NEW YORK (Legal Newsline) - New York's Yeshiva University is facing a lawsuit from an LGBTQ student group for not allowing an official student club with the terms "LGBT" or "gay" in the title.
The YU Pride Alliance sued Yeshiva and its vice provost Chaim Nissel and president Ari Berman on April 27 in New York County Supreme Court. The complaint says students have been requesting an official LGBTQ student organization with increasing urgency since 2018.
On three occasions in 2019 and 2020, they were denied by the Jewish university.
"On a tangible level, YU's refusal to officially recognize the club deprives (members of YU Pride Alliance) of the important benefits enjoyed by YU's 116 other recognized student organizations," the complaint says.
Those benefits include the use of campus facilities, funding, advertising and participation in club fairs for incoming students.
"Beyond depriving students of access to these tangible benefits of student clubs, YU's refusal to recognize the YU Pride Alliance sends a stark and painful message of rejection and non-belonging to its LGBTQ students and their allies," the lawsuit says.
"An official LGBTQ student club is not only Plaintiffs' right as students, it is necessary to their health and well-being on campus. Students may feel isolated and unwelcome on campus, and do not know where to go for resources, guidance or camaraderie."
On June 3, the university filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit.
"This case is about whether the government can compel Yeshiva to give official recognition to Plaintiff YU Pride Alliance, a club that—as described by Plaintiffs and as understood by the culture at large—is not consistent with Torah values. It cannot," the motion says.
"As a religious institution, Yeshiva’s right to manage its internal religious affairs without government interference is protected by the First Amendment’s religion clauses. And the Free Exercise Clause, the Free Speech Clause, and the Assembly Clause also preclude the government from telling Yeshiva how to shape its religious environment and apply its Torah values."