President Haverford College Wendy Raymond testifies before the Education Committee and US employees on Wednesday, May 7, 2025, in the US Capitol in Washington (photo Shaneen Miranda/StatesRoom)
Washington – a trio of university presidents from all over the country on Wednesday took the heat of legislators from the United States Chamber, because the Republicans expand the pursuit of punishment of higher education institutions, which, as they claim, did not fight anti -Semitism.
The presidents of Pennsylvania Haverford College, Depaul University in Chicago and Polytechnic University State University in San Luis Obispo appeared before the Education Committee and House employees to describe in detail the steps that schools took to take care of anti -Semitism in their schools.
But this is President Haverford Wendy Raymond, who drew the greatest indignation from the Republicans, including a busy exchange with the Republican Elise Stefanik, a Republican from New York, when Raymond could not say how many students were recently disciplined for anti -Semitic proceedings.
Stefanik called Raymond’s answers “completely unacceptable.”
The interrogation in the home educational panel controlled by the GOP-the first about anti-Semitism since President Donald Trump-has been taken when his administration takes drastic steps to remove billion dollars in federal financing from several elite institutions in the whole country in connection with the claims that schools have anti-Semitism in their camps.
Harvard University had funds for grant jerked by administration to permission to “unbearable” of harassment of Jewish students.
Trump officials also tried to make elite institutions more adapted to ideological administration.
GOP legislators focused on anti -Semitism following Hamas of October 7, 2023, an attack on Israel’s protests and students that appeared all over the country last year during the war in Gaza. Now they go beyond Ivy League.
Chairman Tim Walberg said: “The plague of anti -Semitism has rooted far beyond the most famous ivory towers in the country, and our responsibility is the discovery and dealing with anti -Semitism in these schools, and others, especially since anti -Semitism takes place historically in the United States.”
“Anti -Semitism is spreading at universities throughout the country, both private and public, in a rural, urban and suburban environment,” said Republican Michigan.
President Haverford apologizes
Republicans in the panel expressed special dissatisfaction of the testimonies of Raymond of Haverford.
Small Liberal Arts College, founded in 1833, is located in the suburbs of Philadelphia.
Raymond admitted that in response to the war in Gaza, “events took place in our campus, which are incompatible with our values” and apologized to the Jewish community of Haverford. She did not develop incidents.
She said that the university took “significant steps to solve these problems and strengthen our rules.”
“This includes the update of our rules, strengthening campus safety programs, deepening involvement in the Jewish community, launching programs for combating anti -Semitism and creating our AD HOC Committee for free expression.”
Asked by Walberg how many students were expelled or suspended for anti -Semitic behavior since Hamas’s attack in 2023, Raymond was the only three presidents who could not provide specific numbers.
Raymond said that Haverford does not publish this information, but suspension and expulsion are “normal parts” of the disciplinary process.
“Direct questions”
Stefanik aimed at the refusal of Raymond to offer more details about all actions taken by the school regarding anti -Semitism.
During the balmy exchange between Stefanik and Raymond, President Haverford said: “With respect, a representative, I will not talk about individual cases here.”
Stefanik fired, saying: “With respect, President Haverford, many people sat in this position, which are no longer in the positions of the president of universities for the lack of answers to simple questions.”
Stefanik indicated Many presidents of universities whom they grill which appeared in front of the home educational panel for interrogations regarding the anti -Semitism of the campus, and later gave up, including Harvard leaders, Columbia University and the University of Pennsylvania.
Raymond said that there were “some” disciplinary actions taken by Haverford related to anti -Semitism, but no details were presented.
“For those who follow American people: you still don’t understand him. Haverford still does not understand him. This is a completely different testimony than other presidents who are here today who come in detail,” said Stefanik.
President Depul, Robert Manuel, described in detail a number of steps that the university was taken, including the implementation of a novel verification of mask identification and policy, putting novel limits of protests on the campus and the suspension of the student group’s activities, which according to Walberg is “at the very center of the school” problem of anti -Semitism “.
President Cal Poly, Jeffrey Armstrong, said: “When there is alleged anti -Semitism or harassment, we examine and apply immediate university discipline.”
He also said that the university strengthens the compulsory orientation of students and training in the field of employee work to ensure greater education and awareness of anti -Semitism.
At the end of her balmy exchange with Raymond, Stefanik said: “This is completely unacceptable, and therefore a committee appeared, because higher education did not take care of the scourge of anti -Semitism, exposing Jewish students to the risk in Haverford and other campuses throughout the country.”
Democrats criticize cuts in the education department
Meanwhile, the Democrats in the panel criticized the Republicans in the Committee for conducting interrogations on anti -Semitism, when Trump’s administration made huge cuts for the US Education Department, including the Civil Rights Office, which is designed to examine discriminatory complaints.
Rep. Bobby Scott, a member of the panel, said: “During the first three months, Trump’s administration closed seven of 12 OCR regional offices, all of which conduct investigations on discrimination in the campus, regardless of whether it is based on anti -Semitism or breed, national, sexual origin or disability.”
Democrat from Virginia also pointed to reports of almost half of the dismissed OCR employees. “You’re wondering: how can OCR perform its important duties among half of the staff?” He said.
Scott added that moving administration to dismantling OCR “raises reasonable doubts about plans to deal with anti -Semitism in the campus, as well as racism, homophobia, sexism, Islamophobia or the needs of disabled students.”
