The letter outlines specific instances investigators are reviewing, nine in all, and rejected eight others on the basis they weren’t timely, lacked evidence or the merits of which were addressed in a previous investigation.
“What we hope is that the government will look at these incidents and conclude that there is a hostile environment for some Jewish students on campus, that some Jewish students are afraid and that the university does not address those problems,” said Susan Tuchman, director of the Zionist Organization of America Center for Law and Justice.
The organization also filed a complaint in 2004, which the Office for Civil Rights investigated and reported on in November 2007. That report cleared the university of any wrongdoing.
“Chancellor Michael Drake has been very clear about how respect, appreciation, and compassion for people of different cultures and backgrounds is foremost among our set of values at the university, and we continue to embrace those values,” UCI spokeswoman Cathy Lawhon said.
Lawhon declined to comment on any specific portion of the complaint, as did the Office for Civil Rights. Calls to the Muslim Student Union were not immediately returned.
During the investigation, the Zionist Organization of America continued to make complaints and send the Office for Civil Rights more information, according to Tuchman.
The new investigation will look into those complaints for May 2007, most of which were made during the “Holocaust Memorial Week” or the “Israel: Apartheid Resurrected” events at UCI, according to the letter.
