Pro-Israel Jewish Students Suing Haverford College for Hostile Environment Harassment Can Proceed Pseudonymously
From today’s decision by Judge Gerald Austin McHugh (E.D. Pa.) in Landau v. Haverford College:
On May 13, 2024, Plaintiff “Jews at Haverford,” which purports to be an association of individuals associated with Haverford College, initiated this Title VI action against Defendant Haverford College. An amended complaint followed, adding Haverford Alumni Ally Landau and current students “HJSB” and “HJSC” as individual plaintiffs to the lawsuit. Plaintiffs generally contend that Haverford College both enables and perpetuates a hostile educational environment for its Jewish students and faculty who support the state of Israel, in violation of Title VI and assorted contractual promises between the school and its students.
Plaintiffs HJSB and HJSC now move to proceed under pseudonym in this case. Haverford, to its credit, does not oppose the Plaintiffs’ request to proceed under pseudonym in all public-facing filings.
But Haverford’s consent does not end the inquiry, because open courts are a cornerstone of the U.S. judiciary. Since pseudonyms interfere with the public’s right to access judicial proceedings, such motions must only be granted in exceptional circumstances….
The court concluded that this case involves such an exceptional circumstance, but not just because of fear of “purely social and reputational harms”:
Plaintiffs first allege that if they were to reveal their identities, they would be subject to social ostracism. Plaintiffs state that they have already been shunned by peers who are aware of their beliefs about Israel, and fear that this isolation would only intensify.
Plaintiffs next allege that their academic performance is in jeopardy. Plaintiffs contend that most classes at Haverford are “communal,” where students are “expected to work together.” Plaintiffs allege that if the anonymous students’ identities were known, it is likely that their classmates would refuse to engage with them, detrimentally impacting the anonymous students’ academic experiences.
Further, Plaintiffs allege that certain members of Haverford’s faculty may penalize the students should they become aware of the students’ beliefs about Israel. For example, Plaintiffs allege that one professor expressed that that he “would not provide any recommendations for students seeking to study either in Israel or about anything related to Judaism.” This same professor purportedly referred to Jewish students who oppose his views and support the state of Israel as “racist genocidaires.” This professor has allegedly not faced any penalty for these remarks. If these allegations are t
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