The Not On My Campus campaign calls on colleges to enforce codes of conduct and commit to no tolerance for antisemitism
New York, NY, January 24, 2024 … In an effort to protect the safety, wellbeing and civil rights of Jewish students, ADL (the Anti-Defamation League) announced today the launch of the Not On My Campus campaign to demand that U.S. colleges and universities commit to No Tolerance for Antisemitism.
Existing campus systems have failed to protect Jewish students facing discrimination and harassment on their campuses. The Not On My Campus campaign offers a clear call to action for university and college leaders to commit to No Tolerance for antisemitism on their campuses and meet their moral and legal obligations to provide safe, inclusive and equitable learning environments for all students.
“It is unacceptable that Jewish students find themselves in a position where they are being made to feel increasingly unsafe and unwelcome on their own college campuses,” said Jonathan Greenblatt, ADL CEO. “As an urgent priority, colleges and universities must rigorously enforce their codes of conduct to protect against antisemitism, just as they do for other forms of identity-based harassment and discrimination.”
More than 500 antisemitic incidents have taken place on college campuses since the Hamas terrorist attack on October 7, and campus leadership has struggled to respond. A recent ADL survey found that nearly three-quarters of Jewish college students experienced or witnessed antisemitism in the first semester of the 2023-2024 school year. What is more, less than half (46 percent) of Jewish students reported feeling physically safe on their campuses, falling from two thirds (66.6 percent) before October 7.
The new Not On My Campus HUB provides online tools and resources for students, parents and alumni, empowering them to bring about lasting change by demanding action from college leadership, and building the collective action necessary to hold schools accountable for their lamentable inaction.
ADL has released an updated list of key commitments colleges and universities can make, now, to improve the climate for Jewish students on campus. These asks include rigorously enforcing student and faculty disciplinary rules and non-discrimination policies, creating task forces focused on campus antisemitism, updating security protocols, and ensuring mandatory trainings focused on antisemitism awareness, including in DEI efforts.
To ensure No Tolerance for the harassment and hostility that create unsafe campuses for Jewish students, ADL is calling on colleges and universities to ensure that their student codes of conduct are unequivocally upheld and evenly enforced. If existing codes do not provide sufficient protections for Jewish students, they must be strengthened and revised. ADL has released sample language that colleges and universities can consider as they review and update existing policies. A core demand of the Not On My Campus campaign is that campus leaders must ensure that their codes of conduct are robust and up-to-date to address these conditions at their schools.
As part of ADL’s mission to enact meaningful change and protect Jewish students from further harm, the organization recently announced it is developing a new tool to evaluate antisemitism on individual campuses. The tool will be informed by nationwide data regarding incidents on campus, student surveys, and input from campus partners and experts. A “report card” will be published every spring to offer students, parents, guidance counselors, admissions consultants, concerned alumni, and others, a comprehensive tool to evaluate the actions colleges and universities are taking to ensure their campuses are welcoming places for Jewish students.
This campaign is the latest action ADL has taken to make colleges and universities safer for Jewish students. In November, ADL, Hillel International, the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law and Gibson and Dunn & Crutcher LLP announced the launch of the Campus Antisemitism Legal Line (CALL), a free legal protection helpline for students, family, faculty, and staff members to report incidents of antisemitic discrimination, intimidation, harassment, vandalism, or violence that may necessitate legal action.
ADL is the leading anti-hate organization in the world. Founded in 1913, its timeless mission is “to stop the defamation of the Jewish people and to secure justice and fair treatment to all.” Today, ADL continues to fight all forms of antisemitism and bias, using innovation and partnerships to drive impact. A global leader in combating antisemitism, countering extremism and battling bigotry wherever and whenever it happens, ADL works to protect democracy and ensure a just and inclusive society for all.