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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowIndiana Attorney General Todd Rokita sent letters to multiple state universities Monday as a warning that those schools are required to enforce Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by combating all forms of antisemitism on their campuses or they could lose federal funding.
Letters were sent to the trustee boards at Indiana University, Purdue University, Ball State University, Indiana State University, IUPUI, University of Southern Indiana, Ivy Tech Community College and Vincennes University.
In a press release announcing the warning, it included the letter sent to Ball State University.
The letter cites the Office of the Attorney General as receiving reports that individuals and various student groups on Ball State’s campus have provoked antisemitic activity against Jewish and Israeli students.
Students at universities across Indiana and the country have protested the war in Gaza.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana filed a lawsuit on behalf of protesters against IU for issuing no-trespass orders and arresting them.
Pro-Palestinian protesters set up an encampment to support Gaza, but were met with hostility from police, the Indiana Daily Student reported.
Similar protests occurred at Purdue University. The Purdue Exponent reported that the university’s administration told the pro-Palestine protesters to vacate.
The university’s Senate was supposed to meet in a special session Tuesday to discuss the administration’s response to the protests, but it didn’t happen.
The letter noted that an educational institution can enforce “reasonable time, place, and manner restrictions on campus” but that students’ First Amendment rights are protected when protesting during what is allowed by the institution.
It further notes that students who protest while “breaking the law, university codes of conduct, or any other campus regulations are not protected.”
“Protecting our Jewish students requires accountability on the university’s part. I strongly encourage them to enforce university codes of conduct and the law when necessary to put an end to antisemitism and the promotion of terrorism on your campuses,” Rokita said in a news release. “That way we can ensure that all students, including our Jewish brothers and sisters, are safe and have an equal access to education.”
Spokespersons at Purdue University and Ball State University declined to comment on the matter.
Democratic candidate for Attorney General Destiny Wells said Indiana can do more to strengthen its laws on hate crimes.
She noted the Anti-Defamation League’s citing of Indiana as one of the few states that does not have hate crime laws.
On the ADL’s hate crime map, Indiana is one of four states that does not have statutes with penalty enhancements for bias-motivated criminal activity.
“I stand strong and united with Hoosiers in condemning all hate,” Wells said. “Indiana can and must do more to protect each and every Hoosier from acts of hate and that’s why I’m calling on the Indiana Legislature to revisit their Hate Crimes Law (SEA 198-2019) that failed to remove Indiana from the comprehensive list of states without hate crime laws.”
Indiana Lawyer has reached out to the other universities that received letters from Rokita, as well as Democratic candidate for attorney general Beth White, for comment.
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Apparently the same people that thought it was stupid to say there was a racist, sexist or homophobe behind every bush gladly shout there is actually an anti-semite behind every bush.
Apparently.
The anti-Semitism has been very blatant across our college campuses
by leftists that claim to hate racism.
Then again, the Democratic Party is loaded with bigots.
The Dems spiritual leader has quite the checkered past.
Keith B, is it anti-semitic to say Israel (and Gaza and any foreign countries) should not be getting any US funding? Is it ant-semitic to say that AIPAC is a malign influence on Congress? Is it anti-semitic to say that anti-BDS speech laws are inimical to Article 1, Section 9 of the Indiana Constitution?
I don’t like leftist hooligans co-opting wimpy mask-wearing “pro-Palestine” people, but claiming these dumb college protestors are saying (and most importantly) doing anything like “kill all the Jews on campus” is a joke. This is basically left-on-left eating their own, as we know 75-80% of Jews vote Democrat.
Eric M.
Agreed, that this is the left eating their own.
But the anti Isreal and and anti Jewish rhetoric is on full display.b
– Protestors denying Jews access to classes and public spaces.
– From the River to the Sea Palestine will be free. The total annhilation of
Israel.
– Protestors demanding that Universities not accept any Jewish students
or instructors from Isreal.
– protestors calling for an infitada.
– Protestors calling for the “ Final Solution “.
– Jewish students not feeling safe on college campuses.
There’s more, but this is just a sample of what the protestors are saying
and demanding.
Keith, “not feeling safe” is a joke. This is from the Likud Party Platform of 1977: “between the Sea and the Jordan there will only be Israeli sovereignty.” The hooligans should be arrested, but not for nebulous things like I don’t feel safe or making Likud’s statement into a rhyming jingle. Saying things and doing things (such as blocking buildings, roads, classes) are much different. Yes, if some fool is blocking anyone from class, Jewish or not, they should be thrown in jail. If somehow a Palestinian protestor secretly got on an admissions committee and figured out how to keep Jewish students from enrolling, that should also be prosecuted. But otherwise, conservatives like Rosita should keep out of this. The universities should have funding withheld for 100’s of reasons like pro-LGBTQ, climate change hysteria, anti-family and anti-Christian views, discriminating against white and Asian kids, etc.
The Dems have a spiritual leader ??? . The REPS do have their non spirital CULT leader