The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today designated Pomona College, the University of Michigan (U-Mich), and the University of Georgia (UGA) as “Institutions of Particular Concern” due to their reported creation of a hostile campus environment for Palestinian, Muslim, Arab, Jewish and other students, staff, and faculty opposing the genocide of the Palestinian people in Gaza.
In a report released today, CAIR documented the ways in which Pomona College campus leaders and U-Mich and UGA administration have reportedly displayed apparent discrimination based on religion, race, and ethnicity by actively suppressing the free speech of Palestinian, Muslim, Arab, Jewish, and other students, staff, and faculty who oppose occupation and apartheid, making them feel unsafe and unwelcome on campus.
“Pomona College’s actions have created an environment of repression and fear for students who are courageously and non-violently standing against Israel’s occupation, apartheid, and genocide in Palestine,” said CAIR-LA Executive Director Hussam Ayloush. “By designating Pomona College as an ‘Institution of Particular Concern,’ we are raising an alarm about the growing threat to the safety and rights of Palestinian, Muslim, Arab, Jewish, and other students who refuse to remain silent in the face of oppression. CAIR-LA will continue to stand in solidarity with these students and demand that the college live up to its stated values of diversity, openness, and inclusion.”
“We are left with little choice but to designate the University of Michigan – Ann Arbor as an ‘Institution of Particular Concern’ based upon its clear disparate treatment against anti-genocide student protesters,” said CAIR-MI Executive Director Dawud Walid. “It is unfortunate that this institution, which is ranked as one of the top liberal arts universities in America, continues to institute illiberal policies and actions to quell students’ criticism of human rights violations committed by Israeli Occupational Forces.”
“We remain extremely concerned about UGA’s treatment of anti-genocide students. UGA has suspended students without recourse and has deliberately delayed resolution,” said CAIR-Georgia Executive Director Azka Mahmood. “UGA demonstrates a disturbing disregard for students’ freedom of expression and their futures. We urge UGA to course correct and to abide by the values befitting of an institution of higher learning.”
BACKGROUNDER:
Pomona College leadership actively opposed a referendum by their democratic student government that was overwhelmingly in favor of ending ties with Israeli companies profiting from the genocide of Palestinians. Students who protested the genocide were reportedly neither protected nor heard by Pomona College leaders and were instead brutalized by police force. On August 6, 2024, the Department of Education Office for Civil Rights launched an investigation into discrimination against Palestinian, Southwest Asian and North African (SWANA), and Muslim students at Pomona College.
The University of Michigan reportedly created a racially hostile campus for Muslim, Arab, and Palestinian students and has leveraged law enforcement and disciplinary procedures to punish students opposing genocide. Earlier this month, CAIR-MI filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education Office of Civil Rights against U-Mich. President Ono of U-Mich allegedly made statements in a leaked audio that seemed to suggest the university was ignoring incidents of Islamophobia on campus. The U-Mich administration opted to arbitrarily introduce new policies to suppress student voices and impair civil liberties on campus.
UGA Administration created a hostile environment for Palestinian, Muslim, Arab, and other students perceived to be Muslim or Arab by reportedly ignoring concerns regarding their physical safety, suspending a student organization advocating for Palestinian human rights, and calling police on students who organized an encampment, or sit-in, to call for an end to genocide. In September of this year, CAIR-Georgia and UGA’s SJP filed a complaint under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 against UGA. As a result of the reported discriminatory penalization by UGA, the targeted students reportedly experienced multiple forms of emotional distress and academic deprivation, including postponed graduation, loss of scholarship, missed job offers, public shaming, and harassment.
Earlier this year, CAIR released ‘Hostile’: How Universities Target Anti-Genocide Protesters, which detailed unprecedented efforts across the country to suppress students from advocating for Palestinians.
In August, CAIR launched its Unhostile Campus Campaign, a project aimed at fostering a campus environment where Palestinian, Muslim, Arab, Jewish, and other students, faculty, and staff opposing the genocide of the Palestinian people in Gaza can enjoy free speech and academic freedom and are not subjected to law enforcement or university discipline due to their viewpoints. Since then, CAIR has designated GWU, UCLA, Emory University, UT Austin, Columbia University, NYU, and Northwestern University as “institutions of particular concern” due to their creation of a thoroughly hostile and dangerous environment for anti-genocide students.
CAIR has filed lawsuits in Maryland and Texas, challenging extensive efforts to shut down anti-genocide protests to advocate for Palestinian rights throughout the country.
SEE: Students sue Texas governor, universities over executive order on campus free speech
Earlier this month, the organization released a statement urging higher education administrators to protect anti-genocide protesters amid the start of National Bullying Prevention Month.
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CONTACT: CAIR-LA Digital Communications Manager Enjy El-Kadi, (714) 851-4851, eelkadi@cair.com; CAIR-LA Communications Coordinator Madi Morse-Hameed, mmorse-hameed@cair.com ; CAIR-MI Executive Director Dawud Walid, 248-842-1418, dwalid@cair.com; CAIR-MI Staff Attorney Amy Doukoure, 586-943-8823, adoukoure@cair.com; Azka Mahmood, CAIR-Georgia Executive Director, azkatmahmood@cair.com, Nazia Khanzada, CAIR-Georgia Communications Manager, nkhanzada@cair.com, (404)-239-2086; 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 Coordinator Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, iallison@cair.com