The and six other schools over reports of antisemitism and Islamophobia.
The department said the investigations are part of its efforts to take “aggressive action to address the alarming nationwide rise in reports of antisemitism, anti-Muslim, anti-Arab, and other forms of discrimination and harassment on college campuses and in K-12 schools since the Oct. 7 Israel-Hamas conflict.”
The investigation at Lafayette and most of the other schools began Thursday, according to the Department of Education. Other schools on the list include the University of Pennsylvania, Cornell University and Columbia University.
Nicole Hurd, Lafayette president, said in that the department’s Office for Civil Rights said an unidentified person alleged the college discriminated against students of Jewish ancestry by failing to respond to an incident of harassment last month.
Hurd said that someone held a poster bearing words with an antisemitic meaning during a peaceful Oct. 25 event. She said the incident was immediately reviewed by the school’s student life team, and was to be addressed through its “bias incident accountability process.”
Lafayette earlier Friday said in a statement that the school maintains a “firm stance” against antisemitism, Islamophobia and hate speech of any kind. The college said that as recently as last week, students of differing views shared a peaceful gathering on campus to honor those who have died from recent violence in the Middle East.
“This event was typical of how our campus community has acted with care and kindness during this time,” the college said.
“Many members of our community are deeply grieving and especially worried,” Hurd said. “We are grateful to everyone — students, faculty, and staff — who are doing their very best to support each other, and we encourage the use of every resource available.”
Lafayette also said it is cooperating “and will continue to cooperate fully” with investigators, its statement said.
The Education Department said the schools are under investigation for “alleged shared ancestry violations of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 … which prohibits race, color, or national origin discrimination, including harassment based on a person’s shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics.”
Five of the complaints allege antisemitic harassment and two allege anti-Muslim harassment, according to the department’s news release. A full list is available on
