Overview

• The DOJ’s Civil Rights Division concluded on August 12 that GWU violated Title VI by acting deliberately indifferent to antisemitic harassment during pro-Palestinian protests in April–May 2024.
• Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon set an August 22 deadline for GWU to enter a voluntary resolution agreement or face potential enforcement actions including withholding federal grants.
• Investigators cited at least eight complaints describing Jewish and Israeli students being surrounded, threatened and forced to leave campus areas while officials and campus police did not disperse protesters.
• The action follows multi-million-dollar settlements with Columbia and Brown, OCR findings against Harvard and a funding freeze at UCLA as part of the administration’s push to tie federal grants to antisemitism policies.
• GWU spokesperson Shannon McClendon said the university is reviewing the DOJ’s findings, reaffirming its commitment to addressing antisemitism and enforcing campus policies.