The Anti-Defamation League gave Cal Poly a “D” for its handling of antisemitism — a continuation of last year’s failing grades. The grade comes after a reported hate crime happened at a Jewish fraternity house last month.
The U.S.-based, nonprofit organization aims to fight antisemitism and releases an annual Campus Antisemitism Report Card, an assessment of American universities’ efforts for antisemitism prevention and Jewish belonging. The ADL started grading to document the reported uptick of antisemitism in higher education following the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
In an ADL press release, the organization said Cal Poly returned to its “prior inaction.”
Last year, Cal Poly initially received an “F” from the ADL, which was changed to a “D” a month later, after the “implementation of new policy actions,” Mustang News previously reported. Of the 135 schools surveyed, less than 10% of schools received “Fs.”
“Following the 2025 Campus Report Card, Cal Poly SLO promised programs and education that never came to fruition,” the ADL press release stated. “Had Cal Poly SLO followed through with these promised changes, its grade would have improved.”
University spokesperson Matt Lazier provided an email statement in disagreement with this year’s grade.
“We respect the Anti-Defamation League and the important work it does,” Lazier said. “However, we are disappointed by its recent grade, which we believe does not fully reflect the significant strides the university has made over the past year and the strength of our ongoing dialogue and longstanding relationships with Jewish students and leaders both on campus and in the broader community.”
Cal Poly faced federal scrutiny for its antisemitism allegations last year. On May 7, 2025, Cal Poly President Jeffrey Armstrong testified before Congress about the campus’ handling of antisemitism. He avoided controversy from his interactions with Congressmembers. Cal Poly’s “D” grade was cited in a letter to Armstrong before the hearing and the 2025 ADL report card was added to the Congressional record afterward.
How has Cal Poly addressed antisemitism?
At the Congressional hearing, Armstrong made three commitments in his opening testimony: to add antisemitism education to annual student and employee anti-discrimination trainings, to endow a chair for Jewish studies and to create an interfaith center.
The university held “several sessions” on antisemitism and discrimination during the 2025 Week of Welcome, Lazier said in an email to Mustang News. Cal Poly has added information about “antisemitism and hate” to the mandated Cal State employee training, according to its ADL report card. For other student orientation programs, Cal Poly is still working on adding antisemitism education, according to Lazier.
As for the remaining two goals, Lazier said “these projects are ongoing.”
In the 2025 ADL report card, the organization listed three action items Cal Poly would complete. The first two, creating an antisemitism task force and hosting a civil discourse panel about the Israel-Palestine conflict, were completed.
In an April 2, 2025 campuswide email, Armstrong said he would reveal the antisemitism task force members in May of that year. The university did not announce these members, but Lazier shared the committee members with Mustang News. The committee plans to finish their campus action plan for Jewish student life, antisemitism education and cultural awareness in June, according to Lazier.
Adding antisemitism and anti-Zionism to the university’s diversity statement is the last action item. On July 8, 2025, the statement was updated to include “cultural heritage,” along with the removal of two citations. Additionally, Cal Poly added a section on antisemitism and anti-Zionism in a message from Armstrong on the 2026-2028 academic catalog.
“Antisemitism and anti-Zionism may constitute unlawful discrimination when it targets individuals based on their Jewish identity, resulting in denial of rights, benefits, or equal access, or creating a hostile environment,” the message from Armstrong states. “Criticism of a government or its policies, when not directed at individuals because of religion, ethnicity, or ancestry, is protected free expression under the First Amendment.”
Responses to Alpha Epsilon Pi incident
On Feb. 28, suspects shouted antisemitic slurs at members of the Jewish fraternity, Alpha Epsilon Pi, and one suspect allegedly punched a member’s head.
READ MORE: Alpha Epsilon Pi assaulted in antisemitic hate crime
Based on the most recent ADL data, 68 antisemitic incidents occurred on the Central Coast in the 2024 calendar year, “an 850% increase over the last five years,” according to Joshua Burt, the ADL’s Santa Barbara/Tri-Counties Regional Director. This is the first time, to Burt’s knowledge, that Cal Poly’s AEPi chapter was targeted this year.
Seven incidents reportedly occurred at Santa Barbara’s AEPi house since Nov. 22, 2025. The ADL is investigating two other AEPi incidents that were “problematic in and of themselves, [but] it might have been stupid fraternity stuff.”
AEPi’s Chief Communications Officer Jonathan Pierce gave Mustang News a statement last week and said Cal Poly AEPi brothers would not be able to be interviewed.
“AEPi will not be silenced or deterred,” the release said. “We remain proud of our Jewish identity and values. Acts of hate will only strengthen our resolve to live openly and confidently as Jewish students on campus.”
Two days after the incident, Cal Poly sent two campuswide emails notifying the community about what happened. These announcements coincided with Purim, a Jewish holiday celebrating bravery in the face of hatred.
Burt addressed the incident’s proximity to Purim.
“It’s really hard to be subjected to this kind of antisemitism around a holiday because it takes you away from the celebration and the communal joy that comes around so many of our holidays while also coping with something this dangerous and shocking to the community,” Burt said.
ADL Report Card details
In June 2025, four protestors entered the Student Accounts and Financial Aid office to vandalize the workspace with phrases like “Free Gaza” and “CP Divest.” The ADL criticized Cal Poly’s administration for “not publicly [acknowledging] the impact of the incident on the Jewish campus community.” Armstrong’s campuswide response to the incident condemned the “illegal attacks,” but he does not call the actions antisemitic, nor does he mention the Jewish community by name. After the incident, Lazier said “senior administration engaged in discussions with members of the local Jewish community.”
READ MORE: Student arrested after pro-Palestine protest
The report card also describes two instances of alleged antisemitism related to the Kennedy Library.
The first instance was about the content of an Israel-Palestine research guide, as part of a BEACoN project, a paid student research opportunity under the Cultural and Institutional Excellence office. Published in January, the guide documented pro-Palestine activism at Cal Poly post-Oct. 7, using local media and interviews with protest organizers and supporters.
The ADL says the guide approved of various pro-Palestine student organizations, “spread false information about Zionism and criticized the campus Hillel.” After feedback from the community and the ADL, the guide has been removed since Feb. 17.
The second instance is about a display of the library’s collection on the Israel-Palestine conflict. A majority of this arrangement of books was “demonizing Israel and Zionism,” according to the ADL.
Upon a complaint from a Jewish student, Cal Poly agreed to add Jewish and/or Zionist perspectives to the display, according to the ADL report card. Armstrong then apologized to Hillel and other Jewish organizations, according to Lazier.