The Anti-Defamation League graded four local universities with its Antisemitism Report Card, and University of Maryland, College Park was the only one of the four to earn a “passing” score.
The schools — American, George Washington and Georgetown Universities and UMD — received mixed marks from the ADL based on weighted factors including university policies, Jewish student life and recent antisemitic incidents on campus.
American University: C
American University was labeled “corrections needed” by the ADL due to “severe antisemitic and anti-Zionist incidents” and the presence of “hostile anti-Zionist student groups.”
Some Jewish first-year students’ doors were vandalized with swastikas in university residence halls in October 2023, and a student allegedly told a Jewish classmate that she “has blood on her hands” and is “responsible for genocide,” according to the report.
A Jewish Israeli student reported being spat on by students and had his piano recital flyer vandalized with swastikas and the words “DEATH TO THE ZIONISTS HITLER WAS RIGHT.”
In January, a federal complaint filed with the United States Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights claimed that AU had experienced “an onslaught of antisemitic incidents that had not been properly addressed.”
The university received credit for updating its first-year required course to better address antisemitism in spring 2024, and AU faculty are undergoing training on how to disrupt hate, including antisemitism. AU leaders have also met “repeatedly” with Jewish students and Jewish campus organizations to address concerns about campus antisemitism.
AU has a large Jewish student population, with 1,600 Jewish undergraduate students making up 21% of the undergraduate student body. They can take advantage of Jewish student organizations, Jewish Greek life, Jewish and Israel studies programming, kosher dining, pro-Israel-related programming and Jewish religious services among other resources.
George Washington University: C
GWU was also labeled “corrections needed” by the ADL due to the presence of “hostile anti-Zionist student groups” and a medium level of severe antisemitic incidents on campus.
GWU has experienced antisemitic issues prior to Oct. 7, 2023 — a Torah was desecrated at a Jewish fraternity house in 2021, students protested outside a Hillel event in 2022 accusing the student group of having “blood on their hands” and in the same week, posters telling Zionists to “f*** off” were found around the Hillel building.
After Oct. 7, antisemitic incidents “spiked at GWU.” Members of GWU’s chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine projected “antisemitic slogans” onto the university’s library. In April and May 2024, protesters established two pro-Palestinian encampments on campus and called for GWU to end all academic partnerships with “Zionist institutions.”
In November 2023, the university’s SJP chapter was suspended for violating university policies. The first encampment was taken down in May by law enforcement, resulting in dozens of student arrests. Following Oct. 7, GWU President Ellen Granberg rolled out the university’s new “Strengthening Our Communities in Challenging Times” plan, which she collaborated on with a group of internal and external advisors to best address the rise of antisemitic and Islamophobic hate.
GWU has a very large Jewish population of 3,000 undergraduate students, making up more than 27% of the undergraduate student body who can take advantage of Jewish student organizations, Jewish Greek life, Jewish and Israel studies programming, kosher dining, pro-Israel-related programming and Jewish religious services among other resources.
Georgetown University: D
Georgetown has the worst score of the four, labeled by the ADL as having a “deficient approach” in dealing with campus antisemitism.
The ADL listed several factors contributing to the low score, including several antisemitic and anti-Zionist incidents around campus and “hostile anti-Zionist student groups.”
The report said swastika vandalism was reported on Georgetown’s campus in November 2022 and January and September 2023.
After Oct. 7, 2023, a Georgetown Faculty statement “rejected the Jewish connection to Israel” and “failed to mention Hamas or the massacre inflicted on Israeli citizens,” the report said. In November 2023, a staff member posted a profane message to social media about Zionists; the Georgetown administration placed the staff member on leave as a result.
The university received credit for its administrative actions and policies — a clear process for reporting antisemitic incidents, clear religious accommodations policy and public condemnation of antisemitic incidents.
Georgetown has active Jewish student life on campus, with 450 Jewish undergraduate students making up just over 6% of the undergraduate student body, who can take advantage of Jewish student organizations, Jewish Greek life, Jewish studies programming, kosher dining, pro-Israel-related programming and Jewish religious services among other resources.
University of Maryland, College Park: B
UMD received the label “better than most” due to a low level of severe antisemitic incidents, an active Jewish life scene, participation in the Hillel Campus Climate Initiative and public condemnation of antisemitism.
Despite having a low number of severe antisemitic incidents, the ADL found that the campus had a medium level of “other antisemitic and anti-Zionist incidents,” along with the presence of anti-Zionist student groups Students for Justice in Palestine and Jewish Voice for Peace. There was also reported anti-Zionist student government activity.
The ADL report found multiple instances of antisemitic chalking on campus, with some messages calling for “intifada revolution,” and students reported that at a November 2023 SJP protest, some protesters expressed “hateful, antisemitic statements.”
The university was credited for a strong response since Oct. 7, with UMD President Darryll Pines condemning the attacks and promising to protect Jewish students. The university has since released several messages and initiatives combating all forms of hate on campus.
The ADL listed UMD as a participant in the CCI, a strategy for university leaders to combat antisemitism and create a campus climate where Jewish students feel comfortable expressing themselves.
There are 5,800 Jewish undergraduate students on campus, making up just over 19% of the undergraduate population, and students have access to Jewish student organizations, Jewish Greek life, Jewish studies programs, kosher dining, pro-Israel related programming and Jewish religious services among other resources.
Braden Hamelin contributed reporting to this article.
