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Cooper Union Settles Jewish Students’ Title VI Suit, Pledges Campus Reforms

The agreement follows allegations the school failed to protect Jewish students during a 2023 protest.

Overview

  • Cooper Union will appoint a Title VI coordinator to oversee discrimination cases and apply Department of Education civil-rights guidance, including consideration of the IHRA definition in relevant matters.
  • The school will require training for students, faculty, staff, administrators, and trustees, update protest rules to ban identity-concealing masks and require ID checks, and pre-approve postings on campus and official sites.
  • The college will publish guidance explaining how it enforces nondiscrimination policies related to race, shared ancestry, religion, and ethnicity, including examples of conduct that could violate its rules.
  • The settlement includes unspecified monetary compensation to the 10 Jewish student plaintiffs who brought the federal civil-rights case.
  • A federal judge last year refused to dismiss the lawsuit, and the resolution aligns with recent settlements at Columbia, Harvard, and NYU; Cooper Union’s president said the deal underscores a commitment to safety and inclusion.