This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available. Last updated on November 6 at 7 a.m. p.m.
Northwestern has launched a Title IX investigation into NU’s Spoon University chapter, a University spokesperson wrote in a statement Friday to The Daily.
The investigation comes after Spoon canceled its cultural food festival on Thursday following the withdrawal of several student organizations that had expressed concerns about Wildcats for Israel’s participation in the event.
The University spokesperson wrote that NU’s Office of Civil Rights and Title IX Compliance received a complaint Thursday evening “alleging discrimination” from Spoon.
The spokesperson wrote that the University has frozen Spoon’s status as a registered student organization in accordance with NU’s “standard protocols” while OCR continues its “formal investigation into the incident.”
In an email obtained Friday by The Daily, Spoon University Northwestern presidents announced to club members that the group was unable to “hold town hall meetings, host events, or participate in school-wide events as an organization until further notice.”
“Our goal for Cultural Food Fest has always been to bring our campus community together by celebrating different cultures through culinary tradition,” Spoon wrote in a statement on Instagram on Thursday. “Spoon University Northwestern opposes discrimination in all its forms. We condemn the ongoing genocide in Gaza and do not tolerate political organizations that advance efforts that perpetuate it.”
In 2025, a UN commission concluded that Israel had committed genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, more than 74,000 Palestinians have died since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas.
In a statement posted Friday on Instagram, Wildcats for Israel wrote that its goal is to “share our culture and experiences as they relate to Israel and make positive contributions to our campus community.”
“Our connection to Israel tells you nothing about our values or our views,” the group wrote. “When we lose the ability to speak across our differences, we lose our ability to solve problems and grow together. »
Wildcats for Israel did not respond to The Daily’s request for comment.
NU Asian Pacific American Coalition, Alianza and the Middle East North African Student Association released a joint statement on Instagram on Thursday regarding their withdrawal from the Cultural Food Fest.
“A cultural food festival ultimately provides Spoon with a way to check a box and benefit from the cultural knowledge and work of students,” the groups wrote in their statement. “Inviting MENA and other relevant student organizations while simultaneously creating an organization that supports the actions of the Israeli state places these students in an unacceptable position.”
nuAZN, NU’s Asian interest publication, also wrote in an Instagram Story on Thursday that it had withdrawn from the event, adding that participating in the event “would not be consistent with our values, particularly our opposition to continued violence against Palestinians.”
The joint statement continued that, although Spoon had informed participating organizations that Wildcats for Israel would no longer be part of the event, Spoon’s subsequent course of action had caused a “significant loss of trust.”
The groups also wrote that, from their perspective, Spoon’s response appeared to be more focused on containing backlash than “meaningfully addressing how this decision was made in the first place.”
“What should have been recognized from the start only became an issue requiring action when the organizations made it clear that they would not participate in these circumstances,” the organizations wrote.
In a statement to The Daily, the presidents of Spoon University Northwestern wrote that they take “full responsibility for the inclusion of Wildcats for Israel in our cultural food festival.”
They wrote that a “lack of communication” prevented the board from “thoroughly vetting the list of participants before it was released” and that they were making structural changes to avoid similar future oversights.
“We thank APAC, Alianza, and MENA for holding us accountable, and we agree that there should have been more transparency regarding participants,” the Spoon University Northwestern presidents wrote. “We hope to rebuild trust with these organizations and the rest of the North West community in the future.”
E-mail: (email protected)
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— Students enjoy Evanston meals at annual SpoonFest
— SpoonFest Serves Up Local Food to Celebrate Evanston, Chicago Restaurants
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