Harvard Students File Discrimination Complaint with U.S. Education Department

The complaint alleges the university failed to protect students from anti-Palestinian, anti-Muslim, and anti-Arab harassment, amid ongoing investigations into Harvard's handling of antisemitism and Islamophobia.

• More than a dozen students at Harvard University have filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights, alleging that the university failed to protect them from anti-Palestinian, anti-Muslim, and anti-Arab harassment and intimidation.
• The complaint, filed by the Muslim Legal Fund of America, claims that the students' rights under Title VI, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin, were violated.
• Most of the incidents described in the complaint occurred after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack against Israel, with students reporting discrimination and verbal abuse on Harvard’s campus, particularly when wearing a keffiyeh, a traditional Palestinian scarf.
• The University has been criticized for not doing more to investigate allegations of anti-Muslim and anti-Palestinian bias and to better protect students on campus.
• The complaint comes amid ongoing investigations into Harvard's handling of allegations of antisemitism and a rise in Islamophobia on campus.

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