Trump’s DOE Threatens Princeton and Other Colleges With Title VI ‘Enforcement’

The Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights is threatening “enforcement actions” against Princeton and 59 other colleges and universities across the country currently under investigation for antisemitism if they do not “fulfill their obligations under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act to protect Jewish students on campus,” the department announced March 10.

The law prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, and national origin in programs receiving federal financial assistance, including higher-education institutions. 

Princeton is on the list because of a complaint filed about a year ago by Zachary Marschall, editor-in-chief of the conservative activist website Campus Reform. Marschall, who is not a member of the campus community, alleged that Princeton “failed to respond” to “violent words” at pro-Palestinian protests that took place in October 2023. The complaint is still open, according to a database of pending cases with the Office of Civil Rights. 

In April 2024, Michael Hotchkiss, a University spokesman, told PAW in a statement: “Based on our familiarity with events on our campus and other information available to us, we are confident we are in full compliance with the requirements of Title VI.” 

The University declined to comment on Monday’s announcement by the Department of Education. 

According to Campus Reform, Marschall specifically cited chants of “intifada” and “apartheid has got to fall” as an example of harassment of students on the basis of national origin.

“While disciplinary approaches are not always applicable given the University’s robust commitment to freedom of expression, the University has responded to every complaint of bias against Jewish community members brought to its attention and continues to offer support,” Hotchkiss said at the time.

Center for Jewish Life’s executive director, Rabbi Gil Steinlauf ’91 and Rabbi Eitan Webb of Princeton’s Scharf Family Chabad House did not immediately respond to request for comment as both are traveling internationally.

In an email to PAW on behalf of the Alliance of Jewish Progressives (AJP), Elena Eiss ’28 wrote that the group is “deeply concerned” by threats of retaliatory measures.

“At the most basic level, we as Jewish students at Princeton do not live in fear for our safety on campus and feel that our rights are protected by the university,” she wrote, emphasizing the importance that Princeton be able to maintain free speech policies that “enable discourse.”

The press release from the DOE comes amid a multifaceted federal crackdown on higher education. Last week, the Federal Task Force to Combat Antisemitism announced the “immediate cancellation” of more than $400 million in funds to Columbia University. And this week, Harvard, Penn, and MIT announced hiring freezes  in light of “uncertainty” regarding federal funding. 

Also this week at Columbia, ICE arrested a green-card-holding former graduate student who was involved in last spring’s pro-Palestinian protests. In a letter to federal officials, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) said a lack of clarity in the case is “chilling protected expression.”

Referencing the recent funding cuts at Columbia, Eiss expressed concern that such moves could actually increase antisemitism. 

“We can imagine a scenario where some non-Jewish students witnessing their university losing so much funding due to accusations of antisemitism blame Jewish students, thus increasing anti-Jewish sentiment on campus.”