‘How do we eradicate hate?’: UCSC receives $500K to tackle Islamophobia, antisemitism and hate speech

UC Santa Cruz says it’s planning training and initiatives for students, faculty and staff to address rising acts of hate and bigotry as campuses across the country grapple with preserving academic freedom while managing divisive protests ignited by the violence in Israel and Gaza.

Last week, UC Santa Cruz officials said the school is receiving $500,000 from the University of California as part of a systemwide initiative to eliminate bigotry and discrimination on UC campuses. The funds are part of $7 million that University of California President Michael Drake pledged in November to help UC campuses to combat rising hate incidents.    

UCSC officials said they had already developed the first phase of their plan, which involves training faculty and staff on Islamophobia, antisemitism and other forms of hate, along with support services for students led by organizations skilled with addressing the unique needs of students from different cultural backgrounds. 

Officials are now seeking faculty, staff and student ideas for Phase 2, which will span programs and activities for spring quarter 2024 and the 2024-25 academic year. The program is being developed by Vice Chancellor for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Anju Reejhsinghani and Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs and Success Akirah Bradley-Armstrong. 

“I want this funding to bring our communities together in talking about and healing from some incredibly traumatic events,” Reejhsinghani told Lookout in an interview. “And for us to think about how we teach about these challenging issues and to raise the general awareness of our responsibility as citizens of the world. I would like to see us raise the level of discourse and also provide that space for healing and community-building for anyone who’s affected by these crises.”

UCSC and other college campuses have been rocked by tensions over violence in Israel and Gaza. Protests shut down the main entrance to the UCSC campus, professors denounced the UC president’s call for a “viewpoint-neutral history of the Middle East,” and a conference on the critical study of Zionism raised concerns over free speech and academic freedom. 

Even before the outbreak of violence in the Middle East last fall, UC Santa Cruz had seen several incidents of hate and bigotry that shocked its campus and the wider Santa Cruz community. 

In March 2022, the campus reported anti-Black, antisemitic and white supremacist graffiti on trash containers and retaining walls. In April 2023, the university reported that a group of students hosted an Adolf Hitler birthday party on campus and, the day after, students reported finding antisemitic and anti-LGBTQ+ materials on their cars in downtown Santa Cruz.

Jewish students on campus said the university was failing to address their concerns. Following these reports, the UCSC administration started participating in a 16-month program hosted by Hillel International to strengthen its support for Jewish students. 

Last Tuesday, UCSC police received a report of an anti-Black slur carved onto a bulletin board at Oakes College. 

UCSC said it is currently surveying faculty and staff and reaching out to student groups for ideas on how to spend the money. The University of California Office of the President (UCOP) funding is directed toward three major areas: mental health and trauma support, educational programming and leadership training for students, faculty and staff. 

In the mental health and trauma support area, UCOP so far approved UCSC’s plans for providing one-on-one coaching sessions for students, faculty and staff to support their specific needs, including their academic and professional careers, according to Reejhsinghani. 

“We also will have healing circles or listening circles in some cases, for the groups that we thought were more impacted by the current events,” she said. 

The university will be hiring organizations that have experience working with groups who have been particularly affected by the violence, for instance Jewish, Muslim and Palestinian students, faculty and staff. 

Reejhsinghani said the campus, like all higher education institutions, has been navigating the challenges of protecting academic freedom while denouncing hate speech. She said she feels the UCSC campus strives for the correct balance every day. 

“I think it’s really important, obviously, to center safety and security,” she said. “But at the same time, free speech is a fundamental right, academic freedom is a fundamental right and so we need to be able to uphold all of those values and do it in a way that, maybe, on an individual basis, some folks may not always be happy about it, but for the most part, our intentions and our processes are sound.”

She thinks the UCOP funding will continue that work as it focuses on reducing all forms of hatred and bigotry and not just issues related to Israel and Palestine. 

Reejhsinghani said the programs and initiatives will start this spring, go through summer and into the 2024-25 fiscal year. 

“It’s actually thinking about the root of bigotry and hatred and how we can help mitigate that,” she said. “And so we’re trying to be creative with how we use the funds to think about populations that might be affected more tangentially, but still nonetheless could use care and focus.”  

UCSC officials are asking for input through a Qualtrics survey for its Phase 2 planning. The Phase 2 plan is due to UCOP by March 1, and the survey closes next Wednesday, Feb. 21.

The following interview has been edited for clarity and brevity. 

Lookout: What are the challenges the campus is facing? Can you give examples?

Anju Reejhsinghani: I think that in higher ed in the United States at this moment, there are all sorts of challenges that make it difficult to talk dispassionately about issues that matter a lot to our campus members. And so we’re not unique in that regard, but I think at the same time, I mean, I’ve worked at a number of different campuses, and I have to say that I’ve found a spirit of collegiality and wanting to work together [at UCSC] that is relatively rare. That stems from a leadership team that’s pretty much on board with the same values, faculty who really want the best for their students, and students who are there to learn but also trying to disagree respectfully. For the most part, I’ve been pleasantly surprised at the level of camaraderie despite, of course, the challenges that do arise.

Lookout: Are more faculty reporting online harassment than they did in a similar period last year, or prior years? 

Reejhsinghani: I would guess so although I don’t actually have the data in front of me. … I think that certainly there is a heightened sense of anxiety that those things may happen. Also coverage in the national media around higher education and the backlash against individuals who have prominent roles, I think that that’s been something that’s heightened that fear further.

Lookout: How are people on campus feeling generally? 

Reejhsinghani: I think that for those of us who do work related to equity and inclusion, whether out of the [Diversity, Equity and Inclusion] office, whether in Student Affairs and Success, those who work with faculty directly, there’s probably been an increase in the amount of time and energy put into our day-to-day efforts because there are so many more people who either are expressing the need for more resources, or we feel the obligation to do that, regardless of if people make that request. 

I’ll say for me, I can tell that this is a moment that has been challenging for many, many people regardless of direct relationship to the ongoing conflict. It’s important that those of us in the space also practice self-care and also are thoughtful of how we continue to show up on a long-term basis. Because higher ed right now is a challenging environment. And for those who are trying to make a long-term positive difference for our students, staff and faculty, we really need to be thoughtful of how we continue to show up for ourselves and for others.

Lookout: How do you train people on hate when people are so divided?

Reejhsinghani: That’s what we’re hoping we use the funds for. When we are going to be having training on antisemitism, Islamophobia and other forms of hate, it’s both specific to that particular topic as well as linking to other training that relates to, how do we eradicate hate? Part of it has to do with reducing fear and reducing anxiety about others. How people move through the world really dictates how they come into these issues and challenges. 

There’s not a one-size-fits-all approach to how you eradicate hate. Even though there are throughlines with all of these forms of hate, there’s enough differences, contextually, that we really have an obligation to teach about them and that’s why bringing faculty in is really important. Bringing external specialists in is important, the mental health and trauma specialists who can work with specific populations is important. 

All of those things are part of a larger piece of ensuring that we’re trying to serve the widest range of our community members while at the same time realizing that at some point, there are only finite resources available and the opportunity we have now is to try to increase those finite resources by just a bit. 

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