Pomona, Pitzer, Scripps Colleges receive failing grade in Anti-Defamation League rating

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) gave Pomona College, Pitzer College and Scripps College an “F” grade in their Campus Antisemitism Report Card released on March 3. Only 13 other schools in the country received the same ranking. 

The report from the ADL, an organization dedicated to fighting antisemitism, graded institutions based on their policies, responses to antisemitism and campus climate for Jewish students. The colleges’ failing grades represent what the ADL considers inadequate protection for Jewish students.

The three institutions all scored poorly in categories including “[Presence of] advisory council to address antisemitism,” “Level of hostile anti-Zionist staff and faculty activity” and “Level of hostile anti-Zionist student groups.”   

In a statement to TSL, Pitzer asserted that the report is “inconsistent with [the college’s] core values and commitment to fostering a learning environment where every member of our community can succeed and thrive.” The college expressed its disagreement with the grade and stated that the college “take[s] its input seriously and recognize[s] that there is always room for improvement.”

Pomona and Scripps did not respond for comment on the report from the ADL.

Haverim, a 5C Jewish student organization, expressed concern on Instagram over the failing grade, urging Pomona, Pitzer and Scripps to “listen and learn from the past 17 months” and improve protections for Jewish students.

“There has been a real history of Jewish students feeling trampled upon, not listened to and cast aside,” Leo Kalb Bourke PO ’25, Haverim’s president, said. “What we want the takeaway to be is just a wake up call to students, but especially college administrators at the five schools that what has gone on here matters and … echoes outside of just Claremont.”

Jill Stark, director of community relations at Hillel, echoed this sentiment. The grades “reflect the hostile environment for Jewish students at Pomona, Pitzer and Scripps,” Stark said in an email to TSL.

However, there were inconsistencies in the rankings of the Jewish student experience between the three colleges.

Pomona was the only of the three institutions to receive a “satisfactory” rating for “Partnerships with Jewish organizations.” Though the Claremont chapter of Hillel is open to members of all Claremont Colleges, neither Pitzer nor Scripps were rated in this category.

Pomona and Scripps also received an “excellent” rating for the presence of pro-Israel groups on campus, while Pitzer received a “subpar” score.

The report has faced criticism from the Claremont chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), an anti-Zionist Jewish student organization.

 “Any report coming from the ADL should be under [suspicion] in a time when they have shifted their goal entirely from fighting real defamation and hatred against Jewish people for being Jewish,” a student organizer at JVP said. “[They have] directed all of their efforts toward suppressing speech in support of Palestinian rights.” 

The student organizer cited her concern over the manner in which the ADL represented Jewish student life on campus, expressing that the report is “generally not reflective of Jewish life and Jewish safety on campus” and that it acts as “a target where they can bring down the hammer and crack down on student dissent.”

On March 7, Pomona was among 60 schools issued warnings by the U.S. Department of Education regarding antisemitic discrimination. These reports follow last year’s legal action from the Brandeis Center, an organization that also advocates for Jewish rights, directed at Pomona; the Brandeis Center and the ADL sued Pomona on May 9, 2024, over alleged instances of antisemitism.

Additionally, on Feb. 24, the ADL and the Brandeis Center jointly filed a Title VI complaint against Scripps, alleging civil rights violations related to antisemitic discrimination.

The ADL and the Brandeis Center accused Scripps of creating a hostile environment for Jewish students, alleging that Jewish students have faced ostracization, being “shunned, harassed, marginalized and excluded as ‘Zionists.’”  

The complaint criticizes the Scripps administration, asserting that it “failed to treat anti-Semitism with the seriousness and attention it requires” and that “the College has repeatedly abandoned Jewish and Israeli students targeted by anti-Semitic hostility.” It concludes with suggestions to remedy the bases of these complaints, such as required training on combating antisemitism for all members of the community.

Scripps did not respond for comment on the complaint.

“There is room for growth here,” Stark said. “It is imperative that university leaders take proactive, productive measures to support Jewish students.” 

Bourke emphasized this idea: “This is […] a long road, but one of many steps towards making these schools a welcoming and inclusive place for everyone.”

JVP expressed a similar sentiment toward supporting Jewish students on campus, though they disputed the credibility of the ADL as an authority on the Jewish student experience.

“These campuses have a ways to go in terms of religious accommodation,” the JVP student organizer said in reference to the services provided for Jewish students. “But in no means are Jewish students under attack here […] In much of the Jewish community, the ADL has discredited itself.”