Posted on 03/11/25
| News Source: Pikesville Patch
Baltimore, MD - March 11, 2025 - Johns Hopkins University is among 60 colleges and universities around the country that received warnings from Education Secretary Linda McMahon Monday that they could face penalties under the Civil Rights Act if they fail to protect Jewish students from antisemitism during pro-Palestinian campus protests.
Last year, the Beach at Johns Hopkins’ Homewood campus was the site of an encampment by pro-Palestinian protesters who called on the university to divest “from all companies with ties to the state of Israel.”
The encampment ended two weeks after it began after university officials agreed to review its investments.
Although Johns Hopkins is the only colleges in the state to receive McMahon’s warning, American University in Washington, D.C., was also included on the education secretary’s list.
McMahon’s letter came two days after the arrest and possible deportation of a Palestinian activist who helped lead protests at Columbia University.
President Donald Trump also warned Monday the arrest of Mahmoud Khalil, a lawful U.S. resident and graduate student at Columbia, will be the first “of many to come” as his administration cracks down on campus demonstrations against Israel and the war in Gaza.
“We know there are more students at Columbia and other Universities across the Country who have engaged in pro-terrorist, anti-Semitic, anti-American activity,” Trump wrote in a social media post. “We will find, apprehend, and deport these terrorist sympathizers from our country — never to return again.”
In her letter, McMahon told the institutions they would face “potential enforcement action” if they fail to uphold Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which makes it illegal for institutions and activities receiving federal funding to discriminate “on the basis of race, color, and national origin.”
“The Department is deeply disappointed that Jewish students studying on elite U.S. campuses continue to fear for their safety amid the relentless antisemitic eruptions that have severely disrupted campus life for more than a year. University leaders must do better,” McMahon said in a statement. “U.S. colleges and universities benefit from enormous public investments funded by U.S. taxpayers. That support is a privilege and it is contingent on scrupulous adherence to federal antidiscrimination laws.”
Hundreds of protesters gathered in New York City on Monday to demand the release of the Syrian-born Columbia University graduate student, Mahmoud Khalil, whose student visa was revoked.
Last year, more than 3,000 people, including more than 220 at Columbia, were arrested in campus protests, encampments and occupations held during the Israel-Hamas war. Demonstrations were held on at least 84 campuses, according to an NBC News tally.
The institutions, located in both Republican and Democratic-voting states, include six of the eight Ivy League schools, state universities and smaller colleges.
Here’s the full list: