Armstrong is testifying in Congress today (right now!)

Author

Carly Heltzel
May 07, 2025

Good morning. It’s Wednesday, and I’m taking some time off this week because I’m very sick. But not sick enough to miss the huge news event of the day: Cal Poly President Jeffrey Armstrong testifying in Congress on the university’s response to antisemitism. 

If you’re awake and curious, you can watch the live stream of the hearing here: officially titled “Beyond the Ivy League: Stopping the Spread of Antisemitism on American Campuses” (He began his opening statement at 7:49 a.m.).

You can also stay updated with this live blog from a Mustang News reporter in Washington, D.C.

Onto the stories you need to know for to understand today’s hearing.

1. The Basics

For the absolute basics, here’s the story that first broke the news:

Chloë Hodge and Krithi Sankar / Mustang News

2. What Antisemitism?

As to what antisemitic incidents occurred that caused Congress to choose Cal Poly’s president of all university presidents, you can get that information here:

Krithi Sankar and Chloë Hodge / Mustang News

3. Cal Poly vs. The Other Schools

But he wasn’t the only one, as the presidents of DePaul University in Chicago and Haverford College in Haverford, Pennsylvania are also testifying today about their respective campuses. Any common threads? I don’t see too many, but see how their campuses stack up with Cal Poly’s: 

Kaylin O'Connell / Mustang News

4. Armstrong Didn’t Sign Letter

Also of note, almost every university president who has been called in to testify, along with numerous who haven’t been, signed a letter condemning “unprecedented government overreach” into higher education in America under the Trump administration. Armstrong said he won’t sign it. Read more about that here:

Krithi Sankar / Mustang News

5. GOP is Not Happy

But Republican lawmakers still aren’t happy with him, as they called for the three presidents to either condemn antisemitism and make serious campus changes to improve the culture on campus or… “They should be fired immediately.”

Krithi Sankar / Mustang News

6. Student Thoughts

So what do Cal Poly students think about all this? Here is an article and audio story that has quotes from students on what they hope Armstrong says and does. 

Staff / Mustang News

And lastly, here are some more things going on in the Cal Poly world recently related to Armstrong’s testimony:

Krithi Sankar and Madison White / Mustang News

Seth Pintar and Madison White

Seth Pintar / Mustang News