University of Chicago accused of anti-Palestinian discrimination in federal complaint
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A new school year is under way, and Chicago area universities continue to grapple with accusations of discrimination from students protesting the war in Gaza.
In the latest development, a new civil rights complaint has been filed with the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights against the University of Chicago, accusing the school of anti-Palestinian discrimination and censorship.
In the federal civil rights complaint filed by the independent advocacy group Palestine Legal, a large coalition of student groups details several incidents from October 2023 through June 2024 that the filing says violated their civil rights, through "a pattern of discrimination that has caused an increasingly hostile environment at UChicago for Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim students and students associated with them."
The complaint calls on the federal government to step in and investigate what they say is a failure to protect Palestinian students from discrimination on campus.
K is a UChicago student who detailed her experience in the complaint—one of a few hundred students involved with the coalition UChicago United for Palestine.
K said she was assaulted by a federal marshal in February for trying to ask a question to a district judge from Florida, who held at a talk at the university and who supports Israel.
"I was trying to ask a question—walked up. I was wearing a keffiyeh," said K. "I'm Jewish. But the keffiyeh was responded to by the U.S. Marshal getting in between and shoving me forcefully in the chest."
In May, CBS News Chicago also spoke to another student, Yousef Hasweh, who was subject to disciplinary hearings and had his diploma withheld due to his part in the pro-Palestinian encampment on campus. He is also part of the complaint.
Students also reported doxing from other students, and police surveillance of Muslim students on campus.
The complaint also claimed they made the university aware of the harassment, but the school did not stop it.
K also faced disciplinary proceedings by the university.
"The university has chosen to instead prioritize these disciplinary proceedings and this police surveillance," K said. "It has, in fact, created new policies to prevent the same kind of protest that we saw last year."
In response to the filing, UChicago did not comment on the complaint, but sent the following statement:
"The University of Chicago values and welcomes students of all backgrounds. The University has worked over many years to build an inclusive environment in which everyone is free to participate in the life of the University, and we are proud of this ongoing commitment.
"The University prohibits unlawful harassment and discrimination, takes allegations of such conduct seriously, and acts to prevent and address harassment and discrimination."
The new developments come after the university announced it received a $100 million gift from an anonymous donor to "advance the UChicago's commitment to free expression."
"UChicago tries to claim that it is different, that it is this free speech campus, but really it is only a free speech campus when that free speech is speech that it likes," K said.
The U.S. Department of Education Office of Civil Rights would not confirm Friday whether an investigation has been opened. If is opened and violations are found, a university's federal funding could be on the line.
Similar complaints have already prompted federal investigations into Northwestern University and the University of Illinois Chicago.
