My plan to fight antisemitism
Jewish students deserve to feel safe at Michigan.
Seven steps I will take as a Regent so that every student can learn, worship and speak freely on campus without fear.
No parent should have to wonder whether their child is safe walking to class or to Shabbat dinner.
This is personal for me. As an original board member of Jewish Community Security Inc. (Jewish Federation's security apparatus), I have helped oversee security for Jewish schools, synagogues and agencies across Metro Detroit. I know what it takes to keep a community safe.
The University of Michigan has fallen short. In 2024, federal civil rights officials reviewed 75 reports of harassment and discrimination at U-M and found no evidence that the university had handled them the way the law requires. Our kids deserve better. Here is what I will do about it.
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Clear rules, enforced every time
Free speech is at the heart of a great university, and I will always defend it. Protest is welcome. Intimidation, harassment and vandalism are not. U-M needs rules that draw that line clearly. Then it needs to enforce them consistently, no matter who breaks them or what cause they claim.
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More security where Jewish students gather
I will work with U-M's Division of Public Safety and Security, with U-M Police, and Ann Arbor Police on extra patrols of Jewish buildings and extra security for Jewish activities on campus. I will also liaise with Jewish Community Security Inc., the Federation-sponsored organization whose board I sit on, to provide extra eyes and ears at campus events.
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An antisemitism czar who answers to the President
This work touches many offices across campus, and someone has to own it. I will push U-M to hire an "antisemitism czar" who reports directly to the President and coordinates the fight against antisemitism across the university. When something goes wrong, families should know exactly who is responsible for fixing it.
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Continuing education for faculty
I taught college students for five years, and I know most faculty want to do right by the people in their classrooms. Discrimination can still happen without anyone meaning it. I will require continuing education for faculty on their Title VI obligations, on antisemitism and discrimination against students, including the unconscious or inadvertent kind.
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No BDS. Period.
I will refuse to consider boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel for any university activity. That includes the endowment, research partnerships with Israeli universities and study abroad programs. I manage public money for a living. The endowment exists to pay for scholarships and research, not to serve as a tool for political campaigns.
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A campus culture of civil dialogue
A Regent has a bully pulpit, and I will use mine to foster respectful, civil dialogue on campus. I will work to grow and fund U-M's Center for American Dialogue and the Raoul Wallenberg Institute, home of the Samantha Woll Dialogues. Those conversations honor a Michigan graduate who devoted herself to building bridges between communities.
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Standing with Jewish student life
I will actively engage with Hillel, the Jewish Resource Center and Chabad to encourage Jewish student programming. Every student pays a fee each semester that funds student organizations, and Jewish groups should receive their due share. In 2024, the student government froze funding for student organizations to pressure the university to divest from Israel. I will make sure student fees are never held hostage like that again.
I want to hear your ideas
This plan is a starting point. I am open to your ideas, or anyone's, for improving the campus experience for our kids. If you are a student, a parent or an alum with a story to share or a suggestion to make, please write to me.