This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available. Last updated Nov. 6 at 7 p.m. Northwestern has launched a Title IX investigation into NU’s Spoon University chapter, a University spokesperson wrote in a Friday statement to The Daily. The investigation comes after Spoon canceled its Cultural Food Fest on Thursday following the withdrawal of multiple student organizations that expressed concerns about the Wildcats over 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” by Spoon. The spokesperson wrote that the University has frozen Spoon’s position as a registered student organization in accordance with NU’s “standard protocols” while OCR continues its “formal investigation into the incident.” In a Friday email obtained by The Daily, Spoon University Northwestern presidents announced to club members that the group cannot “hold general meetings, host events, or participate in school events as an organization until further notice.” “Our goal for the Cultural Food Fest has always been to unite our university community by celebrating different cultures through culinary tradition,” Spoon wrote in an Instagram statement Thursday. “Spoon University Northwestern opposes discrimination in all its forms. We condemn the ongoing genocide in Gaza and do not tolerate political organizations promoting 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 Health Ministry, more than 74,000 Palestinians have died since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas. In a Friday statement 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 says nothing about our values or opinions,” the group wrote. “When we lose the ability to talk about 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. The NU Asian Pacific American Coalition, Alliance and the Middle Eastern North African Students Association posted a joint statement on Instagram on Thursday regarding their withdrawal from the Cultural Food Fest. “Ultimately, a cultural food festival provides Spoon with a way to check a box and capitalize on the cultural knowledge and work of students,” the groups wrote in their statement. “Inviting MENA and other affected student organizations while creating a platform that supports the actions of the state of Israel places those students in an unacceptable position.” nuAZN, NU’s Asian interest publication, also wrote in an Instagram story on Thursday that they had withdrawn from the event, adding that participation in the event “would not align with our values, specifically our opposition to current violence against Palestinians.” The joint statement went on to say that, although Spoon 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 seemed more focused on containing the backlash than on “meaningfully considering how that decision was made in the first place.” “What should have been recognized from the beginning only became an issue requiring action once 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 took “full responsibility for including Wildcats for Israel in our Cultural Food Festival.” They wrote that a “miscommunication” prevented the executive board from “(carefully examining) the attendee list before it was released” and that they were making structural changes to avoid similar oversights in the future. “We thank APAC, Alliance and MENA for holding us accountable and agree that there should have been more transparency regarding attendees,” the Spoon University Northwestern presidents wrote. “We look forward to rebuilding trust with these organizations and the rest of the Northwest community in the future.” Email: [email protected]
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