Several faculty groups at the University of Pennsylvania have denounced the Trump administration's demand for personal information about Jewish professors, staff and students, calling it a government abuse with 'ominous historical overtones'. The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is seeking names, email addresses, phone numbers and home addresses as part of an investigation into antisemitism on campus.
Jewish faculty and staff have condemned the demand as 'a visceral threat to the safety of those who would find themselves identified because compiling and turning over to the government lists of Jews conjures a terrifying history', according to a press release from the groups' lawyers. The EEOC sued Penn in November after the university refused to fully comply.
On Tuesday, the American Association of University Professors, the Jewish Law Students Association, and other groups filed a motion in federal court to intervene. They argue the request would create a 'centralized registry' that intrudes on freedoms of association, religion, speech and privacy enshrined in the First Amendment.
Norm Eisen, co-founder of the Democracy Defenders Fund, said: 'We are entering territory that should shock every single one of us. That kind of information – however purportedly benign the excuses given for it – can be put to the most dangerous misuse.' The EEOC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The university had refused to comply with the EEOC's July subpoena for personal data of Jewish individuals without their consent, as well as names of participants in confidential listening sessions. A university spokesperson said violating privacy and trust is 'antithetical to ensuring Penn's Jewish community feels protected and safe'. The EEOC chair Andrea Lucas accused the university of obstructing efforts to identify witnesses and victims of harassment.
