COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — A group of Jewish students filed a discrimination complaint against Colorado College, alleging the school allowed a "hostile antisemitic climate" to fester amid protests of the Israel-Hamas war.
The complaint, which was filed with the Office for Civil Rights within the U.S. Department of Education on Aug. 23, claims Colorado College violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act and "engaged in deliberate indifference, dismissing the concerns of Jewish students."
"You have an obligation to make sure that the environment of your school is not hostile and does not permit discrimination," said Erielle Davidson, an attorney at Holtzman Vogel, which is representing a cohort of current undergraduate Jewish students at Colorado College.
The complaint claims that some Jewish students "are fearful to return to campus this coming fall."
"This is a very real fear, a real concern. And it's unfortunately not unique," said Davidson.
The complaint alleges that Jewish students endured "antisemitic slogans... across campus on a variety of posters." The document points to reported disruptions at Tutt Library, including a protest that allegedly included antisemitic chants.
"That basically forced Jewish students to go elsewhere on campus," said Davidson. "In fact, to the point that Jewish organizations at Colorado College have actually set up safe spaces or alternative spaces for Jewish students to study."
The complaint also details the dismantling of a memorial of 100 flags "by a series of individuals." The memorial was set up to honor the lives lost during the Oct. 7 attack that started the war.
"Within like a day or two, it was vandalized," said Davidson. "And as far as our clients are aware, no one was really punished for that."
The students want the Office for Civil Rights to make Colorado College create an antisemitism task force, investigate and punish students who destroyed the Oct. 7 memorial and issue a statement that it will sanction anyone who harasses Jewish students.
In a statement, a spokesperson for Colorado College said, “We will not offer comments on pending legal matters and specific allegations. We do, however, want to reiterate in the strongest possible terms that we condemn antisemitism and all forms of discrimination and harassment.”
Davidson hopes colleges will take steps to prepare for the anniversary of Oct. 7, which she believes could lead to more protests.
"October 7 is going to be a really heavy day for a lot of people," she said. "My hope is that universities rise to the occasion and realize they're not going to let what happened this past year happen again."
Davidson expects a preliminary investigation to take place next.
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