A federal judge dismissed Yasmeen Elagha’s (Pritzker ’24) discrimination lawsuit against Northwestern and three Pritzker School of Law deans on Nov.3.
Elagha alleged in the lawsuit that she was harassed at several pro-Palestinian protests in 2023. She alleged the University intentionally treated her harassment complaints differently based on her racial and ethnic background and that NU demonstrated indifference to her claims of a hostile educational environment.
In the complaint, Elagha alleged that fellow Pritzker students harassed and recorded her when she attended the pro-Palestinian protests. She highlighted that after a fellow student falsely claimed Elagha assaulted them at a protest, a law firm rescinded her job offer.
While the University’s Office of Civil Rights and Title IX Compliance cleared her of the assault allegations, Elagha claimed NU failed to protect her from discrimination.
In the decision released Monday, U.S. District Judge Charles Kocoras wrote that the plaintiff had failed to prove the allegations made in the complaint.
Kocoras noted that if Elagha “believes in good faith she can remedy the defects” noted in his decision, she could file an amended complaint by Nov. 17.
“We remain confident in our clients’ claims and will continue to pursue relief through the judicial process,” wrote Waleed Naser, one of Elagha’s attorneys, in a statement to The Daily.
Elagha initially filed the lawsuit in November 2024 against former Pritzker Dean Hari Osofsky, Associate Dean and Dean of Students Susan Spies Roth and Associate Dean George Langford II in Cook County Circuit Court, but it was moved to federal court that same month.
After the deans moved to dismiss the lawsuit in February, Kocoras dismissed Elagha’s hostile educational environment claim in May, finding she did not prove intentional indifference on NU’s part. However, he allowed Elagha’s claim of intentional discrimination to proceed at the time.
Elagha refiled her hostile educational environment claim, but in Monday’s decision, Kocoras found the refiled complaint failed to prove the claim.
The University did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication.
Email: n.kanieskikoso@dailynorthwestern.com
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— Palestine Legal files Title VI complaint against Pritzker for ‘hostile anti-Palestinian environment’
