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Campus Anti-Discrimination – Title VI

Unrest in the Middle East has ignited racial and religious tensions on campuses. Allegations of racism, anti-Semitism, free speech violations, intimidation, academic freedom violations, Islamophobia, and student safety by students and their parents, faculty, and staff are widespread at schools nationwide.

Public universities and private colleges in California have retained PII to conduct fair, thorough investigations of these sensitive, heated allegations. Our investigators are applying skills gained from years of experience navigating public controversies relating to issues of discrimination on campuses and in workplaces, including the torture of detainees at Abu Ghraib and racial bias suits filed by Black customers against Denny’s Restaurants, to ensure all parties involved receive fair hearings.

Recent Matters

PII has investigated the following matters relative to the respective schools’ anti-discrimination policies, Title VI, and state / federal regulations regarding freedom of religion / speech on campuses.

A Jewish student group invited the representatives of the Israeli government to present at a graduate school. Protests broke out during the presentation and students were alleged to have made anti-Semitic comments as well as Islamophobic remarks. PII investigated conflicting claims of Title VI discrimination with respect to the campus’s response to the incident.
Demonstrations by pro-Palestinian groups at a private college prompted complaints of discrimination and harassment by faculty members, students, and parents. PII investigated these complaints, interviewing multiple witnesses on both sides of the controversy.
Jewish students at a large university reported pro-Palestinian hiring managers discriminated against them when hiring for campus jobs . PII investigated the resulting employment and religious discrimination complaints.
Students who were active in pro-Palestinian activities at a private college became engaged in an exchange of open letters and emails with a pro-Israeli professor. The students reported they were retaliated against by the professor and other students on campus in violation of Title VI. PII investigated these allegations and provided findings to the campus leadership.