The Georgia chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Georgia) and Palestine Legal filed a federal civil rights complaint on behalf of Emory Students for Justice in Palestine (ESJP) with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights yesterday. The complaint demands an immediate investigation into the “hostile” anti-Palestinian, anti-Arab and Islamophobic environment at Emory University.
CAIR-Georgia, Palestine Legal and ESJP are urging the Department of Education to investigate Emory’s “failure to protect its Palestinian, Arab and Muslim students and ensure Emory is held accountable for their unequal treatment of these students,” according to a CAIR-Georgia press release.
The complaint describes instances of Emory students facing anti-Palestinian, anti-Arab and Islamophobic harassment, including being called terrorists and fake Muslims, followed on campus and having their flyers ripped up or thrown in the trash. The flyers displayed the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces.
Additionally, the press release states that ESJP members have been doxxed on social media.
“The last 6 months at Emory University have been difficult for Palestinian, Arab and Muslim students,” ESJP wrote in the press release. “We want the Department of Education to do what Emory failed to — which is investigate our reports of bias properly, listen to our voices, and hold Emory accountable, so we can safely advocate for Palestinian rights without fearing for our safety on campus.”
The complaint has been in the works for a few months, according to an ESJP executive board member, who requested to remain anonymous due to safety concerns.
“I personally have been really troubled by the way the administration has handled everything that’s happened since October, and that has taken a toll on my academics,” the ESJP member said. “It’s taken a toll on my grades. My physical and mental well-being has been affected by it, as well as so many other students on campus.”
This comes a little over two months after a coalition of civil rights groups, including CAIR-Georgia, sent University President Gregory Fenves a letter on Jan. 24 that stated Emory violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by holding a “biased” stance against Palestinian, Arab and Muslim students and failing to respond when they reported mistreatment.
The letter served as an opportunity for the University to address the concerns, according to CAIR-Georgia Executive Director Azka Mahmood. Though Emory eventually replied to the organization, Mahmood felt the University’s response was inadequate.
“Essentially the University denied any issues were occurring at the University and they did not address the concerns in a satisfactory manner at all,” Mahmood said.
This motivated CAIR-Georgia and Palestine Legal to file yesterday’s complaint, according to Mahmood.
CAIR-Georgia Legal Director Javeria Jamil expressed a similar sentiment in the press release, writing that Emory’s “deafening silence and absolute failure” to keep its Muslim, Palestinian and Arab students safe on campus has prompted CAIR-Georgia to “turn to the Department of Education for recourse.”
“We hope that this complaint will result in an investigation into Emory’s complacency and complicity with the growing Islamophobic and anti-Palestinian environment and bring justice and accountability for the Palestinian, Muslim, and Arab students,” Jamil wrote.
Mahmood added that Emory has “really let down” its Muslim, Palestinian and Arab students as well as their allies.
“It is regretful that the situation has come to this point when students have filed multiple bias reports starting on Oct. 9,” Mahmood said. “They have made dozens of complaints and reached out repeatedly to the administration for help, believing that the administration would extend the resources that it extends to every other student but they were denied that courtesy.”
Affected students have filed at least 10 bias reports to the University, none of which have been addressed, according to the ESJP member. She added that there is an “absolute breakdown of trust” between the administration and Palestinian, Arab and Muslim students.
“This is a very explicit incident of discrimination against students,” the ESJP member said. “Even when we go through the official means of reporting discrimination on campus, even then it is not respected.”
Assistant Vice President of University Communications Laura Diamond wrote in an email to The Emory Wheel that the University is aware of the complaint filed with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights. However, Emory has not received a copy of the complaint.
“Emory does not tolerate behavior or actions that threaten, harm or target individuals because of their identities or backgrounds,” Diamond wrote. “We recognize that many members of our community are concerned about the ongoing war, hostage situation and humanitarian crisis. Emory continues to offer a variety of resources to support all of our students.”
