Campus safety plans

As the dust settles following months of pro-Palestinian campus protests, U.S. universities are grappling with how to ensure the safety of Jewish students and keep demonstrations in check as classes resume this fall. And some are doing so under the shadow of lawsuits.

On Aug. 13, U.S. District Judge Mark Scarsi issued a preliminary injunction against the University of California, Los Angeles, ordering the school to protect Jewish students’ rights on campus. The order was part of a lawsuit filed by three Jewish students who said UCLA discriminated against them during campus protests in April and May. According to the plaintiffs, a pro-Palestinian encampment on UCLA’s grounds served as a “Jew Exclusion Zone” where students shouted anti-Semitic chants like “Free Palestine from the hand of Jews” and banned anyone who refused to disavow Israel.

Instead of discouraging protesters, the plaintiffs said, security officers hired by the university simply advised Jewish students to avoid the area. Scarsi ordered UCLA to ensure Jewish students had equal access to all campus grounds and activities, and said the school needed to shut down any public events or areas where demonstrators try to exclude Jews.

Harvard University could soon face its own disciplinary measures. On Aug. 6, a federal judge ruled that an anti-Semitism lawsuit against the school may move forward. Six Jewish students sued Harvard claiming the school has fostered an anti-Semitic environment and ignored Jewish students’ pleas for protection. The University of California, Berkeley, is also facing a lawsuit over alleged anti-Semitism on campus, and schools such as New York University have recently reached settlements over such claims.

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Keeping cellphones in the locker

In Tarrant County, Texas, some students will need to pay $15 for pulling out their phones during geometry class. Grapevine-Colleyville Independent School District instituted the fine this summer in hopes of keeping students off their screens.

Such bans are increasingly popular but aren’t always observed. The Grapevine-Colleyville ISD policy puts some teeth into the rule: Its parameters for phone use vary by grade level, but the $15 fine applies even to elementary students after their fourth offense.

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed an executive order in July to restrict classroom cellphone use, and California Gov. Gavin Newsom has called for similar restrictions. Florida instituted a ban last year, and Oklahoma, Vermont, and Kansas have proposed legislation to do so.

Roughly 76 percent of U.S. schools have implemented some type of smartphone ban since 2021. Still, a report from Common Sense Media last year indicated that only 3 percent of students don’t use their phones during school hours. —B.M.