Georgia Tech has agreed to a resolution with the former director of a Jewish student support organization who filed a federal complaint accusing the school of “blatant anti-Semitic exclusion” for its handling of an incident in which she said she was denied entry to a student meeting.
Lauren Blazofsky, then-director of Hillel at Georgia Tech, said she was not allowed inside a Young Democratic Socialists of America meeting on campus in April 2019 although she registered online for the meeting. The student group said she clicked “going” on a public Facebook event post, but there was no registration or signup form.
Blazofsky said she was asked if she was “Lauren from Hillel” before being denied admission and two other Jewish students said they were harassed at the event, according to a complaint filed by the American Center for Law and Justice with the U.S. Department of Education. The student group said at a Georgia Tech hearing it excluded Blazofsky because she had sent an email asking people to be disruptive at the event. Blazofsky strongly denied the claim. The student group said the students Blazofsky encouraged to attend the meeting heckled the speakers.
Georgia Tech said in a Jan. 18 statement posted on its website that it has reached an agreement and the case is now closed.
“It is incumbent upon all of us to work together to ensure that unlawful discrimination and harassment are not welcome at Georgia Tech,” the school said. “Georgia Tech is committed to working collaboratively with Hillel and others to provide a campus community that is free from unlawful discrimination.”
Blazofsky is now associate director of Hillel Emory University.
Elliot Karp, chief executive officer of Hillels of Georgia released the following statement: “Hillels of Georgia is pleased to resolve the Title VI complaint with the Georgia Institute of Technology. Our positive resolution benefits both Hillel and Georgia Tech. It protects the rights and interests of Jewish students and those of all students who should be free from any form of bigotry, injustice and discrimination on campus. We look forward to working in partnership and collaboration with Georgia Tech in sustaining a campus community that is open, welcome and inclusive for all.”
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