Swarthmore College purports to be “a campus where diversity, equity, inclusion, and access are central to rectifying past injustices and fostering a thriving community.” Yet for Palestinian, Muslim, and Arab students and faculty, the reality is a starkly different, deeply hostile environment marked by exclusion and discrimination. These students feel targeted, unsafe, and unwelcome, their experiences systematically disregarded by an administration that, far from upholding values of equity, seems to foster an atmosphere of animosity and neglect. As a result, CAIR-Philadelphia and the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) filed a Title VI complaint against Swarthmore College with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights.
Swarthmore administration discriminates against anti-genocide voices:
- Swarthmore reportedly changed its Student Code of Conduct for the 2023-2024 academic year in direct response to protests and activism by Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim students, enumerating and prohibiting protest activities undertaken by pro-Palestine students.
- Members of the Muslim community have reported that they feel like “non-entities.” as Swarthmore has chosen to discontinue the Islamic Studies Program entirely. Swarthmore College’s Islamic studies program has been left without a program coordinator or administrative assistant.
- President Valerie Smith of Swarthmore allegedly issued community-wide emails expressing grief for attacks against Israelis but allegedly refused to send similar emails recognizing the Palestinian death toll and devastation in Gaza, despite requests from Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim students. This double standard contributed to feelings of grief, isolation, and alienation among these students.
- Swarthmore administration reportedly initiated disciplinary proceedings against Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim students in retaliation for their activism, often without providing due process. Students were reportedly denied access to evidence, clarification of charges, and the ability to call witnesses, leaving them in limbo for extended periods. About 83 Swarthmore faculty and instructional staff called on administrators to drop charges on students stating, “Given that twenty of the 25 pro-Palestine students facing disciplinary proceedings are students of color — many of whom are first-generation low-income students — we are particularly concerned with the integrity of the disciplinary process.”
- Last spring, Swarthmore’s Board of Management allegedly invited faculty to a meeting on pedagogy but questioned them about signing a petition supporting students’ rights to hold an encampment critical of Israeli and US policies.
- A Palestinian and Muslim student reported in a BIR that SJP members were called “terrorists” by other students. When the students sought support from Vice President Stephanie Ives, she reportedly dismissed their concerns, advising them to “go to Public Safety” despite previous harm experienced by students from Public Safety personnel. Other students also reportedly filed BIRs about the incident, only for Ives to dismiss their complaints, instead citing claims that Jewish students had been called “colonizers” and “white supremacists.” When SJP members raised concerns of anti-Arab discrimination, Ives reportedly responded with a racist remark, saying she “cannot change the color of her skin,” further highlighting a lack of empathy and accountability.
Swarthmore Public Safety targets and surveils Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim students and faculty, fails to protect them, and dismisses their concerns:
- A recently graduated Palestinian student reported being followed and questioned by Public Safety officers multiple times while simply sitting on a bench on campus.
- A Palestinian student was reportedly misidentified twice as participating in protest activities at which she was not present, likely due to her reportedly wearing a hijab. The student is now facing serious misconduct charges regarding protest involvement despite having clear evidence confirming her presence in a different area of campus at that time.
- On May 17, 2024, about twenty non-students reportedly approached an SJP encampment at Swarthmore, chanting pro-Trump slogans and threatening to dismantle the site. Later that night, a smaller group reportedly attacked by firing fireworks directly at the encampment. Public Safety arrived late and took no action to apprehend the attackers despite prior radio warnings of potential gun violence. Breaking protocol, Public Safety delayed notifying students until the next day, only after repeated faculty urging and minimized the incident by calling the fireworks “firecrackers” and omitting that they were aimed at students. In the following days, Director Michael Hill dismissed video evidence and witness testimonies, downplaying the attack further.
- A Public Safety officer reportedly approached an Arab faculty member eating in the dining center to identify them by name. This faculty member’s name was included in an incident report used in a student discipline process, causing concerns about surveillance and potential racial profiling of Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim faculty members.
Swarthmore administration’s differential treatment of student protesters:
- Swarthmore charged 25 SJP members with violations of the Student Code of Conduct, including ten major and 20 minor misconduct charges. Historically, other student groups like Mountain Justice/Sunrise Swarthmore, #BLM, and the Black Affinity Coalition engaged in similar protest activities (e.g., occupying hallways and offices, using bullhorns, affixing posters) without facing disciplinary measures.
- Vice President Ives reportedly falsely framed the disciplinary charges against SJP members as a response to injuries inflicted upon students despite no evidence of student harm in the disciplinary charges or evidence files.
- Most SJP members who applied for extended housing and/or summer employment opportunities were apparently denied, despite Swarthmore typically extending summer work to most applicants due to being short-staffed.
Swarthmore College’s systematic neglect of Palestinian, Muslim, and Arab students’ reports, coupled with its swift action on complaints against them, underscores a serious and egregious culture of bias and disregard. This gross mishandling of events and persistent harassment is not only distressing but points to systemic bias within the administration’s response to these students’ concerns. These incidents demonstrate Public Safety’s alleged unwillingness to protect Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim students and faculty, their dismissive attitude toward their concerns, and their role in creating a hostile environment on campus. The administration’s disregard for these students’ safety and well-being stands in direct opposition to the values it claims to uphold, leaving Palestinian, Muslim, and Arab students exposed to ongoing harm and exclusion in a supposedly inclusive academic space.
