Sign up for the Today newsletter
Get everything you need to know to start your day, delivered right to your inbox every morning.
Harvard enters agreement following Title VI investigation into Muslim, Palestinian student complaints
Harvard will send a voluntary, school-wide “climate survey” to its students and faculty, improve its recordkeeping, and regularly monitor its anonymous reporting hotline.
Harvard University entered into an agreement with the Department of Education after the organization accused the university of failing to respond accordingly to harassment incidents against its Arab, Muslim, and Palestinian students during the Gaza conflict.
Harvard will send a voluntary “climate survey” to its students and faculty, improve its recordkeeping, and regularly monitor its anonymous reporting hotline, according to the resolution agreement the university voluntarily entered in on Jan. 17.
“Harvard is pleased to have reached a voluntary resolution with the Office for Civil Rights and reaffirms its dedication to ensuring that all members of the Harvard community can access educational programs free from harassment or discrimination,” said university spokesperson Jason Newton in a statement.
Advertisement:
On the same day, the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights issued a letter addressed to university President Alan Garber about the outcome of an investigation from a Jan. 29, 2024, complaint.
OCR gathered records from complainants and Harvard as well as publicly available information, and determined that the university did not have a sufficient procedure to handle Title VI harassment complaints, failed to provide a prompt response to reports of hostile environments, and did not have enough records to determine Title VI compliance.
“Based on OCR’s review thus far … OCR is concerned that the University’s Non-Discrimination Policy appears to impede its ability to meet its obligations pursuant to Title VI to provide a prompt and effective response to incidents of ancestry harassment that create a hostile environment about which it knew or should have known,” the office wrote in the letter.
Advertisement:
By entering the resolution agreement, the university denies that it violated Title VI in its handling of the complaints and is not an admission to any part of the OCR letter.
“Harvard has not admitted to any wrongdoing or liability and has agreed to take specific actions enhancing University policies and procedures to ensure that it continues to comply with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act,” Newton said.
On Jan. 21 — one day after President Donald Trump’s inauguration — Harvard settled two Title VI lawsuits filed by Jewish students and advocacy groups and adopted a definition of antisemitism used by the International Holocaust Remembrance Association, as reported by Boston.com.
Harvard said in the resolution statement that it will “identify, review, and revise as necessary” policies and procedures that relate to receiving and investigating reports of discrimination and harassment.
The university will also ensure that improvements are made to its reporting hotline — which OCR noted that the university resolved 11 complaints made through this line while 125 were not addressed — by reviewing each complaint and processing according to its policies, according to the agreement.
The climate survey will be sent to students and faculty members to ask “whether the survey subjects feel they have been or are currently subjected to or have witnessed discrimination, including harassment, on campus or during University related activities, based on national origin, specifically including shared ancestry,” the agreement said.
Advertisement:
These survey results will analyze results and review “areas of concern” and take steps to address those areas, pending OCR approval.
“Harvard remains dedicated to providing a safe and welcoming environment for learning and discourse and equitable treatment for all members of its community,” Newton said.
To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com