DOJ investigates UNLV’s response to alleged antisemitism on campus

“The compliance review investigation will examine whether UNLV, a recipient of federal financial assistance, has engaged in discriminatory practices based on race, color, or national origin against its students,” according to a news release.

The DOJ cites the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

The announcement included a letter to UNLV signed by Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon and Sigal Chattah, the acting U.S. attorney in Nevada.

“We expect UNLV to cooperate fully with this compliance investigation,” they wrote.

The inquiry is requesting documentation related to the university’s communications in response to the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks in Israel, which killed nearly 1,200 people.

Investigators want to know UNLV’s response and policies around “discrimination, free speech, or protest policies and practices post-10/7.”

Additionally, they want a “description of UNLV’s response to protests and encampments following 10/7.”

While there have been protests, no encampments have been reported at UNLV.

Full cooperation

In a media statement, UNLV said: “The university intends to cooperate fully and looks forward to a thorough and fair compliance review. We are confident that the review will demonstrate that the university has and continues to adhere to all applicable federal and state laws.”

In spring 2024, a Jewish student sued UNLV, the Nevada System of Higher Education, and pro-Palestinian groups in federal court, alleging that he had suffered from antisemitism on campus and that the administration had failed to protect him.

Chattah was one of the attorneys who represented the student in court. Records show she dropped out of the case days after her DOJ appointment. The lawsuit is ongoing.

In June 2024, the Board of Regents voted 7-6 to officially define antisemitism in its handbook.

The language was created by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance in 2016, and defines antisemitism as “a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews.”

Adds the definition: “Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.”

ADL gives UNLV passing grade

This year, the Anti Defamation League gave UNLV an overall “better than most” B grading on its “campus antisemitism report card.”

UNLV received a grade of “above expectations” for publicly disclosing administrative actions. The ADL said Jewish life on campus was satisfactory and that there were “low to none” campus conduct and climate concerns.

Dhillon noted in the statement that publicly-funded universities are prohibited from discriminating based on race, national origin and religion.

“This Department of Justice is fiercely committed to holding institutions of higher learning accountable and ensuring that every student receives equal access to the opportunity and education to which they are legally entitled,” she said.

The DOJ said it hadn’t reached “conclusions about the subject matter of the investigation.”

UNLV receives $1.83 million from federal financial assistance, according to the DOJ.

The investigation’s announcement arrived days after Dhillon and Chattah referred the University of Nevada, Reno to Education Secretary Linda McMahon requesting a probe of whether the university was using tax dollars to “subsidize or promote illegal immigration.”

On Tuesday, UNR President Brian Sandoval defended the university’s “UndocuPack” program, which serves as a resource hub for undocumented students and Deferred Action of Childhood for Childhood Arrivals.

He wrote in a letter that the program was not funded by federal tax dollars and that it offered aid to the entire campus community.

Contact Ricardo Torres-Cortez at rtorres@reviewjournal.com.