A New York university suspended all of its undergraduate clubs days after the Supreme Court denied a bid to block an order that required the school to recognize an LGBTQ campus group.
In an email on late Friday, the Yeshiva University told students that it would "hold off on all undergraduate club activities while it immediately takes steps to follow the roadmap provided by the U.S. Supreme Court to protect YU's religious freedom."
Suspending University Clubs
The decision came only two days after the Supreme Court's order to the school that required it to comply with a lower court order to recognize the LGBTQ group, at least while it exhausts its appeal on the state level.
The university, which is Orthodox Jewish, has several campuses in New York City and has waged a years-long battle against a peer support group for LGBTQ students. School officials argued that recognizing the club violates the university's religious freedom.
Meanwhile, members of the LGBTQ group, YU Pride Alliance, said that the university is breaking the city's human rights law by prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation. An attorney for the student group, Katherine Rosenfield, said in a statement that the college was allegedly adopting tactics of racist institutions that refused segregation orders, as per the Gothamist.
Rosenfield said that the decision "is a throwback to 50 years ago when the city of Jackson, Miss. closed all public swimming pools rather than comply with court orders to desegregate." She said that by shutting down all club activities, the YU administration was trying to divide the student body and pit students against their LGBTQ peers.
The university did not respond to inquiries seeking further clarification about the policy following the Supreme Court's order. The legal battle has emerged as a major test of religious freedom under the conservative Supreme Court and is being closely watched by conservative groups.
According to the New York Post, the university used the word Chagim, which is the Hebrew word referring to Jewish high holidays. These begin with Rosh Hashana on the evening of Sept. 25 and continue through Simchat Torah on Oct. 18. The email did not say that clubs would necessarily be reinstated right after this time.
Recognizing LGBTQ Student Group
Yeshiva University said that since it is a religious institution, it cannot be forced to recognize something at odds with its religious mission. However, the New York judge found that the school is primarily an educational institution and cannot rely on a religious liberty claim in order to block the club.
The Supreme Court said that the school has "at least two further avenues for expedited or interim state court relief." a former YU student and plaintiff in the case against the university, Tai Miller, reacted to the suspension of the clubs, saying the Pride Alliance seeks a safe space on campus, nothing more.
YU President Rabbi Dr. Ari Berman said that every faith-based university in the United States has the right to work with its students, including its LGBTQ students, to establish the clubs, places, and spaces that fit within its faith tradition, CNN reported.
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