A federal judge has denied an emergency request by a group of Northwestern University students to block disciplinary action for refusing to complete mandatory anti-bias training that they say discriminates against supporters of Palestinian rights. The ruling leaves as many as 16 students facing the loss of their student status at midnight, according to the university.
The students — represented by attorneys Maria Nieves Bolaños and Rima Kapitan — filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, alleging that Northwestern’s required “Building a Community of Respect and Breaking Down Bias” training violates multiple civil rights laws. The complaint claims the university’s policies “prohibit expressions of Palestinian identity” and unfairly equate criticism of Israel with antisemitism.
“Certain expressions of national origin are permitted at Northwestern and certain are not, and this policy prohibits a specific expression of national origin,” said Kapitan, who represents the plaintiffs. Bolaños added, “We believe in our claims. We believe in our clients, and we believe that our claims are meritorious and that the courts will agree at the end of the day.”
The plaintiffs — Northwestern Graduate Workers for Palestine and two individual graduate students, Ifeayin Eziamaka Ogbuli and Marwa Tahboub — argue that the training discriminates against “Palestinian students, supporters and associates” and violates the Illinois Worker Freedom of Speech Act, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Civil Rights Act of 1866. They say the university’s definition of antisemitism, drawn from the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) and incorporated into the training, has been used to suppress pro-Palestinian expression.
Northwestern has maintained that the training, developed with the Jewish United Fund, is designed to prevent discrimination and harassment, not to restrict political speech. University attorneys pointed to a section of the training that explicitly states, “it is not antisemitic to criticize the policies, practices or members of the Israeli government.”
In denying the temporary restraining order, the court found that Northwestern had not engaged in unlawful discrimination. The decision followed a Friday hearing in which the university argued that the plaintiffs’ “alleged ‘emergency’ is one of their own making,” since students were informed months ago that failure to complete the training could lead to registration holds or loss of student status.
According to university communications cited in court documents, students who did not finish the bias module before the June 23 deadline risked “discontinuation” of their enrollment on October 20. Those who registered for fall classes before that date — including the two named plaintiffs — will face disciplinary action during the winter quarter if they continue to refuse.
The lawsuit also accuses the university of “unequal application” of conduct policies, claiming that students who ignored other required trainings, such as those on sexual misconduct, have not faced similar sanctions. Northwestern declined to comment on that allegation and on the broader lawsuit, citing its policy not to discuss pending litigation.
The case unfolds against a politically charged backdrop. The Trump administration recently froze nearly $800 million in federal funding to Northwestern, citing alleged civil rights violations tied to the university’s handling of pro-Palestinian encampments last spring.
While the judge’s ruling allows the university to proceed with disciplinary measures, attorneys for the plaintiffs say they plan to continue pressing their claims. The case will now move forward as a broader challenge to how universities define and address antisemitism amid intensifying national debates over free speech and campus activism.
