Northwestern Mandates Anti-Hate Training After Gaza Protests

(Bloomberg) -- Northwestern University will require all students to undergo training on preventing antisemitism and Islamophobia as the school seeks to avert the kind of divisive protests over the Israel-Hamas war that shook college campuses in the spring.

The training will also be provided to faculty and staff, Northwestern said in a statement. In addition, the university will host a series of lectures about hate, racism, and the history of the conflict in the Middle East. The school also plans to release updates to its student code of conduct and demonstration policy in September.

“We need to ensure every member of our community feels safe and supported,” Northwestern President Michael Schill said in the statement. “Activities that lead to intimidation and impede an environment where dialogue and education can flourish cannot occur again.”

Student protests sparked by the war in Gaza roiled universities nationwide during the last school year, and Northwestern was among the schools that took criticism from both pro-Israeli and pro-Palestinian demonstrators for its handling of the tumult on campus. Many US colleges are trying to prevent a repeat of the confrontations as students return after summer break.

The university announced its plan as the Democratic National Convention was underway in Chicago amid some protests decrying the destruction in Gaza. While most pro-Palestinian demonstrations across the US have been peaceful, there have been high-profile incidents of antisemitism and arrests on university campuses. 

“We need to confront and condemn all forms of hatred and bigotry,” Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro said Wednesday during a Bloomberg event outside the convention. “And I think leaders have a responsibility to speak and act with moral clarity.”

Northwestern is adopting other changes as well, including a new religious literacy program within the university’s office of diversity and inclusion and investment in public safety personnel and infrastructure. 

Other schools are also taking steps that reflect the heightened state of alert. At Harvard, for example, prospective students writing application essays are being asked to outline how they have handled serious disagreements. 

--With assistance from Elizabeth Campbell.

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