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Good morning and welcome to the Campus Crisis Alert. If you want to subscribe,
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1. 📰 Top Stories
Texas-Dallas. Deep in the heart of Texas, dozens of students from 16 campus-based and external organizations gathered at Chess Plaza on the University of Texas, Dallas campus on Tuesday to
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protest disciplinary actions brought against nine UTD students who were among the 21 people arrested at an anti-Israel encampment in May. The protest coincided with a university hearing on the students’ punishment. Students who graduated last spring had their degrees withheld, and current students received deferred suspension until graduation. Though described as a protest for free speech, Tuesday’s demonstration quickly took on a familiar, antisemitic tone, with many protesters holding signs reading “Israel is an apartheid state” and one using Nazi imagery.
(Credit: ADL)
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Wisconsin-Milwaukee. In a staggering reversal, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
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repealed the suspension of five anti-Israel student groups on Friday, saying a July Instagram story posted by a coalition of these groups didn’t “constitute the legal definition of a true threat,” though the university admits the story “included intimidating language aimed at Jewish community members and organizations on campus that support Israel.” That
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story proclaimed the groups “will no longer normalize genocidal extremists walking on our campus” and threatened that “Any organization that has not separated themselves from Israel will be treated accordingly as extremist criminals .” If that’s not a threat, we’re not sure what is.
(Screenshot provided by The Algemeiner)
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Florida. Of the nine University of Florida students arrested at anti-Israel encampment on April 29, another three students have accepted
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plea deals for misdemeanor criminal charges. The three students, including one who is Jewish, signed deferred prosecution agreements saying their criminal charges will be dropped if the students aren’t arrested again in the next six months. The students are also suspended from the university and banned from the Gainesville campus for three years. Another UF student was re-arrested on August 30 after campus police spotted her on campus, despite her being banned. Prosecutors say they plan to use this violation as evidence in her upcoming trial, scheduled to begin September 23. Yet another UF student faces a felony battery charge for allegedly spitting on a police officer. His next
courtroom hearing is September 18.
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Chapman. Leadership at Chapman University in Orange, California announced on Wednesday that the university has
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"declined to divest from its investments” connected to Israel. This follows a Tuesday meeting where the university’s Investment Committee agreed to consider student proposals on divestment. Chapman Trustee Jim Burra reiterated “We have a fiduciary responsibility to preserve and grow the endowment, which directly supports the mission of the university.” Ahead of Tuesday’s student meeting, the university says it “engaged with students several times in the spirit of collaboration and learning.” We are proud to have helped the students at Chapman with the information they needed to make the case against divestment – successfully.
DEEPER: Read this
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analysis by ADL's JLens affiliate about the demands and consequences of campus BDS.
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New Semester, New Policies. Several institutions, including
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Northwestern University,
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DePaul University,
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Rice University and
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Dickinson College, have recently updated or clarified their policies on campus protests. Common themes across these policies include restrictions on the time, place and manner of protests, with institutions prohibiting overnight encampments and limiting demonstrations to specific hours. Some schools, like Northwestern, also banned chalking and signage in certain areas and required training on antisemitism for new and returning students. DePaul leaders reminded students that on-campus protests must be pre-registered, and administrators at Rice empowered any University employee to remove signage that violates campus rules. At Dickinson, the Dean of Student Life emphasized “This policy
is not about suppressing speech,” it’s about making the campus “an open and safe place for everybody.”
2. 🏆 Campus Champions
Bluegrass Booster. Speaking on the floor of the
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US Senate on Tuesday, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky called on leaders of elite universities not to tolerate the “tantrums of campus radicals” that have made these institutions “inhospitable to learning - particularly for Jewish students.” Sen. McConnell lamented that what was once a “reliable path to the middle class” has become a “breeding ground for childish radicalism,” reiterating that America’s colleges and universities have a “great deal of work to do to earn back the trust of students, parents and alumni, alike.”
3. 💪✡️ Am Yisrael Chai
A New Shell. Hundreds gathered at the University of Maryland on Sunday to celebrate the
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groundbreaking of a new Hillel building that is scheduled to open in spring of 2026. Speaking at the event, Hillel CEO Adam Lehman affirmed that “Hillel is a holy place, a sacred space. The work here at Hillel transforms the lives of students. It’s not just a Hillel. This is Maryland Hillel.” University President Darryll Pines followed, sharing his hope that the Hillel building would “help students find belonging.” It seems his message resonated with at least one freshman Terp, who said “it’s really empowering to see the effort put into this Hillel and the opportunities that I will have with this new facility [...] I am so grateful to everyone who
had come before me to make this new center for Jewish life a possibility for me.”
(Credit: Instagram)
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Stand Up, Bear Down. Jewish students at the University of Arizona are proudly
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standing up and celebrating their heritage, working with on-campus groups like Hillel and Chabad to organize Shabbat events, an Israeli coffee bar, a “lounge and learn” and even a recent “healing space with members of the Goldberg-Polin family.” The university’s Hillel director says Jewish groups have “a lot of support here, from admin, from the security team at the university, from campus partners, from community partners.” Perhaps that’s one reason why an executive at Olami Arizona said she’s met several Jewish students who transferred to UofA this semester “from schools where they just felt there was so much
antisemitism.” If it’s any indication, Hillel’s “FreshFest” orientation this August reportedly drew more than 40 incoming students, three times the number last year.
(Credit: hillelarizona | Instagram)
4. 📣 Info and Action:
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Not on My Campus
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Students — how to take action, deal with antisemitism, and organize your community.
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Alumni — how to organize a sign-on letter, answer a fundraising request, or write a letter to a university president.
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Parents — write a letter about commencement, organize a dial day, or get help selecting a college for your student.
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Glossary of Commonly Used Antisemitic Phrases Heard at Protests.
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Campus Antisemitism Report Card — see the grade a college earned in this first-ever report card.
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Report an Antisemitic Incident.
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Are you a student or know one who needs legal help? Contact our
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Campus Antisemitism Legal Line (CALL), run by ADL, Hillel, the Brandeis Center, and Gibson Dunn. Hundreds of incidents have been reported. You are not alone!
Do you have something to share with us? We are building this as we go — so please email us at
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[email protected] with any suggestions, questions, photos, and videos.
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