March 23, 2026
This column appeared in AM NY.
By Marisa Bearak
Last year, New York legislators passed a law requiring every college and university in the state to designate a Title VI coordinator—a civil rights official responsible for ensuring compliance with federal protections against discrimination based on race, ethnicity, and shared ancestry, including antisemitism.
The vote was bipartisan. The advocacy coalition was broad. The message was clear: campuses must take discrimination in all its forms seriously.
According to American Jewish Committee’s State of Antisemitism in America 2025 Report, 42 percent of American Jewish college students reported experiencing antisemitism during their time on campus, and one in four said they have felt or been excluded from a group or event on campus because they are Jewish.
Those numbers define the environment under which this mandate must operate.
Students and their families are not asking whether coordinators have been appointed. They are asking whether these roles carry the authority necessary to make a difference.
That depends on how institutions treat it.
A Title VI coordinator positioned low in a university bureaucracy risks becoming an administrative formality. However, a coordinator empowered with investigative authority, institutional backing, and clear reporting lines to senior leadership can help ensure discrimination complaints are addressed consistently and seriously.
Recent events have illustrated why this new law and these coordinators are necessary. Anti-Israel encampments and sustained protest activity on several New York campuses raise serious concerns about safety and equal access for Jewish students, faculty, and staff. Universities and their students have seen how quickly activism, disruption, and discrimination claims can converge—and how difficult those moments are to navigate without the proper, clear systems in place.
Structure reduces hesitation - in university action and in reporting by students. Authority clarifies responsibility.
New York’s colleges and universities now have an opportunity to demonstrate that this reform will matter in practice and earn back the trust of their students, which was lost as they were forced to navigate hostile environments without the support they needed and deserved.
SUNY notably supported the legislation early on. Now SUNY, CUNY, and private colleges and universities share responsibility for ensuring Title VI coordinators are empowered to do their jobs.
That means transparency about how these roles are structured, where they sit within university leadership, and how complaints will be handled. It also means consistent training, clear reporting pathways and visible accountability.
Passing the bill sent a message. Implementation will determine whether students feel the difference.
