University of California Irvine

There have been allegations of anti-Semitism at the University of California, Irvine. It doesn’t seem like the university is doing enough to make Jewish students feel welcome on campus.

For some of our students, going to a university with a vibrant Jewish population is important to them. And across the nation, there are many, many universities with vibrant Hillels, Chabads, and such — with thriving Jewish life on campus. It is our belief that the University of California, Irvine is not one such university. In 2007, the Office of Civil Rights of the U.S. Department of Education found “insufficient evidence” to support allegations of harassment and hostility by Jewish students at the University of California, Irvine. But while the U.S. Department of Education may have formally cleared the university of wrongdoing, that doesn’t mean it’s among the friendlier campuses for Jewish students. It, quite simply, isn’t.

We’re not going to spell out many of the allegations of anti-Semitism on the University of California, Irvine campus but a simple Google search will give you plenty of information on the subject. And here is an overview on “Wikipedia,” describing a number of instances in which Jewish students have felt uncomfortable on the California campus. Sometimes all that it takes is doing some Googling to find out the environment for Jewish students on campus. Or Muslim students. Or Indian students. You get the idea.

If you’re a Jewish student applying to college, is a university’s Hillel important to you? Have you given thought to Jewish life on campus? What do you think about allegations of anti-Semitism at the University of California, Irvine? Let us know your thoughts on all of this by posting below! And, while you’re here, check out this post on allegations of anti-Semitism (many years ago) at Emory University.