Collegiate Comment

This past summer, the National Panhellenic Conference (NPC), an umbrella organization for national and international sororities of college and university women and alumnae, released the report of its Gender Identity Study Group. The Group had been convened in November 2016 to gather and disseminate relevant information for its member organizations on the pressing issues involving inclusion of … [Read more...] about NPC Spends Summer Examining Gender Identity Issues for Sororities and Fraternities

A recent Third Circuit Court of Appeals decision stresses the importance of clear, written documentation of roles and responsibilities in any academic collaborations between a private entity and a state university. When Angela Borrell, a student in the Nurse Anesthetist Program (NAP) jointly administered by Bloomsburg University and Geisinger Medical Center, was dismissed from the program, she … [Read more...] about In Any Academic Collaboration, Be Sure to Dot the “i’s” and Cross the “t’s”

The Eighth Circuit recently affirmed the dismissal of a Title IX lawsuit by a sixteen-year-old high school junior who was visiting the college and alleged she was given alcohol and sexually assaulted at a college fraternity party. Title IX is a federal statute that prohibits sexual discrimination, including sexual harassment and sexual assault, “on the basis of sex.”  The Eighth Circuit’s ruling … [Read more...] about Can a Non-Student Bring a Title IX Lawsuit Against a College?

In February, 2017, we discussed a case being argued in front of the U.S. Supreme Court brought by Simon Tam, lead singer of a dance/rock band who wanted to register a trademark “The Slants” for his band.  The Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) had rejected his application, applying a provision of the Lanham Act that barring the registration of trademarks that may “disparage . . . persons living or … [Read more...] about “Slant”-ing is OK, Says The High Court

Amid allegations from the Women’s Law Project that Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania treats its female athletes as “second-class citizens,” eight female athletes from the university are suing Lock Haven in what they characterize as a class action suit, alleging violations of Title IX by unequal treatment of female athletes. The 4220-member student body is 59% female, and the university … [Read more...] about Female Students Bring Title IX Suite Against Lock Haven University: It’s Not Sex This Time, But Sports

The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled that teaching students to avoid inflammatory sexual language in academic writing is a legitimate pedagogical goal, and that educators do not run afoul of the First Amendment by exercising editorial control of students’ course-related expression, even control of the viewpoints expressed therein, if such control relates to legitimate pedagogical … [Read more...] about A Win for Pedagogically Defensible Syllabi