Three college presidents apologized at a House committee hearing Wednesday without more active action to curb anti-Semitism on their campus, which Republicans say is to review efforts from universities outside the Ivy League.
“I’m sorry, my actions and leadership have let you down,” said Wendy Raymond, principal of Quaker College Haverford College outside of Philadelphia, who wants her Jewish students to know. “I’m committed to doing this.”
Since October 7, 2023, the House Committee on Education and the Workforce have held numerous hearings at schools, with Hamas attacking Israel and subsequent wars in Gaza. In many ways, the hearing responded to their first and most dramatic in December 2023, which led to the resignation of the presidents of the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard.
During Wednesday's hearing, the Republican majority threatened to withhold federal funds from non-cooperative schools. Democratic minorities accuse Republicans of tolerating anti-Semitism in their own parties while using it as a political weapon against others. University leaders try not to break the subtle boundaries between academic freedom while showing Don and confronting the committee.
But it is also a very different moment for higher education and its relationship with the federal government.
The hearing mainly reviewed events a year ago, when campuses across the country were protesting camps and mass arrests. The war continued, but the protests were largely gone, with some notable exceptions.
A protest at the University of Washington attracted widespread attention this week, but the university quickly cleared protesters in praise of the administration. Dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters wearing masks and kaffiyehs occupied the main rooms of Butler Library in Colombia on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Republican attacks against colleges will only intensify.
The Trump administration, which has conducted anti-Semitism investigations into dozens of universities and deprived hundreds of millions of dollars from others, said there was not enough to deal with the problems raised by the protests, most of which were in Democratic dumping states. President Trump and his officials pay special attention to Ivy League schools.
Wednesday's congressional hearing was titled “Beyond Ivis.” “Most importantly, we try to emphasize that this is a problem that affects schools across the United States, not just the Ivy League,” said committee spokesman Audra McGeorge.
The hearing focused on schools that received F grades from the Anti-Defamation League. This time there are three presidents, Haverford in Chicago, Depoor University and California Tech State in San Luis Obispo know what the problem is and can refine them to a large extent. (Cal Poly recently raised its rating to D.)
But after refusing to provide statistics on disciplinary cases against protesters, Haverford’s President Dr. Raymond came in, especially with a special inquiry to Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, a Republican in New York. Her severity of interrogation was largely a damage that caused damage, which helped prompt other university presidents to resign.
Ms. Stefanik asked Dr. Raymond about a student body that called for the removal of the State of Israel “the necessary way” and asked: “What does the 'All All Mand Menagy of All Regist' mean to you?”
Dr. Raymond replied, emphasizing the word “can”.
“Is it depends on the context?” Ms. Stefanik interrupted.
The experiences of Harvard and Pennsylvania presidents foreshadowed Dr. Raymond. Both sides offer unreasonable answers to whether they will train students who genocide. Both sides say that doing so will depend on the context.
Dr. Raymond avoided the “context” issue and said she would not talk about individual cases.
Ms. Stefanik threatened: “Many people sit in this position and they no longer serve as president of the university because they do not answer direct questions.”
In the year and a half since the December 2023 hearing, many university leaders seem to be concerned about complaints from students, faculty and lawmakers, and the fate of their peers.
Many schools have tightened rules related to the protests, locking campus doors to outsiders and harsh punishments to participants. These moves may help explain why protests are less frequent and are widespread this spring. Many universities also ban or suspend the most radical groups of pro-Palestinian activists.
“As university presidents and humans, this is something I particularly value,” Cal Poly president Jeffrey D. Armstrong told the committee. “We have to do better.”
He ticks plans such as giving the President of Jewish Studies and establishing an anti-Semitism task force to raise awareness of anti-Semitism.
Republicans followed a popular script Wednesday that prompted schools to threaten withholding federal funds in response to their complaints.
Ryan Mackenzie, a Pennsylvania Republican, asked Dr. Raymond to collect information about the punishments of students and professors in Haverford and deliver it to the committee that could otherwise lose federal funds.
“You do receive federal funds, don’t you?” he said.
Dr. Raymond replied: “We do have a good partnership with the federal government.”
“Well, this partnership could be at risk,” Mackenzie said.
When she turned to questioning the president's arrival, Oregon Democratic representative Suzanne Bonamici dismissed the hearing's performance.
Ms. Bonnamitch said as a Jew in the synagogue, “I can no longer pretend that it is a good intention to take root in anti-Semitism, especially when the Trump administration and the majority often undermine Jewish values.”
David Cole, former national legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union, testified with the president. He compared the activities of the committee with the Communist hunting in the 1950s. “They are not trying to find out what's going on, but trying to relax the protected speech,” he said.
Mr. Cole also said the Trump administration’s ability to investigate discrimination complaints by cutting staff from the Department of Education’s Civil Rights Office.
Still, the Trump administration has pledged more than 60 investigations into schools to allow them to fester anti-Semitism on campus.
On Tuesday night, the anti-Semitism task force formed by President Trump said it was a review of the University of Washington, with protesters briefly occupying a construction building on Monday as chaos unfolded in the streets outside.
According to the university, “Most people who cover their faces blocked access to two streets outside the building, blocking the entrance and exit of the building and igniting a fire in two bins on one street outside.”
The University of Washington said about 30 people were arrested.
The task force praised the university’s response as a “good first step” but warned that universities “must do more to stop future violence” and take greater enforcement actions and policy changes.
The task force notes that federal funds flow to universities may be risky.
A university spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment regarding the task force's announcement. During the university’s latest fiscal year, about 18% of its revenue comes from grants and contracts, most of which comes from the federal government.
