Temple University and Muhlenberg College in Allentown have joined a growing list of higher education institutions being investigated by the federal Department of Education for alleged discrimination on campus, NBC10 Philadelphia reported.
In addition, the Horwitz-Wasserman Holocaust Memorial Plaza on Benjamin Franklin Parkway was vandalized for the second time in recent days when the bottom of the monument was littered with piles of trash on Jan. 16.
The federal government opened civil rights investigations in November into multiple institutions over allegations of antisemitism or Islamophobia since the start of the Israel-Hamas war.
The DOE said the investigation “is part of the Biden administration’s effort to take ‘aggressive action’ against discrimination under Title VI, which prohibits discrimination based on race or national origin, including shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics,” according to NBC10.
The Temple investigation is tied to an alleged failure to protect Jewish students on campus, KYW Newsradio reported.
Both Temple and Muhlenberg said they would comply with the investigations.
“Temple University unequivocally condemns hate and discrimination against any person and will always strive to ensure that all of our students, faculty, and staff feel welcomed and safe in our community and throughout our campus,” a Temple spokesperson wrote.
The University of Pennsylvania, Drexel University, Lafayette College and Rutgers University were previously added to the list of institutions under investigation.
Meantime, surveillance photos show a unidentified suspect dragging trash toward the monument, then scattering the contents around it. Police were called at about 1:30 p.m. on Jan. 16.
Two days earlier, an unidentified male spray-painted a swastika at about 1:30 a.m. on a Verizon Building wall bordering the plaza just west of 16th Street between the parkway and Arch Street, police said. Surveillance footage showed the vandal wearing a black mask and a dark jacket with a bright stripe across the chest and along the arms. An investigation is ongoing.
It appears as if two different suspects are involved.
A $25,000 reward for information leading to an arrest is being offered by the Citizens Crime Commission.
Anyone with information about the incidents is asked to call Central Detectives at 215-686-3093. Submit anonymous tips at 215-686-TIPS.