A group of Northwestern University students filed a class-action breach of contract complaint against the academy, alleging that the university contravened its own guidelines by allowing an antisemitic environment on its campus. The filing , includes instances of racism experienced by the defendants, referred to in the match as” Jane Doe”,” John Doe 1″, and” John Doe 2″. The plaintiffs are further stated in the statement,” We anticipated Northwestern to fulfill a humble primary promise it made to them and all other similarly situated, tuition-paying students: you will be free to move around and use our beautiful school in accordance with those laws, and you will be able to do so.”
According to National Review, the lawsuit comes after Northwest officials reportedly concessioned anti-Israel protesters who obstruct school policies, including setting up tents and occupying a school yard. On Monday, the school announced an agreement with the encampment’s organizers, and unveiled, among various items, a promise to offer complete- ride scholarships to Israeli students and certain faculty jobs for Israeli academics. According to legal experts, the full-ride scholarships that were promised may not be legal.
” Rather than conduct the business of the campus in accordance with the clear rules of conduct that everyone signed up for”, the attorneys wrote,” Northwestern ignored those rules, opting instead to facilitate, encourage, and coddle a dystopic cesspool of hate in the school’s lush green center, Deering Meadow”.
The attorneys described the antisemitism that has been allowed to flourish on campus, including a student wearing a sweatshirt with an image of a Hamas member on the front that demands that people speak Hebrew. A sign with a drawing of university president Michael Schill, who is Jewish, with devil horns and drops of blood on the front, and another with a struck-through Star of David. In a video message to the university community on April 30th, Schill acknowledged antisemitism.
Northwestern twisted itself into a pretzel to accommodate the hostile and discriminatory encampment, legislate around it, and ultimately reward it, according to the attorneys.” Rather than enforce its express and implied promises to Plaintiffs that Northwestern is a place of civility where free expression is governed by transparent, content-neutral codes of conduct, Northwestern twisted itself into a pretzel.” However, Northwestern may not impose its regulations just because student organizations prefer to pitch tents and sleep on the campus ‘ lawn, encouraging discriminatory, terror-supporting ideologies until their “certs” are satisfied.
National Review cites Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which prohibits entities receiving federal funding from allowing discrimination, exclusion, or denial of benefits on the basis of race, color, or national origin. The promised full- ride scholarships could pose Title VI concerns for Northwestern, given that, according to Schill’s press release, they have been earmarked for students of a particular national origin, the lawyers said.
So far, at least two organizations have filed Title VI complaints against Northwestern.
The Equal Protection Project, a nonprofit organization that claims to be “devoted to the fair treatment of all people without regard for race or ethnicity,” submitted a complaint to the Office for Civil Rights of the Department of Education on Wednesday. The nonprofit’s founder and director, Cornell Law School professor William A. Jacobson, told National Review that he believes the scholarship and Northwestern’s declaration that it will “provide and renovate a house for MENA/Muslim students” violate the Civil Rights Act.
” The university is giving ethnic, national- origin, and shared- ancestry preference to what it described as’ Palestinian’ and ‘ MENA/Muslim ‘ students. I think that’s a clear violation”, Jacobson said. ” They need to be called out on it and to have legal consequences. The department of education should take this seriously, and I believe they will. Although this is not necessarily a part of the ongoing investigation into the antisemitism problem on campus, we believe the [Office for Civil Rights ] will take it seriously because Northwestern has issues that they are already looking into.
