Cal Poly President Jeffrey Armstrong will testify before the House Committee on Education and the Workforce on May 7th, addressing the university's response to antisemitism. The hearing will also include representatives from DePaul University and Haverford College.
The committee's concern stems from what it perceives as mishandling of antisemitic and violent protests at Cal Poly. While most pro-Palestine protests were peaceful, some resulted in arrests and conflicts with law enforcement. The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) gave Cal Poly a failing grade on its Campus Antisemitism Report Card, citing hostile student groups, lack of public condemnation of antisemitic incidents, and pro-Palestine demonstrations.
Cal Poly announced the formation of a task force to combat antisemitism, which will evaluate data from a Jewish climate survey and develop a campus action plan. Following the announcement, the ADL upgraded Cal Poly's grade from an “F” to a “D”.
President Armstrong expressed his commitment to combating antisemitism and creating a safe environment for all students and staff. The House Committee Chairman, Tim Walberg, emphasized the committee's role in holding administrators accountable for addressing antisemitism on campuses.
Cal Poly President Jeffrey Armstrong will appear before the House Committee on Education and the Workforce on May 7 for a hearing to address the university’s efforts to combat antisemitism on campus.
Leaders from DePaul University and Haverford College will testify in the hearing alongside Armstrong, according to a social media post shared by the Committee on X.
The hearing was organized to hear from universities about “their failures to address antisemitism on campus,” according to the post.
A news release shared by the committee added that the hearing would allow the university leaders to “answer for mishandling of antisemitic, violent protests.”
While it was unclear what exactly the committee had identified as problematic about Cal Poly’s response to antisemitism, the announcement comes as the Trump administration cracks down on perceived antisemitism on college campuses nationwide — concerns brought on largely by a rise in pro-Palestine protests amid Israel’s war on Gaza.
According to previous reporting by The Tribune, most pro-Palestine protests held at Cal Poly were peaceful in nature.
One pro-Palestine protest in January resulted in eight arrests and a conflict with law enforcement when protesters tried to storm a job fair at Rec Center, The Tribune reported.
Another protest resulted in the arrest of eight more protesters who blocked a campus entrance in March 2024.
House Committee Chairman Tim Walberg, R-Michigan, gave further details on the upcoming hearing in a statement in the release.
“For the past few years, our Committee has played a critical role in both uncovering the rampant antisemitism on college campuses and holding administrators accountable,” he said. “This hearing is a continuation of this work so that we can ensure Jewish students across the nation don’t face threats or harassment in violation of Title VI. Numerous legislative options are under consideration to make certain that schools across the country are ensuring a safe learning environment for all students in compliance with federal law.”
Armstrong is looking forward to testifying, he told The Tribune through university spokesperson Matt Lazier on Friday morning.
“Combating antisemitism is a high priority for Cal Poly, where we work to maintain a safe environment that allows all students and staff to feel secure,” he said.
The hearing will take place on May 7 at 10:15 a.m. ET, according to the release.
The news of the hearing comes after the university announced it will soon launch a task force to combat antisemitism, Mustang News first reported Monday.
Armstrong announced the task force in an April 2 statement, provided to The Tribune by Lazier.
“Among other duties, the task force will evaluate data gathered through a Jewish climate survey this spring and develop a campus action plan that is focused on Jewish student life, antisemitism education and cultural awareness,” Armstrong wrote.
According to the memo, group membership will be announced in May and the first meeting will be held at the start of the fall semester.
Meanwhile, the Anti-Defamation League — an organization dedicated to combating antisemitism — issued Cal Poly a failing grade on its Campus Antisemitism Report Card, which evaluated various antisemitism indicators at 135 campuses nationwide, according to its website.
The Anti-Defamation League is known for its pro-Israel and Zionist advocacy.
Cal Poly performed worst in the organization’s campus climate category. The university was marked down for having high levels of “hostile” and “anti-Zionist” student groups and faculty, according to the website.
On the administrative side, the organization marked Cal Poly down for not publicly condemning antisemitic incidents on campus.
Examples of these incidents, according to the organization, included an email containing antisemitic language that was sent to a faculty member in May 2024 and pro-Palestine graffiti on university buildings in October.
The organization also took issue with a banner urging Israel to end its occupation of the Palestinian territories, which it said was shown at a student protest in October.
While the university was originally given an “F” grade, the League raised the grade up to a “D” two days after Cal Poly announced its task force.
The decision was based on the university’s implementation of “new policy actions,” a note shared at the bottom of the report card read.
It’s unclear whether or not the House Committee used the League’s rankings in its decision to invite Armstrong to testify in the May hearing.
However, both Haverford and DePaul — the other two colleges that will be represented at the hearing — were also issued failing grades by the organization.
This story was originally published April 11, 2025 at 2:36 PM.
Skip the extension — just come straight here.
We’ve built a fast, permanent tool you can bookmark and use anytime.
Go To Paywall Unblock Tool