Yeshiva university gay club
YU and Pride Alliance Extend Settlement, Ceasing All Litigation and Establishing a Recent 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 acknowledge 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 hold reached an agreement and the litigation is ending,” the parties announced in a joint statement. “Current students will be carrying out a club, to be known as Hareni, that will seek to sustain LGBTQ students and their allies and will manage in accordance with the approved guidelines of Yeshiva University’s senior rabbis. The club will be move like other clubs on campus, all in the spirit of a collaborative and mutually supportive campus culture.”
Minutes after the deal was announced, the Celebration Alliance
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 progressing response to the Pride Alliance club on campus. As a gay pupil 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 lengthy time, I initiate 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 doubt is aimed at.
While YU is an Orthodox institution, it is home to a great many Jews from all walks of animation with all sorts of perspectives. I know students in YU who are Reform, Conservative, Unclosed Orthodox, left-wing Orthodox, and other identities that can’t be confined to a single denomination, many of whom complete
YU Pride Alliance v. Yeshiva University
A uniquely Jewish institution
For more than 135 years, Yeshiva University has been a place where students can immerse themselves in Jewish culture to study the Torah, learn Hebrew, and receive an awareness steeped in the Modern Orthodox tradition. The school gets its name from the word “yeshiva,” referring to a Jewish religious institution dedicated to analyze of the Talmud. True to its name, all undergraduate men spend two to six hours each day intensely studying Torah. Undergraduate women take at least two Jewish studies courses every semester. Shabbat (the Jewish sabbath) is observed campus roomy, as are the laws of kashrut (kosher food).
As at most yeshivas and Jewish seminaries, there are sex-segregated classes, dorms, and even campuses. Students are strongly encouraged to dress and manner themselves consistent with Torah values. Yeshiva’s strong religious environment pervades its campuses, accommodating and supporting the schools’ reason for existing and the faith of its students.
Putting a judicial thumb on the scale
Yeshiva lives out its religious commitment by striving to bring Torah values to the modern secular world.In thi
YU’s New LGBTQ Club Officially Discontinued Amidst Mutual Allegations of Settlement Violations
Yeshiva University’s roshei yeshiva directed the Office of Student Experience (OSL), to discontinue YU’s modern LGBTQ club, Hareni, in a letter sent to the pupil body by UTS and RIETS Dean Rabbi Yosef Kalinsky on Friday. In an exclusive declaration 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 conclusion 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 March and requested a encounter between the parties within a week. The Commentator also received exclusive access to the answer letter from YU’s counsel, alleging numerous violations of the consent by Hareni.
The roshei yeshiva's letter alleged that Hareni was “operating as a pride club under a different name,” and was violating the approved guidelines and terms of the club and YU’s