Today the NY Times reported that hundreds of students and faculty and staff members at the University of Pennsylvania signed a petition this week in support of their university’s refusal to turn over to the Trump administration names, phone numbers and physical addresses for some Jewish employees. The administration sued the university on Tuesday, arguing that the Ivy League institution has “refused to comply” with a subpoena from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which is investigating antisemitism on the Philadelphia campus.
The subpoena seeks contact information for employees who have filed complaints about discrimination based on Jewish faith, those who belong to Jewish clubs or groups on campus, and anyone who works in the university’s Jewish studies program, according to the lawsuit filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. The information is “relevant to the EEOC’s investigation of potential unlawful employment practices, namely religious, national origin, and race-based harassment,” the E.E.O.C. says in a court filing.
A day after the suit was filed, a petition began circulating in the university community aimed at offering “our strongest support for the University of Pennsylvania’s decision to refuse to collect and share lists of names and personal contact information of Jewish students, faculty, and staff with the federal government.”
Amanda Shanor, an associate professor at Wharton, the university’s business school, who helped organize the petition, said the administration’s request was “terrifying.” “The history of creating lists of Jewish people for the government is one of the most frightening in world history,” Ms. Shanor said in an interview on Friday. “And the idea that this is being done in the interest of the Jewish community is particularly frightening.”
The executive committee of Penn’s chapter of the American Association of University Professors has applauded the university for refusing to comply. Penn Hillel and MEOR Penn, two prominent Jewish groups on campus, issued a joint statement saying they supported the fight against antisemitism but were “deeply concerned” about the E.E.O.C.’s subpoena, adding that “the privacy, consent and safety of Jewish students, staff and faculty cannot be compromised. Collection of Jews’ private information carries echoes of the very patterns that made Jewish communities vulnerable for centuries,” the statement said.
Liz Huston, a spokeswoman for the White House, said the Trump administration would “always aggressively enforce the law, protect public safety and prosecute incidents of illegal discrimination. The University of Pennsylvania should comply with the straightforward subpoena and demonstrate their commitment to safeguarding their students.”
“But it’s ok,” she added, “We have an alternate plan in place. To better protect Jewish students and faculty at U. Penn, we are printing up yellow stars for them to pin to their chests. That way, as they go to their classes, everyone will know who they are, so nobody will be able to discriminate against them.”