A Modern Orthodox university in New York refused to recognize an LGBTQ student club. Now, students are suing.

• Yeshiva University refused to officially recognize an LGBTQ student club three times in two years.
• A new lawsuit says the school must recognize the club under the New York Human Rights Law.
• Students say the campus isn't welcoming to queer people, but the school says anti-discrimination is "vigorously enforced."

A group of Yeshiva University students and alumni filed a lawsuit in New York County Supreme Court on Tuesday after the school refused to recognize their LGBTQ student club for the third time in two years.

Three alumni and one current student are plaintiffs in the case, and they are requesting the administrators of New York City's Yeshiva University - which is registered as nonsectarian but widely known as a Modern Orthodox school - to recognize their student organization known as Pride Alliance for the fall 2021 semester.

While official recognition would allow the student organization to get funding and use facilities on campus for meetings, the plaintiffs say the club is vital for the mental health of members of the student body.

The school says its decisions have been guided by the Torah, which, according to traditional interpretations, forbids sexual relations and marriage between people of the same sex.

The culture at Yeshiva University doesn't allow for open queerness, students say

Molly Meisels, an alumnus of Yeshiva University and a plaintiff, told Insider that being queer at the school takes a lot of "emotional energy."

In their last semester at the school in 2020, Meisels put their pronouns (she/they) in their Zoom heading. Meisels said their professor then joked about pronouns, saying, "I don't care if you're a he, she, or an it."

"As the only person who had pronouns in my bio, I felt incredibly targeted for the rest of the semester," they said. "I removed the pronouns and didn't participate in class."

Doneil Weinreich, another alumnus of Yeshiva University and a plaintiff, said in an affidavit obtained by Insider that he has seen similar instances on campus. He remembered a time in 2016 when political commentator Ben Shapiro spoke to an auditorium on campus where he "ridiculed trans people." The audience applauded Shapiro's remarks.

"Early in my undergraduate career, it became apparent to me that Yeshiva University was not a safe or supportive environment for LGBTQ students," Weinreich wrote.

As a result, Meisels said it's difficult identifying as LGBTQ at Yeshiva. For those who are in the closet, they fear being outed because they will be "ostracized and it may affect their relationships with rabbis and with professors," they said. For those who are out with their sexuality on campus, Meisels said they are forced to become "a representation of all queer people. You feel a token minority."

In a statement to Insider, Yeshiva University said it holds the Torah "sacrosanct."

"At the heart of our Jewish values is love - love for God and love for each of His children," the statement reads. "Our LGBTQ+ students are our sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, family and friends. Our policies on harassment and discrimination against students on the basis of protected classifications including LGBTQ+ are strong and vigorously enforced."

The school has a history of not recognizing an LGBTQ club on campus

As a queer person herself, Meisels said they were lucky enough to find the underground LGBTQ student group on campus in their sophomore year before publicly coming out.

"Having an official club is so important because when you can join together with students who are like you, you can foster that sense of community, and you can build a framework of support," Meisels said. "It helps students grapple with how they view themselves."

In 2019, the students of the LGBTQ organization decided to ask for official recognition from the school instead of remaining underground. In February that year, they applied for official recognition under the name the Gay-Straight Alliance. While the Undergraduate Student Council Presidents approved the club, administrators at the school overruled the decision and rejected the request.

According to an affidavit obtained by Insider, one administrator told the students the school would not allow a club with the words "gay" or "LGBTQ" in the title.

"When you're told those words are somehow tainted, you can't help but see yourself as tainted," Meisels said.

In January 2020, the students took the administrators' guidance and rebranded as the YU Alliance and applied for recognition again after several meetings with administrators, emphasizing the importance of the official LGBTQ club. The administrators denied the club's official recognition for spring 2020 anyway.

The students tried a third time in September 2020, and their request was denied again.

"Our Torah-guided decision about this club in no way minimizes the care and sensitivity that we have for each of our students, nor the numerous steps the university has already taken," Yeshiva University said in a statement to Insider. "We are actively engaged with our students, faculty, and rabbinic leaders to facilitate productive discussions with an eye toward understanding and embracing diverse perspectives."

The students say they are being denied their human rights

Katie Rosenfeld, an attorney representing the students in the lawsuit, says this is a "straightforward case." She explained that the students are protected under the New York City Human Rights Law.

Although Yeshiva University is known for its largely Modern Orthodox population and philosophy, it is registered as nonsectarian, which means it gets government funding. Since the school does not officially have a religious affiliation, Rosenfeld said it is required by law to recognize the LGBTQ club.

From here, Yeshiva University administrators will have the option to immediately recognize the club or to take the case to litigation.

"The law is decades old and uncontroversial," Rosenfeld said. "What's shocking is that Yeshiva is requiring the students to file a lawsuit about something that is so well established."

Meisels said they are also surprised they had to go this far to be recognized.

"This was our last resort," they said. "We did not want to sue. We did not want a lawsuit. We still don't want it, [but] we need it to get the progress that the students deserve. We came here because all the other avenues weren't working."