapman Latinx and more gathered on the campus’ Memorial Lawn demanding transparency on why the decision was made.
“We know what is right, stand for DEI” protestors echoed across the lawn.
Students also demanded the university protect the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion office, protect undocumented students on campus from ICE raids and preserve the Cross Cultural Center – a student resource hub that encourages students to share their cultures with each other.
“We’ve seen that our administration is not standing up for its students. It’s not fighting back. It is allowing more encroachment on our free speech,” said Michael Daniels, outreach chair for Students For Justice in Palestine.
“This is making a campus that is extremely unsafe for oppressed students, for underrepresented students, for migrant students.”
Students emphasize how the Cross Cultural Center is a vessel for the campus community to look at the progress of civil rights in the US.
“When we don’t look at mistakes of the past, We’re bound to repeat them,” said Anya Nguyenkhoa, a senior history major at Chapman University. “I’m here because we have diverse narratives in our history, and we need to make sure that the history we are learning here is inclusive of all voices.”
Last Wednesday, University President Daniele Struppa announced in an email to faculty that the university’s first Vice President of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Reg Stewart and University Provost Norma Bouchard were on leave without providing an explanation as to why.
Now students like Julian Dante Gonzales, a sophomore music major at Chapman University, want answers.
“I’m here because Dr. Reg was put on leave with no explanation, but also because this is a big problem in our country regarding human and civil rights and university campuses that have ICE present,” he said. “We need to protect our undocumented students.”
Daniels – the outreach chair for Students for Justice in Palestine at Chapman – said students have a right to know what happened.
“Dr. Reg is there to protect underrepresented students,and when something happens to anybody on the faculty, but especially someone as crucial as Dr. Reg, we need to be informed,” he said.
In a Monday statement, Carly Murphy, a spokesperson for the university, said Chapman is committed to supporting students from all backgrounds.
“Chapman University takes seriously its commitment to its community, and its role as an educational institution, to act in accordance with its policies and the law, including respecting privacy and confidentiality,” Murphy wrote.
Struppa’s email came out two days after U.S. Department of Education officials announced in a news release that they sent out letters to 60 universities – including Chapman University – warning them they’d take action against them if they don’t protect Jewish students on campus.
“The Department is deeply disappointed that Jewish students studying on elite U.S. campuses continue to fear for their safety amid the relentless antisemitic eruptions that have severely disrupted campus life for more than a year. University leaders must do better,” said Secretary of Education Linda McMahon in a news release.
“U.S. colleges and universities benefit from enormous public investments funded by U.S. taxpayers. That support is a privilege and it is contingent on scrupulous adherence to federal antidiscrimination laws.”
Rachel Lerman, the general counsel for the Brandeis Center, said her group called on federal officials to investigate because Chapman University has not been doing enough to protect Jewish students.
“We’re glad that the federal government is applying pressure to schools to do something about antisemitism, because they weren’t doing it on their own,” she said.
Lerman added that Brandeis officials are also keeping watch on how federal officials look into the issue.
“We’re still wanting to see what the grounds and allegations are and how the government is carrying this out before we can fully support or not support it.”
President Donald Trump’s administration has already taken action against Columbia University canceling $400 million in federal funding to the school for what they say was a failure to protect Jewish students from discrimination.
On Tuesday, Department of Justice officials filed a statement of interest on a lawsuit alleging UCLA administrators allowed protestors at an encampment to prevent Jewish students from accessing portions of the campus.
William Wright, a Biology professor, said the threat of taking away funding shouldn’t determine the university’s actions.
“I am ashamed of our administration for backing away from this problem and not taking it on,” said Wright. “I am appalled by how money is calling the shots in this game, not only at Chapman, but all around the United States.”
Pete Simi, a Sociology professor, said administrators need to stand up to the Trump administration.
“The university has to provide the leadership in that we’re going to continue to stand for Diversity Equity and Inclusion. We’re going to stand by our students and do everything in our power to make sure people are safe and are able to pursue their education in a way meant to be a university,” he said.
Protecting Students, Protecting Speech
Amr Shabaik, the legal director for the Council on American Islamic Relations – Greater Los Angeles, said the warnings to the universities are part of an unconstitutional, multi-prong attack by the Trump administration on speech that they don’t agree with.
He said that includes speech that advocates for Palestinian human rights.
“They’re unfortunately using antisemitism as a weapon to disingenuously crack down on this type of speech, and unfortunately, we’re seeing this across the country,” Shabaik said in a phone interview.
At the same time, Shabaik said every student regardless of race or religion deserves to feel safe on their college campuses.
