The President of the Haverford College President Wendy Raymond testifies to the US House Committee for Education and workforce on Wednesday, May 7, 2025, in Washington, DC (photo of Shauneen Miranda/States newsroom).
Washington -A trio of College President from all over the nation on Wednesday took off the legislator of the US house because the Republicans expand their drive to punish the university institutions that they could not fight against anti -Semitism.
The President of Haverford College in Pennsylvania, Depaul University in Chicago and the Californian Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo appeared in front of the House Committee for Education and Staff, the steps that the schools have taken to remedy anti -Semitism in their schools.
But it was the President of Haverford, Wendy Raymond, who moved most of the Republicans, including a tense exchange with Rep. Elise Stefanik, a New York Republican, when Raymond could not say how many students were recently disciplined for anti -Semitic behavior.
Stefanik called Raymonds “completely unacceptable”.
The hearing in the GOP-controlled House Education Panel-The first over anti-Semitism since President Donald Trump, who did his office and undertook his administration drastic steps, by billions of dollars of federal finance by several elite institutions across the country because of claims that schools are hiding anti-Semitism to their campus.
Harvard University had grant financing thrown through the administration to enable “unbearable” harassment of Jewish students.
Trump officers have also tried to ideologically coordinate elite institutions with the administration.
After the attack on Israel and College protests that appeared over the war in Gaza last year, the GOP legislators concentrated on anti -Semitism that Hamas from October 7, 2023 and College protests appeared across the country. Now go beyond the Ivy League.
The chairman Tim Walberg said: “The scourge of anti -Semitism has pulled far beyond the most famous ivory towers of the country, and our responsibility as a committee is also to discover and tackle anti -Semitism at these schools, and others, especially since anti -Semitism in the United States is historically high.”
“Anti -Semitism falls in love with universities across the country, both privately and publicly, in rural, urban and suburban environments,” said the Republican from Michigan.
Haverford President apologizes
The republicans of the committee expressed a special dissatisfaction with statements offered by Haverfords Raymond.
Small Liberal Arts College, founded in 1833, is located in the suburbs of Philadelphia.
Raymond admitted that “events on our campus, which do not match our values”, appeared in response to the war in Gaza “and apologized to Haverford’s Jewish community. She did not work on the incidents.
She said that college “took considerable steps to tackle these problems and strengthen our guidelines”.
“This includes updating our guidelines, strengthening the security programs on campus, deepening the engagement with the Jewish community, the introduction of programs to combat anti -Semitism and the formation of our ad hoc committee for free expression.”
When asked by Walberg, how many students have been excluded or suspended because of the attack by Hamas in 2023 due to anti -Semitic behavior, Raymond was the only one of the three presidents who could not deliver any specific figures.
Raymond said Haverford did not publish this information, but that the lock and designation are “normal parts” of their disciplinary process.
“Simple questions”
At Raymond’s refusal, Stefanik aimed to give further details about all school measures in terms of anti -Semitism.
During a heated exchange between Stefanik and Raymond, the President of the Haverford said: “Respectfully, representative, I will not talk about individual cases here.”
Stefanik Schoss back and said: “Respectfully, President of Haverford, have been in this position who are no longer in positions as president of the universities because they did not answer uncomplicated questions.”
Stefanik showed up Several university presidents who grilled her who appeared in front of the House Education Panel for hearings on campus anti -Semitism and later returned, including the leader of the Harvard, Columbia University and the University of Pennsylvania.
Raymond had said that there were “some” disciplinary measures from Haverford in connection with anti -Semitism, but did not state any details.
“For the American people who are observed: they still don’t understand it. Haverford still doesn’t understand. It is a completely different testimony than the other presidents who are here today with details,” said Stefanik.
The President of Depaul, Robert Manuel, describes a number of steps that the university takes, including the implementation of a fresh ID check and the mask guideline, the introduction of fresh borders for campus protests and the suspension of the operations of a student group, from which Walberg claimed, “in the center” of the “anti -Semitism problem” of the school.
Jeffrey Armstrong, President of Cal Poly, said: “If alleged anti -Semitism or harassment occurs, we examine and set up immediate university discipline.”
He also said that the university improves its mandatory training of student orientations and semi -annual employees in order to create more education and sensitization for anti -Semitism.
At the end of her heated exchange with Raymond, Stefanik said: “This is completely unacceptable, and this is why this committee has occurred because university education has not taken into account the scourge of anti -Semitism and Jewish students have exposed the risk in Haverford and other campus across the country.”
Democrats criticize cuts in the education department
In the meantime, the Democrats of the Gremium Republicans criticized the Ministry of Anti -Semitism’s hearing when the U.S. Ministry of Education, including the Office for Civil Rights, which were commissioned to investigate discrimination complaints, have made enormous cuts.
MP Bobby Scott, a member of the body, said: “In the first three months, the Trump government closed seven of 12 OCR regional offices, which carry out all examinations for discrimination on campus, whether they are based on anti -Semitism, national origin, gender or disability.”
The Democrat of Virginia also referred to reports over half of the OCR employees. “You have to ask yourself: How can OCR perform its important tasks with half of the staff?” he said.
Scott added that the government’s step of dismantling OCR, “has reasonable doubts about the plans to combat anti -Semitism on campus as well as racism, homophobia, sexism, Islamophobia or the needs of students with disabilities.”
