The Anti-Defamation League released its third Campus Antisemitism Report Card, assessing 150 colleges across criteria concerning administrative policies, Jewish life on campus and campus conduct and climate concerns. Elon University received an “A” for the third straight year, joining 22 other schools nationwide that earned the top grade.
Elon received “above expectations” in Publicly Disclosed Administrative Actions, “excellent” standing in Jewish Life on Campus and “low to none” in Campus Conduct and Climate Concerns.
The report card states that Elon has a Hillel, Chabad and Jewish Greek life organizations.
In Fall 2025, Jewish sorority Alpha Epsilon Phi joined Jewish fraternity Alpha Epsilon Pi on Elon’s campus.
Elon senior Simon Mendelsohn has held several positions in Hillel, such as engagement intern, leading the Shabbat band, Shabbat chair, and currently, communications board administrator. He said he was not surprised by the “A” grade, because Elon has received the top grades for the past two years.
“I think it just speaks to the community that we've built here in the administration as well,” Mendelsohn said. “This has become a very well-known, safe campus for Jewish students.”
Mendelsohn said that no matter what people think about the conflict in the Middle East, it is important for schools to create a safe environment for Jewish students.
“I think knowing that, and being able to tell people that this is, that's like a non-issue here, and like, not even close to a problem at all, it just doesn't happen, I think is impressive and nice for us to be able to kind of promote that, but like that literally doesn't happen here,” Mendelsohn said. “And I'm sure it doesn't happen in other schools, but other schools might not have the 15% Jewish community that we do.”
The report states that Elon has an ongoing Jewish Life Advisory Council. It also states that Elon has had highlighted opportunities to learn more about the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel, and Elon President Connie Book regularly attends summits and convenings designed to address campus antisemitism.
Senior Director of Jewish Life, Betsy Polk Joseph, said Elon is a collaborative school that's willing to talk through issues.
“Folks at Elon don't just wring their hands. “We have conversations,” Polk Joseph said. “We figure out how to work together. We figure out how to do that in a respectful way. I think that, to me, is collaboration and the communication at work, and all of that feeds into creating healthier communities across campus.”
In the last few years, Polk Joseph said that there's an increasing feeling of Jewish pride and joy on campus.
“I think students feel like they can be themselves,” Polk Joseph said. “I mean, you can feel like you can be yourself and your identity and identities are respected, then that creates joy, that creates pride, that creates authenticity.”
The percentage of schools receiving “A’s” and “B’s” rose to 58% after 41% last year. American University and Johns Hopkins University saw improvement, going from a “B” to an “A.”
According to the press release, institutions that made the biggest gains adopted new changes informed by direct involvement with the ADL.
Duke University, Wake Forest University, and the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, all earned “B’s.” North Carolina State University received a “D”, one of eight across the nation to receive that grade.
Nationally, the ADL found that nearly half of non-Jewish students reported witnessing or experiencing anti-Jewish behavior in the past year. They also found that 47.6% endorsed at least one anti-Jewish attitude. But large majorities of students supported university action to address antisemitism.
Mendelsohn said even if students aren’t involved in Jewish life on campus, they are still safe to be Jewish on campus.
“It's not going to be a big concern for you,” Mendelsohn said. “You can go to Hillel, even just for the big holidays, if you want. Kind of having that just in the background, even, I think for sure, is important.”
NC State’s Hillel did not respond to Elon News Network’s request for comment.