“Any real instances of antisemitism, of course, needs to be addressed just as Islamophobia and racism needs to be addressed,” he said.
Shabaik added that the Trump administration isn’t addressing concerns about pro-Palestinian activists being attacked and arrested on campuses.
“It shows the disingenuous nature of these claims to want to really protect students when they don’t apply the same rules and protections to students who are engaging in speech that the administration may disagree with,” he said.
Shabaik also said universities like Chapman need to stand up to the Trump administration and protect resources and programs that help marginalized students succeed.
Brandeis Center officials have raised similar concerns about Chapman not protecting students from harassment.
The Brandeis Center last year filed a complaint with the Department of Education alleging Chapman University failed to protect Jewish students from discrimination.
The complaint alleges the University’s chapter of the Students for Justice in Palestine denied membership to Jewish students if they didn’t reject support for Israel and that one student received a death threat for one of the group’s members.
“These incidents demonstrate that Chapman is failing to protect Jewish students and is denying them equal access to educational opportunities on the basis of their actual or perceived shared ancestry and ethnicity,” reads the complaint.
Lerman – the Brandeis Center general counsel – said the university’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion office has not done a good job protecting students.
“One of the students was getting death threats, the university didn’t do anything to protect her, and usually, the DEI office would be involved in discrimination,” she said.
Daniels said the complaint was baseless.
“We’ve never discriminated based on anyone’s identity or anything like that. We have plenty of Jewish members in the club. Some have executive positions as well so if that’s not emblematic of what we stand for and the reality, then I don’t know what is,” he said.
The Department of Education opened an investigation into the complaint in June.
The Brandeis Center also sued Santa Ana Unified School District for allegedly creating ethnic studies courses in secret that taught materials that they say were antisemitic. District officials settled the lawsuit earlier this year.
[Read: Santa Ana School District Settles Lawsuit Over Alleged Antisemitic Classes]
The Anti-Defamation League gave Chapman University a failing grade on their campus antisemitism report card over concerns of antisemitic and anti-Zionist incidents.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration is not just looking to hold universities accountable but some of its students.
A Rise in Protests, A Rise in Hate
The concerns come after students set up pro-Palestinian encampments in campuses across the country including at Chapman University and UC Irvine last year.
In May, police officers in riot gear from a host of local law enforcement agencies cracked down on a pro-Palestine encampment at UC Irvine and arrested dozens of people after ordering them to disperse.
Those encampments were inspired by Columbia University students who erected an encampment on their campus in solidarity with Gaza and to demand school officials cut financial ties with Israel and companies that support them.
Earlier this month, federal immigration authorities arrested Mahmoud Khalil, a former Columbia student activist and a permanent resident who helped lead that protest.
In a social media statement, Homeland Security said the arrest was “in support of President Trump’s executive orders prohibiting anti-Semitism” and that Khalil – who could face deportation – “led activities aligned to Hamas, a designated terrorist organization.”
Shabaik said the arrest of Khalil is an effort to chill pro-Palestinian voices and its possible that similar arrests could take place in Orange County.
“We hope not. We hope again that this effort by the administration falls flat on its face but unfortunately, we’ve seen this administration engage in egregious, harmful actions,” he said.
“We want folks to be cautious, to understand what the risks are, but to continue to be able to speak out and not give in to the fear mongering.”
Lerman said Khalil’s situation is complex and he deserves due process but he shouldn’t be made a hero.
“This is someone who deliberately came to the United States to sow discord and stir up hate against American Jews. I don’t think that’s something we want to encourage,” she said.
Beyond campuses, local city council meetings – particularly in Santa Ana and Irvine – became the center of Orange County’s debate on Palestine and Israel with pro-Palestinian activists and residents repeatedly showing up to call on elected officials to call for a ceasefire.
At the same time, pro-Israeli residents also showed up to meetings calling on officials to focus on local issues.
Since Oct. 7, 2023, Arab American, Muslim and Jewish leaders have also warned of an uptick in hate crimes in OC against their communities.
Orange County’s latest hate crime report found there were three anti-Arab, three anti-Muslim and 14 anti-Jewish hate crimes in 2023 in OC – through critics say the report doesn’t capture the full extent of hate experienced that year.
[Read: An Incomplete Picture: Tackling Hate Crimes in Orange County]
Hosam Elattar is a Voice of OC reporter and corps member with Report for America, a GroundTruth initiative. Contact him at helattar@voiceofoc.org or on Twitter @ElattarHosam.
Erika Taylor is a Voice of OC Tracy Wood Reporting Fellow and photojournalist. You can find her on Instagram @camerakeepsrolling or email at etaylor@voiceofoc.org.
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