The foundation's main effort is to encourage upperclassmen who signed housing contracts with the Office of Residential Life in spring 2011 to file complaints against the College in the Lebanon District Court. These lawsuits would constitute a reaction to the College's failure to address student concerns after Sarkar and approximately 20 other students filed a breach of contract notice with ORL on Nov. 10, 2011, Sarkar said.
The students allege that Dartmouth violated the legal rights of undergraduates who signed spring housing contracts by "secretly" changing the terms of the contract during the summer, Sarkar said.
The original contract stipulated that students living in College housing must purchase, at minimum, the $1225 Mini Green plan. The modified contract replaced the Mini Green option with three more expensive SmartChoice meal options starting at $1440 per term, according to Sarkar.
Sarkar has used the phrase "mass action lawsuit," a play on "class action lawsuit," to describe his mission of having multiple large groups of students simultaneously file lawsuits that seek damages for the breach of contract, he said.
"The case we'll be making is built primarily on changing the language of the contract," Sarkar said.
Sarkar is a former member of The Dartmouth Opinion Staff.
The case will also focus on alleged "false statements" made by Dartmouth administrators that rendered students unable to judge what might happen with their meal plans when the SmartChoice meal plan was created, Sarkar said. These statements include allegedly contradictory claims about how Dartmouth Dining Services made a profit in the 2009-2010 fiscal year and promises made by DDS to consider student input about the meal plan, he said.
Sarkar said that the lawsuits will be filed "soon" but declined to release a specific time, the number of students currently committed to filing lawsuits or the number of students involved in the SmartChoice Recovery Foundation.
"I don't want to disclose too much information," he said. "I think the administration will try to prevent us from filing lawsuits."
Director of Media Relations for the College Justin Anderson called the proposed lawsuit baseless in a statement to The Dartmouth.
"We understand that Julian Sarkar is planning legal action against Dartmouth concerning the meal plan," Anderson said in the statement. "His claim, that the College breached the housing contract between the Office of Residential Life and individual students regarding modifications made to the meal plan, is without merit. He has no basis for this action."
The SmartChoice Recovery Foundation is still seeking students who are interested in filing lawsuits, which constitute a last resort method of dealing with the issue, Sarkar said.
"I am not a litigious person, none of these students are litigious people," he said. "The administration has not offered a resolution of any kind. The general council has not offered any solution."
Students interviewed by The Dartmouth had not heard of the SmartChoice Recovery Foundation and expressed skepticism that the lawsuits will be successful in combating dissatisfaction with the meal plan.
"I don't know if filing small lawsuits is the answer, but we have the right to do something about it," Adriana Flores '13 said.
Kelsey Byrd '13 said she thinks legal action is unlikely to solve the problem.
"I don't know if it's worth it to fight [DDS]," she said. "It might just be better to work with [DDS]."
Citing his lack of knowledge regarding contract law, Will Bishop '12 said he questions whether the breach of contract claim would hold up in court.
"I don't know whether the application of contract law would really work in [Sarkar's] favor or not," he said.
Sarkar approached more than 10 attorneys in New Hampshire and across the country to assist with his case, but they all declined due to the small settlement that Sarkar and other students would be seeking, he said. Attorneys contacted by Sarkar did not specify whether or not his case is sound, but some have offered support, he said.
"I think the fact that they have been so encouraging in talking to me I am personally confident we will win this case," he said.
If the SmartChoice Recovery Foundation can find an attorney to take the case despite the lack of monetary incentive, it may pursue a class action lawsuit instead of its current plan of small claims litigation.
Sarkar has started a Facebook page for the SmartChoice Recovery Foundation to reach students who feel misled by DDS and to issue press releases. As of Thursday night, the page had one "like."
Most of the students contacted by Sarkar were involved with his breach of contract efforts in November.
"When I rallied the students to file breach of contract notices, I got a tremendous amount of support," he said. "I realized a lot of students are willing to act."
In addition to building support for lawsuits in the Lebanon District Court, the SmartChoice Recovery Foundation has begun a campaign to obtain financial support from alumni for members of the Class of 2015 due the restrictive nature of the SmartChoice20 plan, according to Sarkar.
Members of the Class of 2015 were required to buy the SmartChoice20 meal plan their first term at the College. The plan includes 20 meal swipes per week and $75 of DBA,
Sarkar sent letters to the Alumni Council and the Association of Alumni in late December asking alumni to redirect their donations from the College to his foundation in order to assist students, but is still awaiting responses. He said he has also contacted other alumni groups, but declined to disclose further information.
Emmanuel Kim '15, president of the Class of 2015, said he plans to discuss the foundation's efforts with the Class Council and will send emails to members of the Class of 2015 informing them about the potential for financial compensation.
The foundation is "a good way to connect with alumni and get the Dartmouth community involved," Kim said.
While members of the Class of 2015 interviewed by The Dartmouth expressed dissatisfaction with the SmartChoice20 plan they were required to purchase for Fall term, they did not all support involving alumni in their financial losses.
"I don't think that's a good idea," Yannick Yu '15 said. "I am not a big fan of the meal plan, but we were informed well enough and we knew how it was structured. I don't think having anyone pay for decisions you made is fair. I don't really see it as a real cause."
Ryan Shelley '15 said he supports the effort because of the plan's unrealistic and unreasonable nature.
"Essentially everyone I know wasted so much money on the plan," he said. "It was impossible to use the swipes, and you could only use them at a certain time. The most I ever used was 12 meals out of 20."
The SmartChoice Recovery Foundation sent an email to the College's 42 department chairs Wednesday, asking faculty to "join [it] in denouncing these practices" and promote only "decisions that are conducted in an honest fashion."
