Northwestern sued after firing staffer who opposed removal of LGBT content
A former staffer at Northwestern University has filed a lawsuit against the school alleging he was terminated and banned from campus after objecting to the removal of LGBT content.
The lawsuit claims he was fired and banned from campus for resisting directives to remove LGBT resources, including information about 'gender-affirming care.'
A former official at Northwestern University has filed a lawsuit against the school alleging he was terminated and banned from campus after objecting to the removal of LGBT content.
The lawsuit, filed by ex-staff member Matthew Abtahi, claims he was fired and banned from campus for resisting directives to remove LGBT resources, including information about “gender-affirming care,” from the university’s Gender and Sexuality Resource Center (GSRC).
Abtahi was formerly the director of the GSRC, according to The Windy City Times.
The lawsuit contends that the former director’s “refusal to discriminate against students at Northwestern on the basis of sex and sexual orientation caused Northwestern to suspend his employment,” according to The Daily Northwestern.
In an email from April, Abtahi criticized the school for removing the LGBT-based resources.
Later, he was told to resign, and, when the GSRC director chose not to resign, he was fired, according to CBS News. Abtahi had worked at Northwestern since 2019.
This year, Northwestern removed the GSRC following President Trump’s executive order against Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) policies and initiatives.
Abtahi, who was also assistant director of Multicultural Student Affairs at Northwestern, previously lauded an increase in engagement with that department. “I know I’ve seen my numbers grow over the past three years here, probably close to double or triple what the engagement was when I first got here,” he stated in 2023.
This is not the first time that Northwestern has made headlines about support for leftist initiatives on its campus.
Campus Reform reported in April that Northwestern’s School of Professional Studies is offering a virtual summer course titled Gender, Sexuality, & Performance, which explores art and music through a “queer and trans of color critique.”
Also in April, the Trump administration suspended $790 million in federal funding to Northwestern amid Title VI investigations into campus anti-Semitism at the school. In response, alumni and activists demanded structural reforms to protect students’ civil rights and ensure campus safety.
Two months later, Northwestern announced spending cuts and staff reductions after the Trump administration’s funding freeze.
“In the Trump Administration, discrimination will not be tolerated on campus,” the department said in a social media post in May. “Federal funds must support institutions that protect all students.”
Campus Reform has contacted Northwestern University and the Gender and Sexuality Resource Center for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
