Harvard, MIT, Tufts, UMass get failing grades for fighting antisemitism
BOSTON - Harvard, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Tufts and UMass all ended up with failing grades in a new report on colleges fighting antisemitism on campus.
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) released its first "Campus Antisemitism Report Card" Thursday and said many schools in New England are still "not doing the basics to protect Jewish students."
The organization looked at 85 colleges and universities across the country, many which have "the highest proportion of Jewish students," according to the ADL.
Brandeis gets an A
Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts and Elon University in North Carolina were the only schools to get an A.
Harvard University, MIT, Tufts and UMass were among the 13 schools to get an F.
ADL report card grades
Here are the New England grades:
• Brandeis University (A)
• Amherst College (B)
• University of Vermont (C)
• Williams College (C)
• Northeastern (C)
• Bowdoin College (C)
• Boston University (C)
• Dartmouth (C)
• Brown University (D)
• Wellesley College (D)
• Tufts (F)
• MIT (F)
• Harvard (F)
• UMass Amherst (F)
The ADL said their report card should help students and their families make decisions about colleges by providing "information about the current state of antisemitism on campus and how particular universities and colleges are responding."
Tufts, UMass responses to F
"Although we disagree with the ADL's determination, we will examine the underlying data and methodologies used by the ADL to address any important areas where we can improve," Tufts spokesman Patrick Collins told WBZ-TV.
"We are already taking steps, including incorporating antisemitism sessions into our first-year student orientation program next fall, to continue to address these areas."
"UMass Amherst stands firmly by its unwavering record of combating all forms of hatred, including antisemitism," UMass spokesman Ed Blaguszewski told WBZ.
Antisemtism at Harvard
Harvard, in particular, has been criticized for the way it has been handling antisemitic incidents linked to the Israel-Hamas war. Undergraduate applications dropped five-percent this year and President Claudine Gay resigned back in January following a semester of backlash over antisemitic incidents on campus.
In grading Harvard, the ADL said there have been a "high" number of "severe antisemitic and anti-Zionist incidents" there, along with many "antisemitic speakers or programs on campus."
"Antisemitism has no place in the Harvard community. We remain steadfast in our commitment to combating antisemitism and hate, in whatever form it manifests itself," a Harvard spokesperson told WBZ-TV in an email Thursday.
How colleges were graded
The ADL said it consulted with experts and college administrators to come up with a way to grade a school's action and policies, incidents, and life for Jewish students on campus.