Johns Hopkins University agreed to conduct trainings for faculty, staff and students, as well as a campus climate assessment, after the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights identified Title VI “compliance concerns” surrounding the university’s response to antisemitic and Islamophobic incidents on campus.

The Office for Civil Rights published a lengthy report on Tuesday detailing the complaints made by Johns Hopkins community members from October 2023 through May 2024. The university received 99 reports of harassment based on shared ancestry during that time, and according to the office, the “records generally do not reflect university consideration of whether these and other incidents individually and cumulatively created a hostile environment for students.”

The office also wrote it was “concerned that the university did not employ the correct legal standard” in assessing whether incidents created a hostile environment, or, at times, was inconsistent in its application of appropriate legal standards.

“Discrimination of any kind, including anti-semitism and anti-Arab bias, is not only at odds with university policy, but is also antithetical to our most fundamental values,” a spokesperson for Johns Hopkins wrote in a statement. “On Monday, we entered into a voluntary resolution agreement with the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights that builds upon and reinforces existing training and anti-discrimination efforts that are already underway.”

Johns Hopkins, like other colleges across the country, saw increased tensions, antisemitism and Islamophobia after the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks in Israel. The university saw a pro-Palestinian encampment erected last spring, which lasted for two weeks in an effort to convince the university to divest from Israel. This year, the administration received criticism after large security cameras popped up on various student spaces last fall, including on the site of the former encampment.

Johns Hopkins signed a resolution agreement with the Office of Civil Rights, which does not constitute an admission of liability, noncompliance or wrongdoing by the university.

The agreement includes promises that by June of this year, the university will provide annual training to all employees and staff responsible for investigating complaints and other forms of discrimination based on shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics.

Johns Hopkins must also provide training to all staff and students addressing discrimination. Additionally, it will develop and administer a climate assessment for students and staff. Lastly, the university is required to review its response to each of the reports of discrimination and/or harassment on the basis of shared ancestry made during the 2023-24 school year.

The Office of Civil Rights report states that Johns Hopkins’ records are “replete” with reports that Jewish students experienced “distress regarding stereotypes directed at them regarding their shared ancestry,” but “the records generally do not reflect university consideration of whether these and other incidents individually or cumulatively created a hostile environment for Jewish students.”

The report continues that “although the university received multiple reports that university professors directed stereotyped slurs toward Arab and Palestinian people, including in a communication one professor sent directly to his students, the university records produced to date do not reflect that the university asked whether these professors’ comments impact their students’ equal access to education.”

Social media posts documented in the report include one student posting about a flood in Northern Tel Aviv, writing “I hope they drown.” Another posted a pro-Israel article written by a student, commenting “disgusting shit written by disgusting shit.” One student complained that somebody posted her identity on a Baltimore-area escort site, with her real phone number and the name “Jewess cass.”

Other incidents include derogatory comments about Jewish students’ noses on an anonymous app called SideChat. Also shared on the app was an infographic linking an alleged organized effort by Zionists/Israel to Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes.

Physical incidents include a swastika scratched into an elevator at a university medical school facility, and a solidarity event for Palestine on the popular campus spot the Beach where one of the speakers reportedly said “We see you Jews here and we aren’t scared.” Though a student complained about the rally, according to the Office of Civil Rights report, there was “no evidence the university took any action on the complaints.”

But the report didn’t just include information on antisemitic events on campus.

One professor wrote an email to his students stating that “those brutal Arabs will, God willing, pay a price like never before,” for the terrorist attacks committed by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023. The professor later apologized.

Another professor wrote on social media that it wasn’t just Hamas, but all Palestinians who wanted to kill Jews. He called Palestinians “barbaric animals with [sic] no concern for life,” and “blood thirsty morally depraved animals.” The professor was placed on leave and a Johns Hopkins investigation determined that his posts created a hostile environment, though according to the report, no information was provided regarding steps taken by the university to redress the hostile environment.

About the Education Hub This reporting is part of The Banner’s Education Hub, community-funded journalism that provides parents with resources they need to make decisions about how their children learn. Read more