A lawsuit brought by ten graduates of Harvard University against the institution alleges that the prestigious university failed to address antisemitism and other forms of hatred on campus, creating a negative institutional reputation and devaluing their degrees. 

“Harvard has directly caused the value and prestige of Plaintiffs’ Harvard degrees to be diminished and made a mockery out of Harvard graduates in the employment world and beyond,” the filing claims.

The complaint, filed last week, claims that antisemitism is “thriving” on the campus, making the institution a “bastion of rampant anti-Jewish hatred and harassment,” and that the institution failed to address and correct the issue. The filing points to “pro-Hamas rallies at which anti-semitic slogans were shouted” and says the institution has hired faculty who have spread “antisemitic propaganda.” 

Plaintiffs are requesting an injunction ordering university leaders to take measures to end antisemitism and hold individuals accountable. They are also requesting restitution for the perceived loss in value of their degrees.

The lawsuit comes amid broader scrutiny of the university’s response to anti-Jewish discrimination. In December, the House Committee on Education and the Workforce opened a formal investigation into Harvard, along with the University of Pennsylvania and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, regarding their responses to increasing antisemitism on their campuses.

The latest suit follows another against the institution, filed in January by a group of Jewish students, also calling the institution a “bastion of rampant anti-Jewish hatred and harassment.”

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights also launched an investigation into Harvard last month after more than a dozen Palestinian and Muslim students filed a complaint alleging the institution failed to protect them from harassment, intimidation, and threats based on their identity and support of Palestinian rights.