New York's Cooper Union settles campus antisemitism case, pledges reforms

Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art will take steps to reduce antisemitism and other harassment on campus, to settle a lawsuit claiming ⁠it failed to help Jewish students who were locked inside a library as protection against pro-Palestinian demonstrators. The settlement was announced on Thursday by lawyers for 10 Jewish students who said the private Manhattan college's fostering of a hostile educational environment violated Title VI, ​a U.S. civil rights law that bars federal funds recipients from allowing discrimination based on race, religion and national ‍origin.

Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art will take steps to reduce antisemitism and other harassment on campus, to settle a lawsuit claiming ⁠it failed to help Jewish students who were locked inside a library as protection against pro-Palestinian demonstrators.

The settlement was announced on Thursday by lawyers for 10 Jewish students who said the private Manhattan college's fostering of a hostile educational environment violated Title VI, ​a U.S. civil rights law that bars federal funds recipients from allowing discrimination based on race, religion and national ‍origin. Cooper Union will create a Title VI coordinator to oversee its handling of discrimination and harassment, train employees and students about its policies, and prohibit the wearing of masks to conceal identities at demonstrations, the lawyers said. It will also pay unspecified compensation to the 10 students. "Jewish ⁠students deserve ‌to learn without being ⁠targeted, harassed, or excluded because of who they are or what they believe," Ziporah Reich, director of litigation at the pro bono Lawfare Project, which ‍represents the students, said in a statement. "Universities have a legal duty to protect them."

Cooper Union and its lawyer did not immediately ​respond to requests for comment. After Hamas attacked Israel in October 2023, U.S. colleges and universities faced many lawsuits ⁠claiming they encouraged or permitted antisemitism on campus and made Jewish students and faculty feel unsafe. Columbia University, Harvard University and New York University are among ⁠the schools that have settled. The lawsuit against Cooper Union followed an October 25, 2023, rally outside the library where pro-Palestinian demonstrators stormed past security guards, banged loudly on doors and windows, carried signs and chanted "Free Palestine."

Students inside said ⁠they felt unsafe. They also said school administrators did nothing to stop the rally and told police who offered help ⁠to back off. Last February, ‌U.S. District Judge John Cronan in Manhattan refused to dismiss the lawsuit, saying free speech protections did not justify how the students were treated. Cooper Union is in Manhattan's East ⁠Village. It offers degrees in art, architecture and engineering.

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