On Thursday, several elite colleges received failing grades from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) over their failure to combat anti-Semitism on campus in the aftermath of the October 7th terrorist attacks against Israel.
According to Axios, among the universities to receive failing grades were Harvard, Stanford, and MIT. Following the terrorist attacks and amidst the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas, anti-Semitic demonstrations have broken out on campuses across the United States, often targeting Jewish students for harassment.
“Like all students, Jewish students deserve to feel safe and supported on campus. They deserve a learning environment free from antisemitism and hate,” said ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt in a statement announcing the Campus Anti-Semitism Report Card.
The ADL’s new report grades 85 different schools over their handling of anti-Semitism, and whether or not they are responding adequately enough. The report features 21 criteria, focusing primarily on each school’s policies and other actions, Jewish life on campus, and incidents that took place on campus. Each university was given a questionnaire and was allowed to conduct its own research to determine their own score.
Only two schools on the list received “A” grades: Brandeis University and Elon University. Only 17 schools received grades of “B,” while 29 received “C” grades and 24 schools got a grade of “D.” There were 13 schools that received the lowest grade of “F.”
In a statement responding to the ADL’s report, Harvard declared that “anti-semitism has no place in the Harvard community. We remain steadfast in our commitment to combating antisemitism and hate, in whatever form it manifests itself.” MIT and Stanford did not release any statements.
Multiple investigations have been carried out against top universities, including by the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. House of Representatives. Former Harvard President Claudine Gay was forced to resign amid backlash over her handling of anti-Semitism, as well as allegations of plagiarism.