24-05-2025
Trans KU student spoke out about housing policy. Then he was fired from campus job
The University of Kansas is being sued by a former student employee who says he was fired after speaking to reporters about the elimination of gender-inclusive housing at his on-campus residence hall.
The lawsuit was filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Kan., on behalf of Anthony Alvarez, who recently completed his junior year at KU. He previously worked as a proctor, similar to a resident assistant, at Grace Pearson Scholarship Hall.
Alvarez alleges he was fired in March for violating his employment agreement when he was quoted in a Feb. 27 KCUR article titled 'KU students protest housing changes they say will harm trans and nonbinary residents.'
The complaint accuses KU of violating Alvarez's free speech and of retaliating against him. A KU spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.
In the article, Alvarez, who is transgender, expressed frustration with KU's plans to get rid of a gender-neutral bathroom in the dorm and to prohibit students there from sharing dorms with people whose gender on file with the university is different from their own.
KU's website defines gender-inclusive housing assignments as 'a housing option in which two or more students share a multiple-occupancy space, in mutual agreement, regardless of the students' sex, gender identity, and/or gender expression.'
Dozens of students protested the changes, which were announced in a Feb. 5 email to Grace Pearson residents. Alvarez was one of three trans students quoted in the KCUR article, which noted that he was a proctor at the dorm.
Alvarez says he was speaking as a trans person who would be affected by the policy — not as a representative of the university.
KU did not eliminate gender-inclusive housing at all dorms, but advised that Grace Pearson residents who want to retain gender-inclusive assignments should apply at a different scholarship hall for the 2025-26 school year.
In addition to the university, the lawsuit names as defendants Sarah Waters and Emily Chellgren, respectively the director and assistant director of KU Housing and Residence Life.
It alleges that in a March 7 meeting with Chellgren, Alvarez was placed on probation until March 13 and told he had violated several provisions of his employment agreement.
'The first provision states in part that '(Staff will) demonstrate a commitment to personal integrity, such as modeling good judgment, ethical behavior, and adherence to laws and policies,'' according to the lawsuit.
'The second provision states in part that '(Staff will) refer a student's parents, relatives, friends, and/or the media (press) to your supervisor. Unless otherwise designated, the Director of Residence Life, in conjunction with KU Strategic Communications & Public Affairs will respond to all media inquiries.''
Alvarez was allegedly directed to submit a letter rescinding his acceptance of a similar proctor position at a different KU dorm for the 2025-26 school year.
According to the lawsuit, one day after receiving a letter that said he had three days to appeal the probation decision, Alvarez received a separate letter informing him that he had been terminated, effective immediately.
'Chellgren stated that Plaintiff's termination was based on the conduct which led to his probationary status — speaking to a member of the press — and on alleged additional policy violations since the March 7 meeting,' the suit states.
In addition to losing his salary, Alvarez was allegedly told he would lose his dorm room in Grace Pearson and his university meal plan, which was tied to the proctor position.
The lawsuit said Alvarez suffered economic harm, damage to his reputation, emotional distress, and the loss of constitutionally protected employment opportunities.
'Defendants lack any legitimate, non-retaliatory justification for Plaintiff's termination, and any such justification offered is merely pretextual,' according to the lawsuit, which requests that the university pay for Alvarez's legal fees and any other damages.
On Friday, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, or FIRE, a national free speech group, sent a letter to KU condemning its decision to terminate Alvarez.
'Anthony Alvarez was unfairly punished for speaking to the media about an issue he cares deeply about in a personal capacity,' Ross Marchand, an attorney for the group, told The Star in an email.
Marchand said the assertion that student employees must get advance approval from administrators before speaking with reporters is both unlawful and at odds with KU's media guidelines and practices, which encourage employees to 'respond to media inquiries on topics on which they are experts or over which they have administrative authority.'
Marchand said KU employees have 'wide discretion to speak with reporters in their personal capacity.'
'KU Housing should follow the law and university policy and drop the related sanctions on Alvarez.'
