Cal Poly President Jeffrey Armstrong to testify before Congress. Watch live
.jpg "Cal Poly President Jeffrey Armstrong speaks at the university’s 2021 fall convocation at the Cal Poly Performing Arts Center.")
Cal Poly President Jeffrey Armstrong is expected to testify before Congress on Wednesday regarding the university’s handling and response to antisemitism on campus.
The hearing comes as the Trump administration cracks down on perceived antisemitism and a rise in pro-Palestine protests on college campuses around the country amid the war in Gaza. The House Committee on Education and Workforce will hold the hearing.
Armstrong is one of three university presidents expected to testify Wednesday, joining Haverford College President Wendy Raymond and DePaul University President Robert Manuel.
All three college presidents were invited by Republican committee members, Committee Press Secretary Sara Robertson told The Tribune, while Democratic committee members additionally called Georgetown University Law Center professor and former American Civil Liberties Union national legal director David Cole to testify.
The House Committee hearing is scheduled to begin at 7:15 a.m. You can view the video below.
If the video is not showing, you can also tune in online on the House Committee’s website at edworkforce.house.gov/calendar/eventsingle.aspx?EventID=412359 or on YouTube at youtube.com/live/W8zE7dgGK5I.
Why is Cal Poly president testifying before Congress?
An April 21 letter sent by the House Committee to Armstrong and CSU Trustee Jack Clarke Jr. ahead of Wednesday’s hearing repeated claims outlined by the Anti-Defamation League — an organization known for its pro-Israel advocacy — in its Campus Antisemitism Report Card.
The letter laid out the allegations Armstrong is expected to address alongside other concerns related to antisemitism on campus.
“The upcoming hearing will enable the committee to hear from you firsthand, President Armstrong, about incidents of antisemitism that have taken place on campus under your watch, any disciplinary actions the university has taken in response to these incidents, and any broader changes that the school has made to address campus antisemitism,” the letter read.
Cal Poly originally received an “F” rating on the report card, but it was later raised to a “D” after the university implemented new policies, according to the report card website. The boost occurred just days after Cal Poly announced a new antisemitism task force.
The Anti-Defamation League’s analysis found that Cal Poly had high levels of “hostile” and “anti-Zionist” students and faculty, and the university’s administration was marked down in the report for not publicly condemning antisemitic incidents on campus, according to the organization.
“Cal Poly’s Report Card notes that a number of antisemitic incidents have occurred on campus, including but not limited to, the verbal harassment of Jewish students and threatening graffiti spray-painted on school buildings saying ‘From Gaza to Cal Poly, let the intifada spread,’” the House Committee’s letter stated.
The committee also claimed to have received information about an April 2024 incident of “alleged verbal harassment” toward Jewish students by a Cal Poly professor from “an individual with first-hand knowledge.”
The incident allegedly occurred in April 2024 outside a lecture on campus by a former Israeli Defense Force soldier and was recorded by campus police, the letter said.
“The alleged harassment included a Cal Poly professor, while holding a Palestinian flag, confronting Jewish students and attendees in the lobby and stating ‘You are Zionists — you are part of the KKK,’” the letter read. “The same professor, while standing in the lobby near the entrance, allegedly held the Palestinian flag over the face of a woman as she entered the lobby and stated “F--- Israel.’”
The committee also requested multiple documents regarding antisemitism on campus to be provided unredacted and unedited by April 30.
This included meeting minutes or other meeting materials that have mentioned antisemitism since August 2023 and documents “relating to the relationship between Cal Poly and the Cal Poly Students for the Liberation of Palestine, Cal Poly Students for Justice in Palestine and Cal Poly Jewish Voices for Peace groups,” including registration and budget documents.
It also requested records from Armstrong’s office that show any changes to university policies on student and faculty conduct, discrimination and harassment, or policies on masking or “facial coverings” after Oct. 7, 2023 — the date of Hamas’ attack on Israel.
“Cal Poly is committed to combating antisemitism and all forms of hate and has taken meaningful action to achieve this,” Cal Poly spokesperson Matt Lazier wrote in an April email to The Tribune. “We have received the committee’s request and have worked in good faith to provide the information requested. President Armstrong looks forward to testifying before the committee to share how the campus has worked to address antisemitism and ensure the entire community feels safe and secure so they can thrive.”
This story was originally published May 7, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
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