TOPEKA — A federal judge has dismissed most of the claims of a former University of Kansas student employee who was fired after he spoke out against changes to the campus’ LGBTQ+ residence hall.
But one claim survived, leaving room for Anthony Alvarez to argue that his supervisor retaliated against him.
Alvarez, who is transgender, spoke to news outlets following the changes at the gender-inclusive dormitory where he worked and lived, and He told the Kansas Reflector At the time he intended not to implement those changes. He was fired weeks later, lost his housing and residence hall job prospects, and filed A federal lawsuit in May 2025.
Alvarez’s residence hall, Grace Pearson Scholarship Hall, was designated as the university’s gender-inclusive dormitory, where students can access gender-neutral bathrooms and gender-inclusive room assignments.
The university revised the policy for the following school year in February 2025, requiring that hall floors be gendered and that students use bathrooms that correspond to the genders listed in their student files.
The change prompted protests among residents and other students. Alvarez, who is Written for the Kansas Reflector, Grace Pearson had been a resident for three years and a proctor for two years when she publicly criticized the university’s decision.
He told media outlets that the university’s decision was political, and he expressed frustration at losing an inclusive space on campus. He “claims to have engaged in protected speech by speaking to members of the media as a private citizen on a matter of public concern — specifically, by criticizing KU policies and practices related to housing policies for members of the LGBTQ+ community in accordance with current state and federal legislative guidelines,” court documents said.
The university placed Alvarez on probation for failing to refer media inquiries to senior staff. Before the window to appeal the termination of probation, Alvarez was let go from his post, and he was forced to withdraw his offer to continue as a proctor in another residence hall for the next academic year.
Alvarez initially filed suit against the university and her supervisors, Emily Chelgren, former assistant director of KU Housing and Residence Life, and Grace Pearson, director, and Sarah Waters, executive director of KU Housing and Residence Life. KU dropped out of the case in July.
Chellgren challenged Alvarez’s claim that speaking to the media was not part of his official duties as a proctor. The First Amendment does not protect public employee speech if it is through the course of official duties.
Chellgren argued that Alvarez’s comments were relevant to his role as proctor and his work, and said he would not implement the new university policy. But just because Alvarez’s speeches were related to his work, that doesn’t mean they were part of his professional responsibilities, U.S. District Judge Catherine Vratil wrote. Order of March 18.
“Here, the First Amended Complaint does not allege that plaintiff’s job duties as a proctor involved speaking to the press about Grace Pearson policies or that KU paid him to perform a similar function,” Vratil wrote. “In fact, the First Amended Complaint alleges that KU policy prohibits Proctors from speaking to the press.”
Also, Vratil said Alvarez was not set as a proctor at Grace Pearson when the policy changes went into effect, so whether he implemented the changes was irrelevant.
Vratil granted Chelgren’s request to dismiss two other counts against him, but she denied Chelgren’s motion to dismiss the count alleging retaliation against Alvarez on First Amendment-protected speech grounds. Waters’ motion to dismiss is granted in its entirety.
Chelgren appealed Vratil’s decision to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday while the case moved forward.
