New York’s Cooper Union settles campus antisemitism case, pledges reforms

By Jonathan Stempel

NEW YORK, Jan 8 (Reuters) – Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art will take steps to reduce antisemitism and other harassment on campus, to settle a lawsuit claiming it failed to help Jewish students who were locked inside a library as protection against pro-Palestinian demonstrators.

Thursday’s settlement resolves claims by 10 Jewish students who said the private Manhattan college’s fostering of a hostile educational environment violated Title VI, a U.S. civil rights law that bars federal funds recipients from allowing discrimination based on race, religion and national origin.

Cooper Union will create a Title VI coordinator to oversee its handling of discrimination and harassment, train employees and students about its policies, and prohibit the wearing of masks to conceal identities at demonstrations. It will also pay unspecified compensation to the 10 students.  The school did not admit wrongdoing.

“Today’s settlement reflects our ongoing commitment to maintaining a campus where every student in our community feels respected, safe and included,” Cooper Union President Steven McLaughlin, who took office in July, said in a statement.  “We are dedicated to continuing our efforts to confront discrimination of any kind, including antisemitism.”

After Hamas attacked Israel in October 2023, U.S. colleges and universities faced many lawsuits claiming they encouraged or permitted antisemitism on campus and made Jewish students and faculty feel unsafe. Columbia University, Harvard University and New York University are among the schools that have settled.

The lawsuit against Cooper Union followed an October 25, 2023, rally outside the library where pro-Palestinian demonstrators stormed past security guards, banged loudly on doors and windows, carried signs and chanted “Free Palestine.”

Students inside said they felt unsafe. They also said school administrators did nothing to stop the rally and told police who offered help to back off.

“Jewish students deserve to learn without being targeted, harassed, or excluded because of who they are or what they believe,” Ziporah Reich, director of litigation at the pro bono Lawfare Project, which represents the students, said in a statement. “Universities have a legal duty to protect them.”

Last February, U.S. District Judge John Cronan in Manhattan refused to dismiss the lawsuit, saying free speech protections did not justify how the students were treated.

Cooper Union is in Manhattan’s East Village. It offers degrees in art, architecture and engineering.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Rod Nickel and Diane Craft)