Canada releases assessment of universities’ response to antisemitism
Canadian organization B’nai Brith Canada has launched the Canadian Campus Climate Report Card, an initiative to assess conditions for Jewish students and universities’ responses to antisemitism, harassment and discrimination. The pilot report covered York University, the University of Toronto, Queen’s University and McGill University. According to the organization, students at these institutions reported a particularly hostile social environment.
Assessment criteria
As the Jerusalem Post reports, the report assesses 28 criteria in three categories: administrative policies and actions, conduct and atmosphere on campus, and Jewish life at the university. The methodology combines student surveys with a qualitative analysis of university rules, measures to counter hatred, academic courses, the availability of kosher food and Jewish religious services.
All criteria carry equal weight. Unlike registries that document individual cases of antisemitism, the initiative is intended to assess educational institutions’ responsibility for the environment they create and the effectiveness of their response to such cases.
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Administration assessments
According to preliminary results of the pilot program, all four universities demonstrated strong traditional indicators of Jewish life, including active student groups, chaplaincy support and religious services. At the same time, the report mostly marked indicators of campus atmosphere and administrative actions in red.
According to B’nai Brith Canada’s assessment, the administrations of McGill University, York University and the University of Toronto received unsatisfactory or critical ratings for their responses to harassment, event disruptions and transparency in reporting antisemitic incidents.
B’nai Brith Canada CEO Simon Volle said the project’s goal is not only to assign grades, but also to give students, parents and the community a clearer understanding of the situation at universities. The organization intends to use the reports as an ongoing benchmark to encourage Canadian higher education institutions to review policies, strengthen efforts to counter hatred and improve programs for Jewish students.
