Following a dismissal of their case by the New Hampshire Supreme Court last week, the group of alumni bringing a lawsuit against the College Board of Trustees filed a motion for reconsideration with the Court on Thursday, according to attorney for the plaintiffs Eugene Van Loan. The motion requests the Court to address the plaintiffs' claim that the Board made a binding promise in a 1891 agreement guaranteeing parity between alumni-elected trustees and charter trustees. The plaintiffs argue that the reversal of this agreement is barred by the doctrine of "promissory estoppel," in which a party claims to rely on a promise although it is not an enforceable contract. In its recent decision, the Court upheld a lower court's ruling that the promissory estoppel claims are barred by the doctrine of "res judicata," by which any legal claims cannot be filed in a case for which a judgment has already been reached or that entails the re-litigation of a matter between the same two parties, The Dartmouth previously reported.
Cornell University's Inter-Fraternity Council passed legislation that defines in greater detail "Level 1" hazing in order to lessen confusion about what constitutes the practice, The Cornell Daily Sun reported. Level 1 now includes actions such as publicly wearing clothing that is conspicuous or in bad taste and banning new members from speaking. Under the new legislation, fraternities who violate Level 1 hazing regulations will be easily identified by prospective new members during the Rush Week registration process. The previous punishment for Level 1 actions that were "perceived to be hazing" was social probation, the Sun reported. Level 2 hazing constitutes actions that have been clearly identified as hazing by the Greek Judicial Board, the Sun reported.
A measure introduced by Democrats in the Connecticut House of Representatives intended to close the state's $3.5 billion budget deficit would strip the collective bargaining rights from many college faculty members, The Chronicle of Higher Education reported. Gov. Dannel Malloy, D-Conn., has called for the state's public employee unions to make $1 billion in concessions. The measure changes the definition of managerial employees to include faculty members who work primarily to develop college policies, serve as department heads or play a significant part in making collective bargaining or personnel decisions, according to The Chronicle. Connecticut law bans managerial employees from bargaining collectively with their employers. The Congress of Connecticut Community Colleges and the Connecticut State University branch of the American Association of University Professors have expressed their opposition to the measure, The Chronicle reported.
