University of Minnesota among 5 colleges under investigation by Trump Administration
MINNEAPOLIS — The federal government is looking into allegations of antisemitism on the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities campus.
The University of Minnesota is one of five colleges under investigation by the U.S. Department of Education. The others are Columbia University, University of California-Berkeley, Northwestern University and Portland State University.
The Department of Education says that "widespread antisemitic harassment has been reported."
In a letter to University President Rebecca Cunningham, the Department of Education cites a student newspaper article that says anti-Israel protesters tried "to instill fear into the Jewish...community" and a student allegedly "had hot coffee thrown at them simply because people thought he was Jewish," among other incidents.
Rabbi Yitzi Steiner with Chabad at the University of Minnesota says Department of Education officials contacted him last week asking for his perspective.
Steiner says he works to combat antisemitism by encouraging Jewish students to "stand tall and strong and proud" and by reaching out to campus groups to help educate all students about why antisemitism awareness matters.
"The same way that they care about Black Lives Matter, and the same way they care about any minority group, they should care that Jewish people are being vilified," Steiner said.
Steiner says he's surprised that the University of Minnesota was included in the five schools being investigated.
"Are there instances that have happened over the course of last school year? Yes, there are, but I think the same thing was going on on many campuses," he said.
In a statement, the University of Minnesota said, "The University received notice of this investigation from the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights on Monday afternoon and will be reviewing the details in the days ahead. We are confident in our approach to combating hate and bias on our campus and will fully cooperate with this investigation. The University continues to stand firmly against antisemitism. We have and will continue to respond promptly and fully to any reports of harassment, intimidation, or bias against Jewish students — or any other members of our University community — in accordance with our University values, our own policies, and our responsibility under the law."
Steiner praised university leadership for facing anti-semitism head-on.
"This administration is working a lot harder on ensuring that their stance is very clear, not letting everybody hear what they want to hear," he said.
The Department of Education says it will begin requesting access to school data and personnel in the next week.
A University of Minnesota law professor and a former regent filed a federal antisemitism complaint against the university in 2023.
That professor told WCCO Tuesday he hasn't had contact with investigators since Donald Trump became president.
Minnesota Hillel said in a statement, "University of Minnesota, Twin Cities must be a safe and welcoming campus for all students, including Jewish students. We hope this investigation, along with other initiatives already underway such as the University's participation in Hillel's Campus Climate Initiative, will continue to improve the campus climate for Jewish Gophers. Along with building strong and vibrant Jewish life on campus at Minnesota Hillel, the entire campus community, including the university administration, has a critical role to play in countering antisemitism and all forms of hate."
