Will create comparative evaluation of how leading colleges and universities are responding to the surge of antisemitism and protecting their Jewish students.
Update: Read the Report Card for 2024>>
New York, NY, January 11, 2023 … In the face of growing antisemitism across U.S. college campuses, ADL (the Anti-Defamation League) announced today that it is developing a new tool to evaluate the climate of antisemitism on individual campuses. ADL will publish a “report card” every spring that will offer students, parents, guidance counselors, admissions consultants, concerned alumni, and others with a comprehensive tool and comparative ranking to evaluate how colleges and universities are taking action to combat anti-Jewish hate on their campuses.
In line with ADL’s call for campuses to commit to No Tolerance for Antisemitism, this tool will assess colleges and universities using a set of metrics to assess their performance. This will include clearly identified actions that ADL and other organizations have called for, data regarding incidents on campus, student surveys, and input from campus partners and experts. Ultimately it should enable more effective “comparison shopping” between institutions in the fight against hate.
ADL will be sending a letter this month to campuses across the country with significant Jewish populations informing them of the forthcoming evaluation and requesting data on their efforts to address antisemitism and protect Jewish students. ADL intends to release preliminary results in time for students and parents of incoming first-year students to have this critical information before they need to make their college commitments this spring.
This new tool is part of a series of measures ADL is taking, not only to sound the alarm about widespread increases in antisemitic incidents, but to implement a range of activities to ensure the safety of Jewish students on campus. In December 2023, ADL released an open letter to campus presidents calling for no tolerance for antisemitism on campus and urging leaders to ensure swift and certain consequences in the wake of a flood of antisemitic harassment and discrimination. The report card will enable students, parents, alumni and other stakeholders to understand whether and how campuses are meeting this commitment.
“What has been allowed to happen on our campuses is unacceptable,” said Jonathan Greenblatt, ADL CEO. “Colleges and universities must commit to No Tolerance for Antisemitism, and they must take clear, decisive action steps to achieve that. ADL’s new ratings system will help students and parents to rank schools in a comparative fashion, but it also will offer an opportunity for campuses to demonstrate what they are doing right.”
In developing and implementing the report card, ADL will be leveraging its extensive partnerships with campus-based Jewish student organizations with the goal of building on the existing resources provided to Jewish high school students and their families through the Hillel International College Guide. Many other organizations will also be involved, especially those that work directly with students. A recent ADL/Hillel International survey of American college students found that a majority of all students – Jewish and non-Jewish – feel that their campus administration has not done enough to address anti-Jewish prejudice on campus. The same survey found that a plurality of Jewish students does not feel physically safe on campus.
“Students, parents, and other stakeholders need standard reporting and objective information to see how universities respond to antisemitism, said Jacob Baime, CEO of the Israel on Campus Coalition. “We welcome ADL’s contribution to this critical goal.”
"We are pleased ADL is developing a new tool for students and their families to understand the state of antisemitism on American campuses,” said Julia Jassey, Chief Executive Officer of Jewish on Campus. “We must have strong university partners to do this work, and this tool will help us gauge how those partners are measuring up."
Beyond students, the guide also will offer insight to parents, guidance counselors, admissions consultants, concerned alumni and others to understand what is happening on campuses and to compare how schools are responding. Between Oct. 7, 2023 and Jan. 7, ADL recorded a shocking 505 antisemitic incidents on college and university campuses. This rise in campus antisemitism is part of the highest increase in antisemitic incidents that ADL has ever recorded.
In a collaborative statement from the Jewish and Jewish Heritage Greek organizations: Alpha Epsilon Phi, Alpha Epsilon Pi, Sigma Alpha Mu, Sigma Delta Tau, and Zeta Beta Tau, Bonnie Wunsch, Executive Director of Alpha Epsilon Phi said, “We welcome ADL’s new report card to assess the state of antisemitism on campus. This tool will provide critical information to answer the questions we are regularly fielding from students and their families. Not only is the moment for this now, but ADL is the right organization to do it.”
Emma Law-Oppman and Eden Weisberg for M.A.C.A. and Our Voices Rise issued a joint statement about ADL’s plans: “Parents and students want to make informed decisions; they want as complete a picture of campus life as possible. While decisions should not be made on any singular criteria, issues concerning safety, security, and mental health of Jewish students cannot be minimized. We are grateful that ADL has recognized this need and is creating a data driven tool to give parents and students insight into these very pressing issues.”
In November, ADL, Hillel International, the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law and Gibson and Dunn & Crutcher LLP, announced a free legal protection helpline for students who have experienced antisemitism. Since it was launched, more than 400 incidents from across 175 campuses have been reported via the helpline.
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.