“The Biden administration’s Department of Education opened an investigation into San Diego State University after an administrator sent an email condemning Hamas and offering support after the Oct. 7 terrorist attack,” reports Campus Reform.
San Diego State University revealed that it received a notice from the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights on January 3 about a complaint that the school “discriminated against Islamic, Arab and/or Palestinian students by sending an all-campus email on Oct. 9.”
The complaint, according to an SDSU spokesperson, alleges that the email “promoted hate and racism against Arabs and Muslims.”
The email was sent on October 9 by SDSU President Adela de la Torre and Vice President for Student Affairs Christy Samarkos.
”Throughout this weekend and today, SDSU has been in direct communication with dozens of impacted community members after the horrific reports of killings and kidnappings following the Hamas attacks on Israel during Shemini Atzeret/Simchat Torah, a major Jewish holy day,” wrote the college officials. “What is being reported is heartbreaking. We have heard from SDSU community members who have family, close friends and colleagues in the region. Many have spent several terrifying days praying for their safety.”
”We are grieving for all those who are suffering in the wake of this outburst of violence. We condemn, in the strongest possible terms, any act of violence, especially those against innocent civilians. We are deeply struck by the sheer scale of the loss of life – of innocent Israelis, Palestinians, and countless others. We also recognize that this follows a long history of loss of life of civilians in this region.”
The email also provided links to resources for students who need emotional support. The SDSU spokesperson stated, “The email, which you can read in full online, does not promote hate or racism. Since October 7, SDSU has been actively in communication with our many San Diego and campus partners given the significance of the community impact of the ongoing war. University safety professionals have been in contact and offered support and resources to those impacted, including members of our Islamic, Arab and Palestinian communities.”
The Office for Civil Rights has sometimes said its launching of an investigation doesn’t necessarily mean that it views a complaint as having merit, reports the Jerusalem Post.
But it seems like a bad practice, and something that would chill constitutionally protected speech, to launch an investigation over speech that does not amount to illegal discrimination. In 2000, the federal appeals court with jurisdiction over SDSU ruled that it violated the First Amendment to keep an investigation going for 8 months over constitutionally protected speech, because such prolonged investigations for speech chill free speech. (See White v. Lee, 227 F.3d 1214 (9th Cir. 2000).
A press release two months ago said the Office for Civil Rights would be opening investigations in response to “the alarming nationwide rise in reports of antisemitism, anti-Muslim, anti-Arab, and other forms of discrimination and harassment on college campuses and in K-12 schools since the October 7 Israel-Hamas conflict.”
”Hate has no place in our schools, period. When students are targeted because they are — or are perceived to be — Jewish, Muslim, Arab, Sikh, or any other ethnicity or shared ancestry, schools must act to ensure safe and inclusive educational environments where everyone is free to learn,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona. “These investigations underscore how seriously the Biden-Harris Administration, including the U.S. Department of Education, takes our responsibility to protect students from hatred and discrimination.”
An Education Department spokesperson told Campus Reform, “The Department does not comment further on pending investigations.”
