CAIR-Philadelphia, ADC, Announce Title VI Complaint against Swarthmore, Alleging Widespread Discrimination and Hostile Culture

On Tuesday, Oct. 29, representatives from the Philadelphia Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), as well as Swarthmore students and faculty members, appeared at a press conference in Philadelphia at the Friends Meeting House. They detailed a Title VI complaint filed against Swarthmore College that morning, and spoke on their experiences at the college. Title VI is the section of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which prohibits certain forms of discrimination by institutions receiving federal funds, including race, color, national origin, and — in some instances — religion. The complaint alleges numerous incidents of discrimination against Arab, Muslim, and Palestinian students which together it describes as “creating a hostile environment inflicted upon these students by their peers and administration.” This report marks the second Title VI complaint filed against Swarthmore this calendar year after a complaint in March alleging discrimination based on shared Jewish ancestry. Since that report’s filing, there has been no update on the status of any potential investigation, nor any indication that an investigation is ongoing. Title VI complaints against educational institutions are filed with and investigated by the Office of Civil Rights of the United States Department of Education. 

Among other allegations, the complaint states that reports of discrimination made by Arab, Muslim and Palestinian students were infrequently followed up on and rarely resulted in substantive measures, whereas reports of misconduct made against those students were quickly and exhaustively responded to, even when they were scurrilous. The complaint begins with an extensive list of incidents where it alleges that Swarthmore College failed to adequately address complaints submitted by Arab, Muslim, and Palestinian students through the Bias Incident Report system. Most of these allegations involve instances where students were called “terrorists,” and little if any response was taken by the college. The complaint also suggested Swarthmore has the capacity to quickly respond to reports — detailing examples of reports submitted against Arab, Muslim, and Palestinian students (particularly those involved with Students for Justice in Palestine) — but does not respond quickly in all circumstances. 

Vice President for Student Affairs Stephanie Ives is mentioned numerous times in the complaint as a particular source of discrimination, as “a leading culprit in the discrimination against Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim students” at Swarthmore. Specifically, CAIR and ADC pointed to multiple instances where she used language CAIR and ADC called “misguided, if not blatantly racist.” Another portion of the complaint alleged that a Palestinian student has repeatedly been misidentified as having attended protests solely due to her wearing a hijab, which led to a formal disciplinary warning being sent to her. The complaint continues, writing that “Ives publicly informed faculty that [the student] received a profuse apology for Swarthmore’s error, but [the student] received no such apology. When faculty wrote to Vice President Ives requesting clarification on [the student’s] treatment by Swarthmore, Vice President Ives did not respond. [The student] is currently facing further major misconduct charges for protest activities despite providing Swarthmore administration with records of identification card swipes on another area of campus during the date and time in question.”

In a statement to The Phoenix, Vice President for Communications and Marketing Andy Hirsch responded to the contents of the complaint. “Many of the allegations and claims made in the complaint are mischaracterizations, if not outright false. The College is committed to ensuring that everyone on campus can learn, work, and live in an environment free of intimidation, harassment, and discrimination. As President Smith and other senior leaders have stated on numerous occasions, we unequivocally condemn all forms of discrimination — including Islamophobia and anti-Arab hate.”

Hirsch also noted that the Office of Civil Rights had not yet informed the college that it is opening an investigation based on the aforementioned complaint, but indicated the college is committed to complying with the law and will fully cooperate with any potential investigation.