Kasowitz and Barnard Announce Settlement of Lawsuit

Today, Barnard College, StandWithUs Center for Legal Justice, Students Against Antisemitism, Inc. and the Barnard student plaintiffs in the federal court action Students Against Antisemitism, Inc. et al v. The Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York et al (S.D.N.Y. 1:24-cv-01306-VSB-SN) announced an agreement to resolve claims against Barnard College.  As part of the settlement, Barnard has committed to implement important measures to address antisemitism on its campus and to ensure access and inclusion of all students to the College’s educational mission and environment.  These actions complement Barnard’s efforts to cultivate a campus community where all students feel respected.  

As part of those efforts and consistent with Barnard’s existing Policy Against Discrimination and Harassment, Barnard has agreed to take additional steps to ensure that complaints of discrimination and harassment of all protected types, including complaints based on Jewish and Israeli ancestry and national origin, are treated in the same manner.  Specifically, Barnard will establish a Title VI Coordinator to review and respond to allegations implicating Title VI to ensure compliance with the law’s prohibition of discrimination based on race, color, or national origin as well as prohibition on retaliation.  The Title VI Coordinator will have the same enforcement responsibilities and powers as those of Barnard’s Title IX Coordinator, who oversees compliance with sex and gender-related discrimination laws.  When enforcing Title VI, the Title VI Coordinator will review and implement all applicable regulations consistent with guidance from the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”), including OCR’s 2021 and 2024 guidance which directs schools to “consider” the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism and its accompanying examples “to the extent that” any such “examples might be useful as evidence of discriminatory intent.”  Additionally, to ensure consistency in Barnard’s response to allegations of discrimination based on protected traits, the Title VI Coordinator will produce an annual report to Barnard senior leadership and the Board of Trustees on disciplinary outcomes as well as a report addressing the College’s response to allegations of discrimination since 2023. 

Barnard will also take steps to further educate its community about antisemitism, as well as the obligations imposed by the Policy Against Discrimination and Harassment.  Barnard will maintain its existing Community Expectations guidance, which provides illustrative examples of individual and student group conduct that directly or indirectly violates the Policy Against Discrimination and Harassment.  Barnard will also require all students, faculty, and staff to complete training on the Policy Against Discrimination and Harassment, which will address recognizing, combating, and reporting antisemitism.  Beginning in the 2025 fall semester, the Office of the President will communicate to Barnard students, faculty, and staff an annual message conveying the College’s “zero tolerance” for discrimination and harassment based on all protected traits, including Jewish and Israeli identity.  The annual message will also explain that under the Policy Against Discrimination and Harassment, Barnard students can be subject to discipline for off-campus conduct, including conduct that occurs on Columbia’s campus or online, including social media posts.  Barnard will also expand its existing relationship with the Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS), so that beginning in the 2025 fall semester, courses at the JTS will be available to all Barnard students at no cost.

To deter activities that interfere with the College’s operations and educational mission, Barnard will maintain policies limiting the time, place, and manner of demonstrations and prohibiting the use of face masks and other personal disguises to intimidate or interfere with the enforcement of the College’s policies.  Further, as President Rosenbury has previously stated, while the College and its senior leaders will always welcome engagement and debate within the Barnard community, including meetings with Barnard students, they will not recognize, meet, or negotiate with Columbia University Apartheid Divest, any of its successor or spin-off organizations, or anyone acting as authorized representative(s).  Finally, the College reaffirms that its endowment is intended to maintain intergenerational equity and to ensure the stability of Barnard’s financial position; it is not a vehicle for expressing political positions, which includes taking actions for the purpose of penalizing the government of a country or the commercial/financial activity within that country.       

Barnard College President Laura Ann Rosenbury stated: “Antisemitism, discrimination, and harassment in any form are antithetical to the values Barnard College champions. Today’s settlement reflects our ongoing commitment to maintaining a campus that is safe, welcoming, and inclusive for all members of our community. These new measures, including enhanced training and a dedicated Title VI coordinator, build on Barnard’s existing policies and make our standards and expectations for treating one another, both on and off campus, crystal clear. We look forward to continued partnership and collaboration in support of all members of the Barnard community.”

Marc Kasowitz of Kasowitz LLP, counsel for the plaintiffs, stated: “Barnard’s commitment to take meaningful actions to combat antisemitism demonstrates its leadership in the fight against antisemitism and upholding the rights of Jewish and Israeli students.  These commitments are not only the right thing to do, but are essential to creating a welcome and inclusive campus for all members of the Barnard community.  I encourage other colleges and universities to do the right thing and follow Barnard’s lead.”

Carly Gammill, Executive Director of StandWithUs Center for Legal Justice, stated: “Antisemitism should never be normalized or accepted. Jewish students have every right to expect—and demand—that their campus environments are free from hostility toward their protected identities, and we understand this settlement as a demonstration of Barnard’s commitment to ensuring equal treatment for its Jewish students.  SCLJ is grateful to the attorneys at Kasowitz LLP for their tireless efforts in securing this tremendous agreement on behalf of its members and Barnard’s Jewish community."