Students and members of the community raised concerns about antisemitism on campus at a University conference with the Anti-Defamation League.
The event consisted of about 450 attendees and about 50 speakers from religious and academic groups. It took place at the Omni Hotel in Tempe.
The conference was held one month after the U.S. Department of Education announced the University was under federal investigation for not fulfilling its obligations under "Title VI of the Civil Rights Act to protect Jewish students on campus," according to a press release from the DOE.
The University is currently ranked as "ahead of the pack" in terms of battling anti-Jewish hate, according to the ADL website.
"This is a recognition of their meaningful efforts to ensure Jewish students feel safe, they feel supported and they feel seen," said Jolie Brislin, the desert regional director for the ADL. "This week that leadership is more important than ever because, let's be honest, Arizona is not immune to hate."
The ADL lists the University's Hillel, Chabad, Olami and Jewish Greek life organizations as resources for Jewish students that provide them with a good quality of life on campus.
Jacob Marson, a senior studying political science, and Emily Fox-Million, a junior studying journalism and mass communication, were both speakers on the 'Rising Above Hate on Campus' panel, sharing their experiences on campus as Jewish students.
"It's tough," Marson said. "ASU is known to be a university that embraces free speech, but it's also known to be a university where students generally feel very safe, so I do thank administration for that."
Marson said he decided to move the majority of his classes online to avoid possible protests where hate speech could add more stress to his daily routine.
"I don't want to put myself in that situation," Marson said. "I don't feel like I'm going to be attacked if I walk in the middle of school, but it does ... put a mental toll on you."
Fox-Million said, out of fear of judgment, she avoids telling people in her professional and academic life about her Jewish identity.
"It's a very scary time to be Jewish right now," Fox-Million said. "It always has been, but there are so many safe spaces at Arizona State, and I feel so fortunate to have found myself with arms wrapped around me."
The full panel consisted of Marson, Fox-Million, Debbie Yunker Kail, the executive director of Hillel at ASU, and Joanne Vogel, the vice president of student services at the University.
"These two students have the opportunity to lift up their own experiences and share what they've seen from their peers," Kail said. "There's so much in the media about what's happening on campuses, and just hearing directly from students about how it's impacting them is really critical for people's understanding."
Kail said while she is grateful the University partnered with the ADL to support its Jewish community, they already have done a lot of work to combat antisemitism on campus.
"ASU is doing a good job in this space, and so I think it's important that ASU be recognized for that," Kail said.
Democrat Rep. Greg Stanton of District 4 attended the conference to share his perspective on the issue of anti-Jewish rhetoric.
"It's critical that universities around the country lead on this most important issue," Stanton said. "This is appropriate that ASU is leading the charge in this regard, and frankly, I'd expect nothing less."
Stanton spoke at the event about hate speech, including legislative paths to avoid antisemitism, funding the DOE and combatting discriminatory languages on college campuses.
"ASU is a great American university in the grand tradition of American universities, where you have freedom of academic thought ... and people can converse in a peaceful setting like this," Stanton said. "Even people who may have different viewpoints on issues."
A demonstration took place outside of the event on Mill Avenue. Protesters gathered at approximately 2 p.m. to protest the University and the ADL concerning their stance on the Israel-Hamas war.
The protesters waited outside the hotel as event attendees were leaving.
"The ADL is having a conference where their whole theme is coming together to overcome hate," said Lauren Noon, a participant in the protest. "I can't think of anything more hateful than genocide."
Noon said the protest was against both ADL's stance on the overseas conflict and the University's involvement in putting on the event.
"The fact that ASU is co-sponsoring this is an enormous problem," Noon said. "Right now, students are being deported, students are having their green cards revoked for no reason, so it's extremely concerning to everyone."
In response to the news of protests, Marson was confused because he said the ADL event was not related to the Israel-Hamas war.
"What are you protesting?" Marson said. "We're talking about ending hate. It's not about the conflict overseas in the Middle East. This is about antisemitism and hatred of all kinds."
Editor's note: Emily Fox-Million is a former State Press employee.
Edited by George Headley, Sophia Ramirez, Alexis Heichman and Natalia Jarrett.
Reach the reporter at ehprest1@asu.edu and follow @ellis_reports on X.
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Ellis is a sophomore studying journalism and mass communication. This is her first semester with The State Press. She has also worked at Arizona PBS and Blaze Radio.
