On Wednesday night, President Donald Trump signed an executive order titled “Additional Measures to Combat Anti-Semitism,” which builds on a previous order from 2019.
“It shall be the policy of the United States to combat anti-Semitism vigorously, using all available and appropriate legal tools, to prosecute, remove, or otherwise hold to account the perpetrators of unlawful anti-Semitic harassment and violence,” Section 2 of the Wednesday order states.
Section 3 of the order is titled, “Additional Measures to Combat Campus Anti-Semitism,” with subsection d stating that the report from the Secretary of Education will include an inventory and analysis of all Title VI complaints within the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights.
On Dec. 22, 2023, the OCR opened a Title VI investigation into UNC following a complaint of discrimination against Jewish students.
In May 2024, the OCR also opened an investigation into anti-Palestinian discrimination on campus.
Executive Order 13899, which Trump passed during his first term, states that the federal government will enforce Title VI against anti-semitic discrimination “as vigorously as against all other forms of discrimination prohibited by Title VI.”
The Wednesday order states that the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attacks "unleashed an unprecedented wave of vile anti-Semitic discrimination, vandalism, and violence against our citizens, especially in our schools and on our campuses. Jewish students have faced an unrelenting barrage of discrimination; denial of access to campus common areas and facilities, including libraries and classrooms; and intimidation, harassment, and physical threats and assault."
In a Tuesday statement to The Daily Tar Heel regarding recent federal actions, UNC Media Relations wrote that UNC-Chapel Hill will comply with all laws and guidance from the state and federal level.
The University is monitoring all new orders to determine “the impact of our work and our community,” the statement reads.