UMass Lowell Celebrates Supreme Court Ruling

06/19/2020
By Jacquie Moloney

In a victory for human dignity and equality, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling on Monday protecting all workers from employment discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. 

UMass Lowell celebrates this decision, which affirms the protections we have been long committed to providing for our employees. We also acknowledge with disappointment that the decision was not unanimous. The struggle for recognition and equality for LGBTQ+ individuals — under the law, within institutions, in our culture an even inside families — continues. 

Through its LGBTQ+ Resource Center and other initiatives, the university is actively engaged in creating a safer, more inclusive campus environment. We support and advocate for LGBTQ+ communities and work with aspiring allies to do the same. As ever, we are committed to a culture of openness, dialogue and constant improvement. 

Current events have reminded us all of the fragility of our rights and freedoms — and of how many have been legally denied these protections their whole lives. 

While we remain far from perfection, this week’s ruling represents progress and proof that committed advocacy and principled belief can overcome decades, even centuries, of ingrained prejudice. We stand together in pride with our LGBTQ+ community, today and always.