By Emily Kim Jenkins, Contributing Writer
The University of California, San Diego received a ‘D’ grade on Thursday from the Anti-Defamation League’s (ADL) newly published College Antisemitism Report. The report claims that UCSD has a “deficient approach” to combating antisemitism– the same grade received by Pomona University, California Technical Institute, CSU Northridge, and UCs Berkeley, Los Angeles, Davis and Santa Barbara.
UCSD has faced enormous challenges addressing student concerns since the Oct. 7 attacks in Israel. Tensions continue to rise on campus as Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and Jewish students demonstrate different perspectives on the war. In March, SJP organized the largest march in UCSD history calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, which attracted over 2 thousand demonstrators. Jewish faculty and students continuously approach the Associated Student Council (ASC), asking them to take action, saying they feel unsafe and alienated on campus.
While SJP faces some controversy on other campuses across the country, Tazheen Nizram, Executive Director of the Council for American Islamic Relations in San Diego, says it’s a false equivalency to conflate pro-Palestinian activity with antisemitic activity.
“Our job as activists and community members has become educating citizens on the difference between being antisemitic and critiquing a foreign government,” she said.
The ADL report cites several incidents of antisemitism in the last two years as a factor in the score, including swastika vandalism, verbal harassment and the Associated Student Council (ASC) refusing to apologize for endorsing a letter which referred to Israel as an “apartheid state.” The ASC publicly condemned antisemitism in the following month, but only approved the motion after removing an apology for the endorsement of the letter.
“The University of California unequivocally condemns antisemitism in all its forms. We are alarmed by the disturbing uptick in antisemitism nationwide and locally, and by the pain it inflicts on students, faculty, staff, and others across the UC system,” said a spokesperson for the University of California. The UC listed several actions it has taken to combat hate, including increasing funding allocated towards battling discrimination, launching a systemwide Office of Civil Rights and expanding their partnership with Hillel.
The report graded 85 universities across the country based on 21 criteria, which the ADL sorted into three categories: administrative action and policies, incidents on campus and Jewish student life on campus. Colleges were asked to self-report which of these criteria they had fulfilled or pledged to fulfill by 2024, after which the ADL researched incidents on campus and campus policies. Then profiles of each school were written with input from campus representatives such as Chabad or Hillel directors.
“We hope UC San Diego will use [the Report Card] as an additional tool in their efforts to address campus antisemitism and look forward to working with them and other partners to improve their grade,” ADL San Diego told the Voice & Viewpoint.
In California, the highest grade given to a school was a ‘C’ held by University of Southern California. Across the country, the only schools to receive ‘A’ grades were Brandeis University in Massachusetts and Elon University in North Carolina. 76 percent of schools graded received a ‘C’ grade or lower.
If you have been a victim of a hate crime or hate incident, the San Diego County District Attorney’s office can help. Visit sdcda.org/helping/hate-crimes to fill out an online form, call your local police department, email [email protected] or call (619) 515-8805.
This resource is supported in whole or in part by funding provided by the State of California, administered by the California State Library in partnership with the California Department of Social Services and the California Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs as part of the Stop the Hate program. To report a hate incident or hate crime and get support, go to https://www.cavshate.org/.
