JTA — The federal Department of Education is opening a Title VI antisemitism investigation into Sarah Lawrence College in response to a complaint from the campus Hillel chapter that the school fostered a hostile environment for Jewish students.

The private liberal arts college in Westchester, New York, failed to properly respond to harassment of Jewish students in the wake of the October 7, 2023, Hamas massacre in Israel, Hillels of Westchester alleged in its formal complaint, which a lawyer for the group filed in March 2024.

In a December 23, 2024 letter viewed by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, the department’s Office of Civil Rights, which oversees Title VI investigations, confirmed it would investigate “whether the College failed to respond to alleged harassment of students on the basis of national origin (shared Jewish ancestry) in a manner consistent with the requirements of Title VI.”

“We hope this investigation initiates a meaningful culture shift at SLC to improve the campus environment,” Rachel Klein, executive director of Hillels of Westchester, said in a statement. Klein and various Hillel board members added that the school has not engaged its Hillel in any efforts to address campus antisemitism, but that they hoped the school would do so now.

After this story’s publication, a representative for the college told JTA, “We are in the process of reviewing OCR’s request for data in connection with its investigation, and the College remains committed to fostering an inclusive and respectful campus community.” They added that they considered Hillels of Westchester to be “an outside organization not affiliated with the College.”

While there have been dozens of Title VI investigations into allegations of post-October 7 campus antisemitism, it is rare for a........

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