• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Towleroad
  • Towleroad on Social Media
  • Privacy Policy

Towleroad Gay News

Gay Blog Towleroad: More than gay news | gay men

  • Politics
  • Health
  • Travel
  • Gay Pride
  • Music
  • Sports
  • Law/Justice
  • Celebrities
  • Men
  • Space
  • Science
  • Gay Iconography
  • Madonna
  • Books
  • Monkeypox
  • Film/TV

Gay Medical Student Files Suit Against Columbia University, Says Supervisor Harassed Him on Grindr

Andy Towle September 18, 2012

Alberto Leguina, a Columbia University PhD medical student and former associate from Chile has filed suit against the school, claiming that his supervisor harassed him over the gay hook-up app Grindr, and after he complained about it, the human resources department shunned and then fired him, the Columbia Spectator reports:

LeguinaOn March 9, Leguina received a message on Grindr, a smartphone application for gay and bisexual men looking to meet others, asking him if he “would date an older man,” according to the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on July 27.

Leguina, uninterested, said he ignored the message, and when it was followed by a picture of [his supervisor, Qais Al-Awqati, a professor of medicine, nephrology and hypertension], he figured it was a prank.

However, the response convinced him the message really was from the professor. “I have many guys as beautiful and as young as you,” Al-Awqati responded on Grindr, according to the lawsuit. “So it is not a joke. You need to have better manners when in New York. Maybe in Argentina or Chile, you are a spoiled Mamma’s boy.”

Leguina said he was confused—was this really one of the leading experts in hypertension? “Qais Al-Awqati was the one who I wanted to work with. He’s a reference for me,” he said. “It was my dream. I was doing what I wanted, I was working on what I wanted, with whom I really wanted to work.”

Leguina rejected Al-Awqati's advances, and was then threatened by the professor. After seeking help from another supervisor and a human resources representative who promised to assist him, the case took a turn:

Leguina met with Marte-Miraz in HR on March 15. “She promised me that nothing was going to happen, that they were going to make an investigation,” Leguina said. “She said, ‘Don’t worry, I promise you your work is not going to be affected.’”

Only a few days later, Marte-Miraz allegedly told Leguina to “deal with this matter as a big man” and that he “must pretend nothing happened.” She threatened to send Leguina back to Chile if he hired a lawyer and told him he could not contact any authorities in Chile regarding the situation, according to Leguina.

There's much more to the case at the paper's website….

Topics: News More Posts About: Columbia University, discrimination, News

Related Posts
  • Columbia University to publicly mark its historic ties to slavery, racism
  • Russia Blocks Facebook, Accusing it of Restricting Access to Russian Media;
  • BK 99’s Stephanie Beatriz Says Even Her Favorite Shows Spread Bisexual Myths That It’s A Hyper-Promiscuous , Manipulative Phase
  • New House map sets stage for Brooklyn slugfest headlined by Bill de Blasio, Mondaire Jones

    New House map sets stage for Brooklyn slugfest headlined by Bill de Blasio, Mondaire Jones

    Published by New York Daily News NEW YORK — The ink has barely dried on New York’s much-revised House map, but a radically transformed 10th Congressional District has set the stage for an unruly political scramble …Read More »
  • Kate McKinnon Leaving SNL; What? Also Aidy Bryant, Pete Davidson  and Kyle Mooney Set to Depart After This Season.  Season Finale TONIGHT

    Kate McKinnon Leaving SNL; What? Also Aidy Bryant, Pete Davidson and Kyle Mooney Set to Depart After This Season. Season Finale TONIGHT

      Published by InsideHook   By Tobias Carroll The current season of Saturday Night Live featured the show’s largest cast ever, with 21 different comedians appearing on screen at various points during the year. Based on …Read More »
  • Explicit Photos To Blame? ‘Speechless’ Madonna Is Outraged After Being BLOCKED From Instagram Live

    Explicit Photos To Blame? ‘Speechless’ Madonna Is Outraged After Being BLOCKED From Instagram Live

    Published by Radar Online KCS Presse / MEGA Madonna was in utter shock to discover that Instagram had blocked her from going live, sharing a video of the awkward moment she found out on Friday. “What …Read More »
  • US archbishop bans Pelosi from communion over abortion rights support

