Updated on Oct. 3 at 8:35 p.m.: to include details about a temporary restraining order the CFA was set to file and additional information on how faculty and staff at Cal State LA can stay safe during this investigation.

Editorial note: The University Times and its staff are university student employees and we are included as a part of this subpoena, but no matter what we will continue to accurately and objectively report on the privacy and safety concerns that this subpoena brings to the college. 

The California State University system is being investigated by the Trump Administration due to alleged antisemitism following the Gaza Solidarity Encampments in May 2024, the probe has sparked concerns of privacy violations following a federal subpoena request of private faculty phone numbers and emails at Cal State LA. 

“This subpoena raises serious concerns about our members’ privacy,” said California Faculty Association (CFA) President Margarita Berta-Avila in a systemwide email, also obtained by the University Times. “CFA is demanding a copy of the subpoena and asking that CSULA not comply with the subpoena until CFA has had a chance to review it and formulate a response.”

The Cal State LA chapter of the CFA confirmed that Cal State LA had already complied with the subpoena by the time the campus was notified and had not given the faculty union a chance to respond or formulate a plan to keep faculty safe, especially in this era of doxxing, and digital harassment. 

“This is a really scary time to get that kind of messaging,”  Cal State LA chapter president Akhila Ananth said. “I hope that the CSU administration understands where that fear is coming from. It’s real.”

Ananth added that the CFA will continue to make demands for future faculty safety guarantees from the CSU and the school when it comes to their personal safety and private information before it is shared with federal EEOC investigators or elsewhere. 

It is currently unclear if any other CSU campuses are facing similar subpoenas from the federal government. 

This investigation was first reported by the Los Angeles Times. 

In addition the federal subpoena served by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) at Cal State LA, they also filed an antisemitism “complaint” against all 22 CSU campuses, according to an email from CSU Chancellor Mildred Garcia on Friday Sept 26, that was also obtained by the University Times. 

The original complaint was made by 3 employees at Cal State LA, according to Ananth. 

“There are complaints that were made to the EEOC and then once those complaints were at the EEOC, the investigation sort of mysteriously, we don’t know exactly why or how, but it seems to have expanded to the entire CSU,” Ananth said. “Now the EEOC investigation seems to be encompassing every aspect of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the CSUs.”

Cal State LA had initially provided the EEOC with publicly available faculty contact information, however the EEOC is now “requiring, through a federal subpoena, that the University produce personal phone numbers and email addresses for all employees,” according to an email sent to Cal State LA faculty last Friday. 

The federal subpoena also encompasses all student employees at Cal State LA, and that those students may be contacted by the EEOC “to see if they have experienced discrimination on campus,” Cal State LA Spokesperson Erik Hollins said. 

The University Times has not obtained a copy of the federal subpoena, and it is unclear if the CFA has a copy either. However, the CFA is in possession of the original EEOC complaint and it is not clear when it will be shared with local CFA chapters. 

After the CFA learned of the federal subpoena, they had planned to file a temporary restraining order (TRO) against the EEOC, however because the private numbers and emails have already been released by Cal State LA to the EEOC the CFA will not file the TRO “Immediately.”

The CFA, however, will explore other “remedies to the disclosures that has taken place as well as avenues to protect against similar disclosures in the future.” 

For those at Cal State LA that want to see if their information was shared, the CFA said that they can inquire with the CSU’s General Counsel Office, “for an accounting of personal information that was disclosed.” 

“We are the site of great political activism,” Ananth said. “We have a great tradition of withstanding governmental and administrative intrusions on our constitutional and protected free speech. We’re committed as ever to upholding it.”

Cal State LA was one of several CSU campuses that were a part of the Gaza Solidarity Encampments that sprouted up after Israel’s bombardment of Gaza following the Hamas terror attacks on Oct. 7 2023. 

The encampment was disbanded in June 2024 at Cal State LA after the protests turned violent and protesters blockaded and damaged the Student Services Building on campus, trapping administrators and the school president inside. 

Garcia said that the EEOC has already begun to directly reach out to individual CSU faculty and staff members “to review allegations of antisemitism and to speak with them about their experiences on campus.” 

The CFA also told members that if contacted by federal authorities in regards to the systemwide, or Cal State LA investigation “you do not need to speak to them immediately.” The CFA also said that faculty members that have been reached out to can ask for their information, and to get back to the authorities only after having a “chance to consult with your union or legal counsel.” 

If faculty do choose to interact with the EEOC in regard to this ongoing complaint and investigation, Ananth said that is their right to bring someone they trust to the meeting, and it doesn’t have to be legal counsel or someone from the union. Ananth also said that “you have the right to record everything” and “you have the right to protect yourself to really lockdown your digital communication.” 

The University Times is unclear on if any of those faculty and staff that have been contacted are at the Cal State LA campus. 

The Trump Administration also initiated EEOC investigations against the entire University of California system and their 10 campuses, that include similar allegations of antisemitism and violations of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.   

Further, the CSU and hundreds of other colleges across the U.S. are facing another investigation initiated by the federal Department of Education Office of Civil Rights for racial discrimination “due to interactions with the PhD Project, a private non-profit organization with the goal of diversifying business education and the corporate workforce,” according to the CSU wide email shared on Sept. 26.  

As of last year the CSU is no longer working with the PhD project where the university system had shared job openings on campuses, according to Hollins. 

“You can count on labor unions to fight the good fight and that is what we’re in for and we always have been,” Ananth said. “It’s not going to be without a fight. We hope the CSU takes on that fight on their own against what is coming.”

Hollins also said that Cal State LA had no further comments beyond the email to faculty and staff and a CSU statement that was released. 

“The CSU will fully cooperate with the EEOC during its investigative review,” the statement said “The CSU unequivocally condemns antisemitism and continues to comply with longstanding federal and state anti-discrimination laws as well as CSU policies.”

The University Times reached out to Faculty for Justice in Palestine at Cal State LA, but have yet to hear back. 

Are you concerned about your privacy on campus, have concerns about the EEOC investigation or would like to share your perspective? We’d like to hear from you. Please reach out to us at [email protected].