The United States Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights sent out a letter Monday to 60 schools, including six in Massachusetts, regarding an investigation into alleged “antisemitic discrimination and harassment” on the school’s campuses. Six of the schools, Boston University, Emerson College, Harvard University, Tufts University, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and Wellesley College, were included in the letter. In a statement, the department wrote that the letter was sent in order to warn the schools of “potential enforcement actions if they do not fulfill their obligations under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act to protect Jewish students on campus.”Pro-Palestinian demonstrations were held on college campuses across the country in 2024, with many resulting in hundreds of arrests and rising tensions. The demonstrations followed the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war, which started overseas in October 2023. On Monday, President Donald Trump warned on Monday that the arrest and possible deportation of a Palestinian activist who helped lead protests at Columbia University will be the first “of many to come” as his administration cracks down on campus demonstrations against Israel and the war in Gaza.Secretary of Education Linda McMahon wrote in the statement that “U.S. colleges and universities benefit from enormous public investments funded by U.S. taxpayers.”Last week, Trump announced the cancellation of $400 million in funds to Columbia University.Read the entire Department of Education letter here.

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