Lawler and Torres authored a bill to monitor antisemitism on college campuses on Friday. The College Oversight and Legal Updates Mandating Bias Investigations and Accountability Act, or COLUMBIA Act, would allow the Department of Education (DoED) to hire a "third-party antisemitism monitor" for any college or university that receives federal funding, according to a press release. If a university does not comply, it may lose federal funding. The monitor would release a quarterly report, "evaluating in detail the progress that a college or university has made toward combating antisemitism on campus and issuing policy recommendations." The lawmakers crafted the said proposal as a "response to the ongoing demonstrations at Columbia University that have created an environment that many Jewish students view as hostile to their well-being and safety," according to the press release. "My office and I have spoken with countless Jewish students from campuses across America who feel deeply unsafe, purely as a result of their religious and ethnic identity," Torres said in the announcement. "This is a blatant violation of Title VI and the federal government cannot allow this to continue unchecked." The college or university placed under DoED’s "censorship" would be responsible for covering any expenses from the monitor’s oversight and would lose federal funding for not complying with the COLUMBIA Act's requirements. "This past week's crisis at Columbia is not an isolated incident. It is the straw that has broken the camel’s back and I am prepared to do something about it," Torres said in another statement. "Jewish students have told my office that they feel completely abandoned by their university administrators and they view Congress as the only avenue for accountability and safety. Let's honor our word to them and get this done." (Related: Former free speech proponent Sen. Hawley is now calling for the national guard to suppress anti-Israel protests.)Some of my colleagues are introducing legislation to create federally sanctioned "antisemitism monitors" at colleges.
I’ll vote No. Policing speech, religion, and assembly is not the role of the federal government. In fact it’s expressly prohibited by the U.S. Constitution. pic.twitter.com/cv4BFzyigg — Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) April 27, 2024
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