Cal Poly once again got a ‘D’ grade on antisemitism report card. Why?
Cal Poly once again received a “D” grade from the Anti-Defamation League in its annual antisemitism report card, a ranking that grades universities based on levels of perceived antisemitism on campus and support for Jewish students.
The 2026 report card was published by the organization on Tuesday.
Cal Poly was one of eight campuses to receive the low grade this year. Others included Haverford College in Pennsylvania, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of New Mexico.
This year’s evaluation identified allegations of antisemitic attitudes on campus as reasons why Cal Poly was graded so low, in addition to a concerning level of “hostile anti-Zionist” student groups and faculty.
Other concerning criteria identified by the ADL included an apparent lack of public condemnation of antisemitic acts at the administrative level and the absence of a Jewish alumni group.
This is the second year that Cal Poly has received a “D” grade. Last year, the university originally received an “F,” but the grade was raised after the university launched a task force to combat antisemitism on campus.
Over the last year, Cal Poly has fielded allegations of antisemitism on campus from both the Anti-Defamation League’s rankings and a congressional committee that grilled university President Jeffrey Armstrong in May about Cal Poly’s efforts to support Jewish students and condemn antisemitism.
During that hearing, Armstrong denied that Cal Poly was a “hotbed” of antisemitism. Armstrong was one of three college presidents who testified at that hearing, along with Haverford President Wendy Raymond and DePaul University President Robert Manuel.
While the university’s score did not change this year, spokesperson Matt Lazier told The Tribune that Cal Poly values its Jewish students and is continuously working to make progress on the issue.
“We respect the Anti-Defamation League and the important work it does,” Lazier wrote in an email. “However, we are disappointed by its recent grade, which we believe does not fully reflect the significant strides the university has made over the past year and the strength of our ongoing dialogue and longstanding relationships with Jewish students and leaders both on campus and in the broader community.”
Why did Cal Poly receive low grade from the ADL?
The ADL — an organization known for fighting antisemitism and defamation against Jewish people, as well as advocating for Israel as the Jewish homeland — highlighted new allegations of antisemitism at Cal Poly over the last year, in addition to instances that were identified in the 2025 report card.
One incident called out by the ADL occurred in June, when two pro-Palestine protesters were arrested after the university’s administration building was vandalized with messages like “Free Palestine,” “Free Gaza,” “Cal Poly Divest,” and “Let Gaza Live,” The Tribune previously reported.
At the time, Armstrong said in a statement that there was “simply zero tolerance” for the behavior — but the ADL claims that to date, Cal Poly administrators have “not publicly acknowledged the impact of the incident on the Jewish campus community.”
The report card also called out an Israel-Palestine research guide it says was released by the Robert E. Kennedy Library in January.
The ADL claimed the guide “spread false information about Zionism and criticized the campus Hillel.” The ADL did not specify what false information was spread or how Hillel was criticized in the guide.
“The guide also suggested that several anti-Zionist student organizations — including Cal Poly Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), Cal Poly Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), the Young Democratic Socialists of America, Cal Poly Social Justice Coalition, and Cal Poly SQE — should be viewed in a positive light,” the report card said.
The ADL said the university removed the guide after receiving complaints from the community and from the ADL itself.
“To date, the University has not acknowledged the antisemitic nature of the material or apologized to SLO Hillel, the student group unfairly targeted by the guide,” the organization said.
The ADL also criticized a library display, which it said included mostly books “demonizing Israel and Zionism.” The ADL did not specify what books or materials were included in the display but said the university added books reflecting Zionist perspectives after a Jewish student reportedly filed a complaint.
In a section of the website on the university’s policies and response to antisemitism, the ADL didn’t have any new critiques.
It instead highlighted the new task force created last spring with the intent to develop a plan to combat antisemitism on campus, as well as other efforts from administration to integrate education about antisemitism in employee trainings, student orientation and other programming.
Neither the recent incident involving a group of men hurling antisemitic slurs at members of Cal Poly’s Jewish fraternity, nor the university’s response to the incident decrying the antisemitic behavior were included in the ADL’s evaluation.
The incident was, however, pointed out in a news release from the ADL, in which ADL regional director Joshua Burt said the organization hopes Armstrong’s independent response to the incident “signals a shift in the right direction for the university.”
Overall, the university was graded “excellent” for Jewish life on campus and “meeting expectations” for public administrative action — the same labels it received last year.
The ADL’s concerns about campus conduct and climate at Cal Poly decreased from a “high” level last year to a “medium” level of concern this year, the website showed.
Still, the university’s grade stayed the same.
Cal Poly responds to low grade from the ADL
In the statement to The Tribune, Lazier said the university cares about its Jewish students and wants to foster an inclusive environment in which all students can grow.
He said university leaders engage closely with Jewish students and have received “overwhelmingly positive” feedback.
Lazier said the university was disappointed with the ADL’s decision to keep Cal Poly at the same score this year.
“While we are committed to continuous improvement and believe there is more work for us to do, we are discouraged that our ratings in ADL’s three categories led them to give Cal Poly an overall ‘D’ grade,” he wrote.
Lazier highlighted the fact that the number of Jewish students attending Cal Poly has doubled since 2011, and that Jewish life groups at the university, including Chabad and Hillel, are highly rated.
Lazier said Cal Poly is working with the ADL and other Jewish leaders on efforts to condemn antisemitism, implement antisemitism awareness trainings, support the antisemitism task force, endow a chair in Jewish studies and advance plans for an interfaith center that would include and support Jewish students.
“We recognize that this work is ongoing,” Lazier said. “While we have made meaningful progress, we remain committed to continuous improvement and to partnering with the ADL and other Jewish organizations to further enhance the campus experience for Jewish members of our community.”
This story was originally published March 11, 2026 at 9:00 AM.
CORRECTION: The Anti-Defamation League publishes grades for both public and private universities.