    US archbishop bans Pelosi from communion over abortion rights support

    Published by AFP Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi, a lifelong Catholic, has been barred from holy communion by the archbishop of San Francisco over her support for abortion San Francisco (AFP) – The …Read More »
Previous Post: « Straight Catholic Republican Couple Speaks Out in Ad Opposing Minnesota’s Anti-Gay Marriage Amendment: VIDEO
Next Post: U.S. Naval Academy Midshipmen Dance Gangnam Style: VIDEO »

Primary Sidebar

News

  • Harris, White House Spox Rip Oklahoma For Passing Near-Total Abortion Ban Weeks After Leaked Supreme Court Opinion

    Harris, White House Spox Rip Oklahoma For Passing Near-Total Abortion Ban Weeks After Leaked Supreme Court Opinion

  • Trump pays $110,000 fine for blocking New York state tax probe

    Trump pays $110,000 fine for blocking New York state tax probe

  • Erdogan demands concessions to back Swedish, Finnish NATO membership

    Erdogan demands concessions to back Swedish, Finnish NATO membership

  • Zelensky says Ukraine has ‘broken the backbone’ of the Russian army

    Zelensky says Ukraine has ‘broken the backbone’ of the Russian army

Break

  • Evan Spiegel & Miranda Kerr Pay Off $10 Million In Loans Of Otis College’s Graduating Class

    Evan Spiegel & Miranda Kerr Pay Off $10 Million In Loans Of Otis College’s Graduating Class

  • Vladimir Putin’s Daughter SECRETLY Living In Germany With Man Named Igor Zelensky

    Vladimir Putin’s Daughter SECRETLY Living In Germany With Man Named Igor Zelensky

  • Tucker Carlson: Voice of white America’s outrage and fears

    Tucker Carlson: Voice of white America’s outrage and fears

  • Viola Davis was called by director’s maid’s name

    Viola Davis was called by director’s maid’s name

RSS Partner Links

  • Birthday Sluts
  • Sunday Comics
  • Speedo Sunday
  • Trainer Day + Sniffing Out The Scoop On Poppers + NJ Trucker-Congressman Proposes STRICTER Don't Say Gay Bill + MORE! — 6-PACK
  • 'Barry' Actor Anthony Carrigan Says He Was Told to Quit Acting Over Alopecia
  • Adele Sits Courtside with Boyfriend Rich Paul at NBA Palyoffs Game
  • 'Sex & the City' Author Candace Bushnell, 63, Dating 21-Year-Old Model
  • Ashley Graham Reveals She Nearly Died Giving Birth to Twins at Home
  • Hot Slut Of The Day!

Most Recent

  • Activists Rally, Make Case For Thailand Marriage Equality; Present Rewritten Version of  Constitutional Court’s Ruling On Marriage Law

    Activists Rally, Make Case For Thailand Marriage Equality; Present Rewritten Version of Constitutional Court’s Ruling On Marriage Law

  • New House map sets stage for Brooklyn slugfest headlined by Bill de Blasio, Mondaire Jones

    New House map sets stage for Brooklyn slugfest headlined by Bill de Blasio, Mondaire Jones

  • Kate McKinnon Leaving SNL; What? Also Aidy Bryant, Pete Davidson  and Kyle Mooney Set to Depart After This Season.  Season Finale TONIGHT

    Kate McKinnon Leaving SNL; What? Also Aidy Bryant, Pete Davidson and Kyle Mooney Set to Depart After This Season. Season Finale TONIGHT

  • Explicit Photos To Blame? ‘Speechless’ Madonna Is Outraged After Being BLOCKED From Instagram Live

    Explicit Photos To Blame? ‘Speechless’ Madonna Is Outraged After Being BLOCKED From Instagram Live

  • US archbishop bans Pelosi from communion over abortion rights support

    US archbishop bans Pelosi from communion over abortion rights support

  • Giuliani meets with U.S. House Jan. 6 panel, CNN reports

    Giuliani meets with U.S. House Jan. 6 panel, CNN reports

  • WHO working on more monkeypox guidance as cases rise – senior adviser

    WHO working on more monkeypox guidance as cases rise – senior adviser

Most Commented

Social

Twitter @tlrd | Facebook | Instagram @tlrd
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Towleroad
  • Towleroad on Social Media
  • Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2022 · Log in