CAIR Designates University of Chicago (UChicago) and Swarthmore College, PA as “Institutions of Particular Concern” for Targeting Anti-Genocide Student Protesters

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, designates the University of Chicago and Swarthmore College, PA as “institutions of particular concern” due to the reported hostile environment on campus and the threat to the safety of Palestinian, Muslim, Arab, Jewish, and other students, staff, and faculty who stand against occupation, apartheid, and genocide. 

University of Chicago (UChicago)

In late 2024, UChicago’s president, Paul Alivisatos, affirmed: “The ability to speak freely across difference is more important than ever. At the University of Chicago, your voice is protected.” Yet, for over a year, Palestinian, Muslim, Arab, Jewish, and other students, staff, and faculty at UChicago reportedly faced frequent discrimination, including slurs and threats, while white and Jewish students received comparatively respectful treatment. Administrators repeatedly failed and refused to quell targeted harassment and doxing toward anti-genocide voices. Instead, they arrested student protestors and used police force to remove their encampment, making them feel marginalized. Over 275 faculty members at UChicago wrote an open letter to President Alivisatos objecting to calling the police raid on protestors, stating, “In choosing this course of action, the administration has elected to abandon its own principles of neutrality and the protection of free speech.” Palestine Legal and UChicago United for Palestine (UCUP) filed a federal civil rights complaint with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR). 

Since October 16, 2023, Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and allies have been gathering in the UChicago’s Main Quad to protest Israel’s ongoing genocide on Gaza. During a November 2023 sit-in, students and faculty were arrested for speaking against apartheid. Although the charges were dropped later, students faced disciplinary hearings for violating policies regarding “amplified sound, chanting and not leaving when directed to, and gathering on the quad after allotted hours,” which they report have not “typically been enforced against other student groups.” On May 7, 2024, the university called the police to raid an encampment of sleeping Palestinian and allied students, faculty, and staff. Police threw wood planks, metal chairs, fencing, and art and ripped the tents from the ground. A few students were attacked, and one went to the hospital for treatment of back pain. The administration allegedly gave a warning that those “who did not leave would be subject to arrest, involuntary leave of absence, and referral to the University’s disciplinary processes.” However, this warning was given hours after the raid. 

UChicago administrators refuse to protect students from doxing:

• An anti-genocide Jewish student wearing a keffiyeh walked up to the Deans-On-Call and informed them that there was a reputed neo-Nazi (Braden Hill) on campus. Hill allegedly tried to dox protestors and antagonize people by attempting to disturb prayer and film the faces of participants. When a student told administrators she felt unsafe, they replied, “Later.” 
• A student told Dean Vasquez, Associate Dean and Director of Students at the UChicago for Student Affairs, about the threat posed by neo-Nazi Hill and his attempts to dox students and asked her to intervene. She reportedly told this student there was nothing she could do because the students at the encampment had chosen to be in a “public space.”  
• Hill was allegedly allowed to roam free to dox students and professors on campus while Deans-on-Call and UCPD invested their time and efforts protecting pro-genocide individuals.  
• Rabbi Brackman urged police to arrest student protestors during the encampment when students were using keffiyehs to block doxers who were attempting to photograph Muslim students during prayer. Brackman reportedly submitted an offensive and discredited statement regarding the Jewish students who participated in the encampment, saying: “Movements have always had a token minority; this is no different. For example, there were some Black slave owners and Black people who fought for the Confederacy.” 
• Administrators required Palestinian students to jeopardize their safety by placing their contact information on fliers for a vigil for Palestinians killed in Gaza, even though the policy was never previously enforced. 

UChicago administration marginalizes students advocating for Palestinian rights: 

• President Alivisatos not only hosted an Israeli Consul General to discuss ways of “further enhanc[ing]” partnerships between the University of Chicago and Israeli institutions, but he also reportedly refused to name Palestine or Palestinians in agreements on any terms, choosing to suspend negotiations with pro-Palestine students instead. 
• President Alivisatos allegedly attended a vigil for October 7th held by supporters of Israel and did not attend a vigil or memorial for Palestinians. 
• Disciplinary proceedings were selectively utilized against Palestinian students, allies, and vocal Palestinian-led organizations, including SJP, on campus. For instance, despite SJP’s flyers adhering to university posting policies, they are repeatedly torn down to silence Palestinian advocates, with the UChicago administration ignoring evidence-backed reports and failing to uphold free speech or hold violators accountable.  

Swarthmore College, PA

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.