To: Wellesley College Faculty and Staff
From: Karen Petrulakis, General Counsel, and Justin Bell, Director of Nondiscrimination Initiatives and Title IX Coordinator/504 Coordinator
Re: Important information regarding discrimination and Title VI
Date: November 15, 2023
We are writing to remind all members of our community of Wellesley College’s legal obligation under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and our steadfast commitment under the College’s own Policy Against Unlawful Discrimination, Harassment, and Retaliation to ensure that our students can learn in an educational environment free from discrimination or harassment of any kind.
On Nov. 7, 2023, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued a letter that delivered a strong message to colleges and universities stating that our responsibility to prevent and address prohibited discrimination against students and others on our campuses extends to “those who are or are perceived to be Jewish, Israeli, Muslim, Arab, or Palestinian” and that hate-based discrimination, including that which is based on antisemitism and Islamophobia, among others, has no place in our nation’s schools. The letter also says, in part:
- Title VI’s protection from race, color and national origin discrimination extends to students who experience discrimination, including harassment, based on their actual or perceived: (i) shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics; or (ii) citizenship or residency in a country with a dominant religion or distinct religious identity.
- Schools … have a responsibility to address discrimination against Jewish, Muslim, Sikh, Hindu, Christian, and Buddhist students, or those of another religious group, when the discrimination involves racial, ethnic, or ancestral slurs or stereotypes [and] when the discrimination is based on a student’s skin color, physical features, or style of dress that reflects both ethnic and religious traditions….
We urge you to review this letter as well as the additional materials found on the OCR’s Shared Ancestry or Ethnic Characteristics webpage, including in particular the fact sheet Protecting Students from Discrimination Based on Shared Ancestry or Ethnic Characteristics. You may also wish to review a new resource the Department of Education just released to help keep students safe in classrooms and on campuses.
The College is in the process of developing training and other support for faculty and staff, and we will share more information with you soon. Our hope is that these resources will help ensure that we provide a safe and welcoming educational environment for all students
On Nov. 9, 2023, the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law filed a complaint with the OCR against the College alleging civil rights violations against Jewish students in our community. We are reviewing this complaint, and we refer you to previous communications in which the College has made clear that antisemitism, Islamophobia, and all other forms of hate have no place at Wellesley.
Wellesley College has been committed to addressing all issues of discrimination and harassment on our campus, including antisemitism and Islamophobia, and we will continue to work to create an environment that rejects all forms of hate and discrimination while supporting free expression. As faculty and staff of this institution, we have a shared responsibility to follow the letter and spirit of these laws and policies.
