Despite U.S. President Donald Trump’s swift movement on combating antisemitism and educational reform through his series of executive orders, he may not be going nearly far enough.
Title VI lawsuits, investigations and revoking federal funds will fall short of ensuring that administrators and faculty prioritize their students and the integrity of their institutions. Recent settlements between Rutgers, Harvard, George Washington and other universities with the U.S. Department of Education offer empty promises. Adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism or providing Jewish identity training will unlikely foster necessary and meaningful change.
One place to look for meaningful change, however, is in the passage of the 2002 Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) in the aftermath of the Enron scandal. SOX substantially reduced corporate fraud, proving a successful effort at reform.
Historically and presently, when victims of misconduct file complaints, school administrators tend to deploy an array of DARVO tactics: Deny, Attack and Reverse roles of Victim and Offender with the intent to silence them. These tactics embolden the perpetrators and further harm victims, adding more poison to the scheme’s cauldron.
A stark example can be seen in the eruption of sexual-abuse cover-ups: Jerry Sandusky’s molestation of more than 100 boys at Penn State University, and Michigan State University’s disgraced Dr. Larry Nassar who sexually assaulted some 350 elite gymnasts. MSU was fully aware of Nassar’s heinous acts for more than 20 years and denied his wrongdoing—claiming that victims misinterpreted Nassar’s medical exams—and attacked them for speaking out. In the end, MSU paid $500 million to settle the case. USA Gymnastics went bankrupt. Hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars were wasted.
These cases, among hundreds of others, happened under administrative purview and the knowledge of local authorities. Not a single administrator was held personally accountable.
Campus antisemitism similarly thrives due to deliberate administrative neglect. School officials justify the “Free Palestine” movement under the guise of First Amendment rights while allowing a hostile learning environment. What began as sporadic protests and vandalism escalated to storming of school buildings, class disruptions and even pouring concrete into campus toilets. The misconduct is met with empty condemnations and sometimes suspensions. But these consequences are insufficient. They fail to deter the students and faculty from inciting further harm.
Qatar and China, along with entities such as the Middle East Studies Association (MESA) and Faculty and Staff for Justice in Palestine (FSJP), have embedded themselves into various American universities. Like Confucius Institutes, most of which have been shut down for promoting Chinese soft-power objectives, MESA and Qatari influence similarly advances anti-Western, anti-Jewish ideologies.
George Washington University’s Institute of Middle East Studies (IMES), affiliated with MESA and Qatar Foundation International, hosts symposiums that consistently defend Hamas’s “right to resistance.” The most troubling moment came when an IMES guest panelist at their April 2024 conference, “Middle East Knowledge Production in the Aftermath of October 7th,” suggested that academics subtly promote pro-BDS content in classrooms, particularly in states where the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement is prohibited.
All universities that receive federal funding are governed by the Office of Research Integrity. The law on “research misconduct” states that when research significantly deviates from accepted standards and is committed deliberately, legal action may be warranted if supported by a preponderance of evidence. However, administrators disregard these guidelines and allow their faculty to disseminate distorted scholarship and suppress viewpoint diversity. Through what amounts to academic misconduct, distorted history and politicized lies are disguised as legitimate scholarship.
Upon reports of academic misconduct, administrators and provosts invoke and misappropriate the legal shield of “academic freedom.” The misuse and abuse of this principle undermines educational integrity, the health of the university community and the civic character of our nation.
True deterrence for misconduct—sexual, antisemitic or academic—will only be achieved when administrators are under the helm of personal liability for covering it up, facing consequences ranging from losing educational licenses to practice, financial penalties, and in severe cases, imprisonment.
Trump and Congress have a unique opportunity to implement structural changes to prevent the mismanagement of federal funds and taxpayer dollars, and the exploitation of vulnerable students. To counter a culture of impunity, the Trump administration can apply similar legislation to that of SOX to educational institutions.
After what was considered one of the most infamous scandals in American history, Congress passed legislation that required CEOs, CFOs and accounting firms to personally certify the accuracy of their company's financial statements. They would be met with personal liability and even criminal penalties for false certifications.
Such a framework for accountability must be implemented and applied to education reform. School officials, like corporate executives, must certify the accuracy of incident reports—covering all types of violations—monthly. As for antisemitism specifically, such certification of incidents would ensure that administrators cannot downplay or dismiss complaints as mere political speech or academic freedom. Much like SOX’s requirements for corporate financial statements, reports would be checked for accuracy and timeliness; contain the necessary details as provided by complainants; and flag discrepancies between case resolutions and laws.
The framework would also establish a centralized, transparent reporting portal, whereby all university stakeholders can report misconduct. This portal would be publicly accessible, with names anonymized until investigations are completed.
Furthermore, misconduct investigations should be conducted by an independent pool of randomly selected investigators, as opposed to university-affiliated ones. Currently, school officials serve as the judge, jury and executioner, leading to conflicts of interest during the investigative process. For fairness and impartiality, an independent investigative body much like the SOX-designed Public Company Accounting Oversight Board consisting of randomly selected certified and trained professionals, should oversee misconduct cases.
Completely eliminating misconduct is impossible. However, this model and related legislation can ensure that school officials uphold legal and ethical standards, ultimately helping to restore the integrity of our American educational institutions.