MADISON — Wisconsin’s largest public university is at risk of losing a portion of their federal funding if they fail to protect Jewish students.
UW-Madison has been warned of potential enforcement actions if they do not fulfill their obligations under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act to protect Jewish students on campus, according to a letter sent from the U.S. Department of Education Monday.
“The Department is deeply disappointed that Jewish students studying on elite U.S. campuses continue to fear for their safety amid the relentless antisemitic eruptions that have severely disrupted campus life for more than a year. University leaders must do better,” said Secretary of Education Linda McMahon. “U.S. colleges and universities benefit from enormous public investments funded by U.S. taxpayers. That support is a privilege and it is contingent on scrupulous adherence to federal antidiscrimination laws.”
UW-Madison is among 60 colleges or universities sent a letter from D.O.E. Monday; all schools on the list are currently under investigation for Title VI violations relating to antisemitic harassment and discrimination. UW-Madison is the only Wisconsin university on the list.
As of January 14th, UW-Madison had two pending cases under investigation, according to the Office for Civil Rights. Spokesperson for UW-Madison John Lucas says one of the cases opened January 29th was “not filed by a member of our community but instead by an outside organization that has filed complaints against several other institutions of higher education.”
The letter from D.O.E. comes just under a year after pro-Palestinian encampments formed at both UW-Madison and UW-Milwaukee. Three months after the demonstrations concluded, UW-Madison formed a new Expressive Activity Policy to, in the plan’s words, “ensure that teaching, research, scholarship, service, and university-sponsored events can occur in a safe and orderly manner without disruption and in a manner that is open and welcoming.” The policy led to at least two instances of pro-Palestinain grafitti on campus.
Spokesperson for UW–Madison John Lucas says the university condemns antisemitism in all its forms and continues to cooperate with any inquiries or requests for information from OCR. Lucas says the university took a number of additional steps entering the 2024-25 academic year, including implementing a mandatory free expression training for all new students that includes discussion of offensive speech and training on Title VI discrimination.
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