UMass Amherst Investigated for Mishandling Palestinian Student Harassment
The United States Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has initiated an investigation into the University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst) following a complaint alleging the school’s mishandling of harassment targeting Palestinian and Arab students.
Eighteen students have filed a complaint, stating that they have been subjected to “extreme anti-Palestinian and anti-Arab harassment and discrimination” by fellow students. The allegations range from racial slurs and death threats to actual assault. The complaint asserts that the university’s response was severely delayed and inadequate, creating a hostile environment for affected students.
The complaint, filed under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, alleges that despite repeated communication with over a dozen administrators and Title IX officials, the school was “extremely slow to take action” and that its inaction exacerbated the hostile environment.
The OCR opened its investigation on April 16, less than two weeks after the complaint was filed by Palestine Legal, an advocacy group representing the students.
The investigation will determine whether the university’s handling of the harassment complaints and subsequent disciplinary actions violated federal civil rights laws.
“When you have a complaint that so clearly, and in such detail, lays out the severity of the hostile environment … I think that led OCR to really swiftly open it,” said Radhika Sainath, a senior staff attorney at Palestine Legal.
The Department of Education has declined to comment on the pending investigation, while the university has not responded to requests for comment.
The complaint alleges that harassment began as early as October 2021, shortly after Hamas’s attack on Israel. One student allegedly began attending Students for Justice in Palestine and other related protests, shouting threats, playing a recording of bombs and explosions, and attempting to ram protestors with an electric scooter.
The complaint also includes allegations of vicious messages and threats received online, allegedly by a student and student-run accounts with names like “@amherstzionwarroom” and “@UMass_zionists.”
Despite repeated requests from targeted students and their parents for support and a public statement condemning anti-Palestinian and anti-Arab behavior, the university allegedly failed to respond promptly or adequately.
“We spent our senior year just compiling evidence against our own school,” said Emmanuelle Sussman, one of the student complainants. “OCR was like a second full-time job. … It’s insane the degree to which this has been our time spent, plus everything else that’s going on.”
Meanwhile, university leadership reportedly expressed solidarity with Israel. President Marty Meehan co-founded a coalition supporting Israel against Hamas. Additionally, administrators allegedly participated in events with the Anti-Defamation League, an organization criticized for its stance on antisemitism.
The complaint further alleges that the university swiftly arrested and disciplined 57 demonstrators involved in an October 2021 campus protest, despite earlier assurances from the chancellor that no disciplinary charges would be pursued.
It also notes that three students were barred from studying abroad due to the disciplinary sanctions, a decision allegedly made by Kalpen Trivedi, vice provost for global affairs. The complaint includes a purported screenshot of Trivedi’s Facebook page, in which he suggests complicity between Gaza’s Al-Shifa Hospital, the United Nations, the World Health Organization, and the media with Hamas.
The complaint also criticizes the UMass Police Department for publishing the home addresses of arrested students, many of whom were already facing harassment. The department claimed it was required to do so by state law, although the law only requires addresses to be made available as a public record, not posted online.
Maysoun Batley, one of the student complainants, highlighted the frustration of dealing with the police department while experiencing harassment and threats of violence.
The complaint details various interactions between students and administrators that left the complainants feeling frustrated and neglected. Despite repeated reports of harassment, the school’s Title IX coordinator granted mutual no-contact directives only in November and January, while court-sanctioned harassment prevention orders were not obtained until March.
“Hundreds of emails toward them proving all the harassment since mid-October, and it took them until March 29,” said Ruya Hazeyen, another student complainant. “And all of them are still allowed on campus, even though we have proof of some of them assaulting our members, threatening our members, doxxing our members. They’re still all right now on campus.”
The investigation by the OCR will determine the extent to which UMass Amherst has violated civil rights laws in its handling of Palestinian and Arab student harassment. The outcome of the investigation could have implications for other universities facing similar allegations and for the protection of students’ civil rights on campuses.
