Yu gay club
Why Do Gay Students Go To YU Anyway?
By Anonymous, YU Pride Alliance Writing Committee
There is a pervasive assumption amongst my fellow Contemporary Orthodox Jews that YU as an institution is incompatible with an LGBTQ identity, an assumption only heightened by the school’s continuing response to the Pride Alliance club on campus. As a gay scholar who chose to come to YU, I have often been asked with varying levels of incredulity why I chose to enroll at Yeshiva University at all. This assumption is so pervasive that even when meeting fellow gay YU students, often one of the first questions we ask each other is “so why did you come to YU?” For a extended time, I set up it hard to answer this question; I never saw any reason not to go to YU. Through a considerable amount of hearing other perspectives and much introspection, I have begun to comprehend exactly what this ask is aimed at.
While YU is an Orthodox institution, it is home to a great many Jews from all walks of existence with all sorts of perspectives. I know students in YU who are Reform, Conservative, Expose Orthodox, left-wing Orthodox, and other identities that can’t be confined to a single denomination, many of whom undertake
After years-long legal fight, Yeshiva University recognizes LGBTQ club
Yeshiva University is finally recognizing an LGBTQ club on campus, capping a years-long legal battle that rose to the United States Supreme Court.
The university issued a shared statement with the LGBTQ club, which will now be called Hareni, announcing that both sides came to an agreement. The unofficial club that long sought recognition was known as the YU Pride Alliance.
“The parties own reached an agreement and the litigation is ending,” the two sides said in a shared statement posted on the university’s website. “Current students will be implementing a club, to be known as Hareni, that will seek to support LGBTQ students and their allies and will operate in accordance with the approved guidelines of Yeshiva University’s senior rabbis. The club will be run like other clubs on campus, all in the spirit of a collaborative and mutually supportive campus culture.”
One of the key issues of contention in the protracted legal battle was the classification of the school. Yeshiva University previously claimed that it was exempt from the city human rights law’s public accommodations provi
YU and Pride Alliance Attain Settlement, Ceasing All Litigation and Establishing a Fresh Club “Hareni”
The long-running lawsuit between Yeshiva University and the YU Pride Alliance and former students was settled on Thursday, bringing a permanent end to all litigation. As part of the settlement, YU has agreed to distinguish a new club for LGBTQ students, to be known as “Hareni.”
The lawsuit, which was filed in 2021, was brought by four YU students and alumni against YU, President Ari Berman and Vice Provost Chaim Nissel, arguing that the university had illegally discriminated against them by refusing the club’s application for official recognition three times.
“The parties possess reached an agreement and the litigation is ending,” the parties announced in a joint statement. “Current students will be executing a club, to be known as Hareni, that will seek to assist LGBTQ students and their allies and will work in accordance with the approved guidelines of Yeshiva University’s senior rabbis. The club will be race like other clubs on campus, all in the spirit of a collaborative and mutually supportive campus culture.”
Minutes after the consent was announced, the Celebration Alliance
YU’s New LGBTQ Club Officially Discontinued Amidst Mutual Allegations of Settlement Violations
Yeshiva University’s roshei yeshiva directed the Office of Student Life (OSL), to discontinue YU’s new LGBTQ club, Hareni, in a letter sent to the student body by UTS and RIETS Dean Rabbi Yosef Kalinsky on Friday. In an exclusive statement to The Commentator, a YU spokesperson confirmed that the club had been officially shut down “because of numerous and blatant violations of club guidelines and the recent Settlement Agreement.”
The decision comes less than 24 hours after lawyers representing Hareni sent a different letter to Andrew Lauer, YU’s general counsel and vice president for legal affairs. The letter expressed concern that YU was violating terms of the settlement that YU had made with the club in Protest and requested a meeting between the parties within a week. The Commentator also received exclusive access to the reply letter from YU’s counsel, alleging numerous violations of the agreement by Hareni.
The roshei yeshiva's letter alleged that Hareni was “operating as a lgbtq+ fest club under a different name,” and was violating the approved guidelines and terms of the club and YU’s