Harvard Palestinian and Muslim college students have filed a federal civil rights grievance with the Department of Education, claiming that Harvard has failed to guard them from harassment, doxxing and assaults on campus amid the Israel-Hamas conflict.
This civil rights grievance from Harvard college students follows months of chaos on the Cambridge campus, ever since Hamas’ terrorist assaults on Oct. 7 and the ensuing Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza. A rising variety of Islamophobic and antisemitic incidents have been reported throughout campus.
A bunch of Jewish college students earlier this month sued Harvard University, alleging that Harvard is violating the civil rights of its Jewish college students — and now, a bunch of Palestinian and Muslim college students filed this civil rights grievance with the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights.
The Palestinian and Muslim college students have reportedly been focused with rampant harassment and racist assaults, together with doxxing, stalking, and assaults. The college students say they’ve been attacked for merely carrying keffiyehs — conventional Palestinian scarves — together with having objects thrown at them or poured on them. Other college students have reportedly been stalked whereas working at their on-campus jobs.
The authorized division of the Muslim Legal Fund of America filed the civil rights grievance on behalf of greater than a dozen college students. They’re calling for the Department of Education to open an investigation into these incidents.
“We cannot overstate the detrimental educational effects of Harvard’s failure to act,” mentioned Chelsea Glover, senior civil litigation workers legal professional and co-counsel of report on the grievance. “Palestinian, Arab, Muslim, and affiliated college students who stay on campus face verbal and bodily abuse after they go away their dorms to go to class. Students really feel uncomfortable taking part at school discussions for worry of their fellow college students or professors reporting their feedback to the press.
“Palestinian students in particular cannot describe the experiences of their families in Gaza or the West Bank without members of the Harvard community minimizing or disregarding their suffering,” Glover added. “Students who’ve been at Harvard for years describe experiencing unprecedented levels of racism. How can Harvard expect its students to learn and succeed in this environment?”
The Harvard Undergraduate Palestine Solidarity Committee, which blamed Israel for Hamas’ terrorist assaults, mentioned it helps the scholars who filed the civil rights grievance.
“We echo their calls for the Department of Education to open an immediate investigation into these attacks, and demand accountability for Harvard’s role in fostering a campus climate that continues to be increasingly harmful towards Palestinian students,” the committee posted.
A spokesperson for Harvard declined to touch upon the Department of Education grievance.
Harvard’s interim president Alan Garber — who took over after Claudine Gay resigned — not too long ago created presidential activity forces following experiences of rising Islamophobic and antisemitic acts on campus. One of the boards is dedicated to combating Islamophobia and anti-Arab bias, and the opposite committee is concentrated on tackling antisemitism.
“Strengthening our ties to one another will take considerable effort and engagement across the University,” Garber wrote. “I have asked each task force to undertake broad outreach, and I encourage you to share your perspectives and your experiences with equal measures of care and candor.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com”