American universities had an obligation to confront the grotesque and alarming surge of antisemitism that followed the Hamas-led October 7 attacks in Israel. Too many failed, with these supposed guarantors of peaceful multiculturalism becoming pro-terrorist hotbeds actively hostile to their own Jewish populations. 

Alumni have a significant role to play in the fight to reform them. As the most credible public champions of their alma maters  — and, frequently, a critical source of their funding — graduates can exert significant leverage to force necessary changes. 

Protesters inside the Palestine Solidarity Encampment on the campus of UCLA in Los Angeles on Wednesday May 1, 2024. Keith Birmingham/MediaNews Group/Pasadena Star-News via Getty Images

Alums for Campus Fairness was founded on this premise. We organize graduates to counter the antisemitism and demonization of Israel that have taken root on college campuses. To achieve this mission, we are urging donors to adopt a deliberate strategy to hold these schools accountable.

The first step is diagnostic. Not all universities are problematic. Indeed, some have leaders who have modeled standard-setting integrity and backbone in the face of upstart pro-terrorist movements on their campuses (see the University of Texas at Austin or Syracuse University). Many others fall somewhere on a continuum. To help pinpoint where, alumni should seek answers to a number of questions that fall under one of two basic lines of inquiry. 

Does the university support Jewish and pro-Israel life on campus? 

Find out whether the school has partnerships with Jewish institutions such as Hillel or Chabad on Campus, and whether it offers Jewish studies classes or other related coursework. Does the institution allow students to study abroad in Israel or in other Middle Eastern countries? Does it maintain academic or other partnerships with entities in Israel?

Are there any organized pro-Israel student groups on campus, or are there solely pro-Palestinian (read: anti-Israel) ones? Does the university offer either or both official recognition, and how else are they supported? Check the federal record, too. Find out if the institution has ever faced a Title VI complaint over its treatment of Jewish students. If so, how was it resolved? Are there any complaints pending? 

Explore what accommodations the school has made for observant Jews. Does it offer kosher dining options? Has it made reasonable efforts to enable students who observe Shabbat and other holidays? Is there a written policy to protect students from discrimination based on religious observance? 

Consider as well that Jewish students may have already voted with their feet. How has the Jewish population on campus changed over the past few years or decades? Has the decline or growth of that community been tethered to a spike or sinking trend of antisemitic incidents? 

What has the university done to counter antisemitism? 

To confront antisemitism, a university must first properly recognize it. To that end, determine whether the school has adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism. If not, ask why not. 

From there, learn whether the university has ever faced calls to boycott, divest from or sanction Israel, and what was the result. Have any student groups passed resolutions demanding such an action, and if so, how did the school respond? 

Finally, explore what proactive steps the school has taken to prepare itself for any antisemitic incidents. Has the administration received training from an organization like the Louis D. Brandeis Center on handling claims of antisemitism on campus? 

The answers to these questions should form a clear picture of where a university stands with regard to its own Jewish community in an especially challenging time. Donors then need to determine for themselves whether, as a threshold matter, the institution deserves ongoing support in any capacity. 

A school that has so lost its bearings as to protect terrorist sympathizers and mainline their hate into its curriculum while neglecting its obligation to ensure the safety of its Jewish population has forfeited its right to expect ongoing support from Jewish alumni. 

Graduates who have been loyal supporters in the past command outsize attention from university leaders, and those deciding to walk away from their alma mater should not do so quietly. Communicate your dismay and indicate what changes you will need to see the university make before you will consider resuming your support. Alums for Campus Fairness offers structure and support in alumni-led initiatives to hold administrators accountable.

Alums of schools with more mixed records should weigh their options. Instead of cutting a check to a school’s endowment, consider a more targeted contribution to a scholarship, a pro-Israel campus group or organization or a pro-Israel speaker. 

So many of our universities have failed the moral test of this moment. As alumni, we can influence their rehabilitation. 

Avi Gordon is the executive director of Alums for Campus Fairness.