Orly Gallo requested housing nearby because of safety concerns since she would have to walk to the Sabbath location for sundown services because of her faith. Instead of being placed close to the Jewish community centers, the school housed her on the opposite end of campus. They claimed there are no exceptions to the lottery system of housing applications.
First Liberty Institute pointed out in a demand letter to the institution that the university makes exemption for non-religious reasons and that they should not forget the First Amendment right of protection of religious practices.
UW only granted Gallo's request after First Liberty’s letter threatened to sue.
Kayla Toney, counsel at First Liberty, says, nonetheless, the university unreasonably denied her request.
"If students receive on-campus jobs, they get priority in the lottery system. Then, if students have disabilities or medical issues, they can also get special housing placements. So, because the university makes those exceptions, they've got to accommodate religious concerns as well,” says Toney.
Toney says UW not only denied her request but also put her at the opposite end of the campus. She can't be certain if that was because of her faith.
"You know, it's hard to say for sure, but it did seem that way because she requested six different options that all would've been very close to the Jewish buildings on campus, and she didn't receive any of her top six choices, and instead was placed at this very distant location," informs Toney.
