TOPEKA — An interview with a news outlet cost a former University of Kansas resident assistant his job and his home. Now, he’s suing the university for violating his free speech rights.
The lawsuit filed in federal court Thursday says KU restricted Anthony Alvarez’ speech and fired him without cause in retaliation.
Alvarez, who is trans, talked to a media outlet on Feb. 26 during a campus protest over the university’s decision to end Grace Pearson Scholarship Hall’s gender-inclusive living arrangements. Alvarez, a 21-year-old student, expressed his frustration with the elimination of inclusive spaces where students feel safe. While he identified himself as a proctor, akin to a resident assistant, he did not claim to speak in his official capacity as a resident assistant for KU.
The university placed Alvarez on probation for failing to refer media inquiries to senior KU staff. Before the window to appeal the probation closed, Alvarez was subsequently fired from his position, and he was forced to rescind an offer to continue as a proctor the next academic year.
“I think it’s a bad sign that for infractions as little as this, you could get fired and kicked out and very quickly find yourself in a position where you have to find a place to live,” Alvarez told the Kansas Reflector in April.
THE LAWSUIT argues Alvarez “engaged in protected speech by speaking to a member of the media in their capacity as a private citizen on a matter of public concern — specifically by criticizing Defendant KU’s policies and practices related to housing policies for LGBTQ+ community members as applied to recent state and federal legislative directives.”
Precedent for resident assistants, who are students and employees of a university, fired for speech is largely undeveloped. However, First Amendment challenges, added restrictions and demands for universities and rollbacks of LGBTQ+ rights are becoming commonplace under President Donald Trump’s second administration.
A vocal advocate for LGBTQ+ rights, Alvarez testified in January against a bill in the Kansas Legislature that bans gender-affirming care for minors and restricts the use of state funds for promoting gender transitioning. The bill made it through the House and Senate, was vetoed by Gov. Laura Kelly and ultimately became law after the Republican-controlled Legislature overrode the veto.
REPRESENTING Alvarez is Barry Grissom, former U.S. Attorney for Kansas, who argued in the complaint that as a result of KU’s actions, Alvarez experienced a “loss of living quarters, income, reputational damage, emotional distress, and the deprivation of constitutionally protected rights.”
Grissom filed suit not only to address the university’s retaliation toward Alvarez but also to garner a judgment from the court on whether the policy that led to Alvarez’ probation and termination is constitutional, Grissom said in a Thursday news release.
“Terminating a public employee after they speak to the media and criticize that employer’s policies is certainly in line with some of the challenges we have seen of late to the First Amendment, one of the bedrock principles of the American legal system,” Grissom said in a statement to Kansas Reflector.
He continued: “Speech that the government does not agree with is exactly the kind which the First Amendment was intended to protect — yet each day, there are seemingly more people affected by policies like the one which cost Mr. Alvarez his job.”
THE LAWSUIT names KU; Sarah Waters, executive director of KU housing and resident life; and Emily Chellgren, assistant director of resident life, as defendants. Multiple attempts beginning Friday morning to reach KU for comment for this story were unsuccessful. By Friday afternoon, most staff members had set up out-of-office messages for Memorial Day weekend. KU also did not respond to requests to comment in past coverage of this story.
Alvarez is asking for a jury trial in Kansas City, Kansas, and compensation for damages and attorney and case-related expenses.
