Jewish students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) filed a federal lawsuit against the school for not taking action against rampant antisemitism on campus.
According to a report from Fox News, StandWithUs Center for Legal Justice (SCLJ) and two Jewish MIT students filed the lawsuit in a district court. The complaint reportedly describes how the institution does not address "hateful antisemitic discrimination and harassment" and does not enforce policies that protect Jewish students and faculty (via Fox News):
"In enabling this discriminatory conduct, MIT has directly and intentionally contributed to a pervasively hostile campus environment in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and breached its duties to Plaintiffs, to its other Jewish students, to its Israeli students, and, indeed, to the entire MIT campus community," the complaint says. "Any alleged ‘action’ taken by MIT in response to discriminatory and harassing speech and conduct was not designed to have any meaningful impact in stopping the spreading wildfire of antisemitism, including antisemitic conduct."
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The new lawsuit calls on MIT to implement "comprehensive, meaningful remedial measures," including terminating administrators, professors, or other university employees or staff "responsible for the antisemitic abuse permeating the school," as well as suspending or expelling students and student groups, and to communicate broadly that MIT will "condemn, investigate and punish any conduct that discriminates against or harasses members of the Jewish community."
As a result of MIT’s "blatant and intentional disregard for its legal obligations to its students, Plaintiffs and other students have suffered injury, including in their educational experience," the lawsuit says.
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In a statement to the outlet, an MIT spokesperson said, "We have not been served with the complaint and MIT does not, as a typical practice, comment on pending litigation. Generally, we’d note MIT has established processes in place to address concerns of discrimination and harassment."
This is not the first lawsuit of this nature. Some students at Harvard University sued their school over antisemitism on campus. The federal Department of Education announced an investigation into the school for the same reason. And, the co-chair of a task force set up at Harvard University to combat antisemitism resigned last month, just weeks after she assumed the position.
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