The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today designated Tulane University a “Hostile Campus” for Palestinian, Arab, Muslim, and allied students who have faced ongoing repression, discrimination, and retaliation for advocating for Palestinian human rights and justice.
According to CAIR, Tulane has fostered a campus climate that punishes peaceful student activism, enables harassment, and disregards the safety and civil liberties of students and faculty opposing the genocide of the Palestinian people. Reports of administrative intimidation, surveillance, doxxing, and faculty inaction in the face of anti-Palestinian and Islamophobic abuse continue to emerge.
“Tulane has made it clear that if you speak up for Palestinian rights, you’ll be punished,” said Dr. Maryam Hasan, CAIR’s Research and Advocacy Specialist. “Their response doesn’t just target a few students; it puts everyone’s rights at risk and sends the message that free speech isn’t really protected here.”
SEE: CAIR Designates Tulane University (Tulane) as a Hostile Campus
BACKGROUNDER:
In July 2024, Tulane University’s Arabic Cluband theTulane chapter of Students for a Democratic Societyfiled afederal Title VI complaintwith the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, citing anti-Palestinian discrimination. According to the complaint, members of the Arabic Club were forced to remove their keffiyehsbefore performing at a university-sponsored Language Day event. One student was reportedly pressured by a Tulane administrator to publicly identify herself as Palestinian on stage. These disturbing incidents underscore a deeper pattern of racialized targeting and silencing of Arab and Palestinian students.
Tulane’s administration suspended the campus chapter of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) following anti-genocide organizing efforts. In response, the students formed a new independent coalition to continue their advocacy. After organizing a peaceful protest this year opposing the wrongful detention of Columbia student, Mahmoud Khalil, in Louisiana, the Tulane students received conduct violations, revealing a pattern of punitive discipline against Palestine advocates.
Tulane joins a growing list of universities across the country that have suppressed students advocating against apartheid, genocide, and U.S.-backed military occupation.
To read more about CAIR’s Unhostile Campus campaign and how to take action, visit: https://islamophobia.org/reportcampus/
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CONTACT: CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, e-Mitchell@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Manager Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, iallison@cair.com