Roughly one year ago, Cal Poly President Jeffrey Armstrong sat before a congressional committee to defend Cal Poly’s fight against antisemitism, pledging that the university would pursue “continuous improvement.” In the year since, Cal Poly has both updated their policies surrounding antisemitism and faced several antisemitic incidents.
READ MORE: Cal Poly’s President went to Capitol Hill. He spoke for just 8 minutes
In September, the university assembled the Cal Poly Antisemitism Task Force and updated employee and student training to reflect the changes. However, Cal Poly is now disputing a “D” in the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) Report Card, issued on March 10. The ADL is a large international non-governmental organization whose mission is to fight antisemitism and bigotry against Jewish people.
The grade comes following the Feb. 28 assault on a member of Cal Poly’s Jewish fraternity, Alpha Epsilon Pi, where the suspects yelled antisemitic slurs at the residents. While the university provided support to the members, officials noted that the investigation falls under the San Luis Obispo Police Department’s jurisdiction because it occurred off campus.
READ MORE: Alpha Epsilon Pi member assaulted in antisemitic hate crime
The Antisemitism Task Force consists of four Cal Poly staff members, one associate professor, two students and five members of the local Jewish community, according to Matt Lazier, university spokesperson. The two students involved are Leora Feinsmith, a public health senior, and Benjamin Broudy, a recent microbiology graduate. The committee is in discussions with university donors to fund the planned interfaith center, according to Lazier. It plans to present a “campus action plan” to Armstrong next month.
The Anti-Defamation League argues that Cal Poly has not yet fulfilled its promises that Jeffrey Armstrong made on Capitol Hill. The ADL specifically criticized the administration’s response to the June 2025 pro-Palestinian vandalism of the Student Accounts office, noting that while Armstrong condemned the “illegal attacks,” he did not explicitly name them as antisemitic or mention the Jewish community.
READ MORE: Pro-Palestinian protesters vandalize financial aid office
Lazier affirmed the university’s commitment to combatting antisemitism in an email to Mustang News.
“It bears repeating this sentiment that President Armstrong shared with the congressional committee a year ago: Antisemitism and all other forms of discrimination run counter to Cal Poly’s mission, and the university strives to continually improve its campus culture and its offerings and support programming for all who would study, live, work or visit here,” Lazier said.
Armstrong’s testimony centered around a commitment to update student and employee training. The university integrated antisemitism education into the 2025 and 2026 Week of Welcome programming. Additionally, Armstrong added specific language regarding antisemitism and anti-Zionism to the 2026-2028 academic catalog.
“Antisemitism and anti-Zionism may constitute unlawful discrimination when they target individuals based on their Jewish identity, resulting in the denial of rights, benefits, or equal access, or creating a hostile environment,” Armstrong wrote in the statement.
Accountability was another central theme of Armstrong’s statements at the 2025 hearing. Armstrong testified that students involved in antisemitic incidents would face “adjudication processes, with consequences up to and leading to expulsion.” At the time of the hearing, six students had been suspended or placed on probation.
As Cal Poly enters the second academic year following Armstrong’s testimony, Lazier maintains that it has made “significant strides.” Whether the upcoming campus action plan in June will satisfy the concerns of the Anti-Defamation League or Jewish students remains to be seen.
