Illinois Wesleyan University is among 60 higher education institutions that have been urged by the U.S. Department of Education [DOE] to cooperate with ongoing investigations into alleged actions of "antisemitic discrimination and harassment."
The DOE's Office for Civil Rights [OCR] sent the letter on March 10 to colleges and universities under investigation for potential Title VI violations. Colleges and universities [as well as any K-12 schools] receiving federal funding must comply with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act — which prohibits race, color or national origin discrimination and harassment — or risk jeopardizing that funding.
The OCR's investigation into Illinois Wesleyan began in March 2024 under the Biden administration. In a statement, an IWU spokesperson said the private liberal arts college in Bloomington has provided "all the information that was requested" thus far and "is committed to fulfilling its obligations under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act and we continue to cooperate in this matter."
"We are committed to a campus environment that protects the safety and dignity of all students, faculty and staff, and that is free from harassment or discrimination of any kind, including discrimination against people of Jewish origin," the statement read.
IWU's statement did not specify what prompted the OCR's initial investigation into the alleged antisemitism.
But Campus Reform, a website run by a Virginia-based conservative nonprofit, said on March 5, 2024, that editor-in-chief Zachary Marschall filed a complaint against IWU, accusing the 175-year-old institution of "not responding to anti-Semitism on campus."
Campus Reform describes itself as a "conservative watchdog in the nation's higher education system," dedicated to exposing "leftist bias and abuse on the nation's college campuses." Its parent organization, the Leadership Institute, was founded in 1979 with a mission to "increase the number and effectiveness of conservative activists" and recruit and place conservatives in politics, government and media.
In October 2023, the site said it would continue "to report on pro-Hamas activism on college campuses."
Following the Hamas-led Oct. 7 attacks on Israel that killed approximately 1,200 people, including more than 40 American citizens, protests erupted on college campuses across the country. Most protests formed to support the cause of Palestinians after Israel launched an offensive in Gaza after Oct. 7.
Protests escalated in the spring of 2024, with students making various demands of their colleges of universities — in some cases calling for them to divest from any ties with Israel, support a ceasefire in Gaza or provide heightened financial transparency regarding any ties to companies that may do business with Israel.
It was among this background that Campus Reform said it had "obtained" a photo of a display at Illinois Wesleyan showing support for Palestinians. Campus Reform said messaging on the display appeared to "just[ify]" Hamas rockets, among other things. The display and Campus Reform coverage was cited in the federal complaint Marschall filed.
The OCR's March 10 letter this year did not further indicate the status of the investigations into the 60 institutions alleged to have failed "to protect Jewish students on campus, including providing uninterrupted access to campus facilities and educational opportunities," aside from the fact that they are ongoing.
Prior to this February, 55 colleges and universities were under investigation. After President Donald Trump signed an executive order titled "Additional Measures to Combat Antisemitism" on Jan. 29, five additional universities were added to the list.
Northwestern University in Evanston is the only other Illinois institution on the list.
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