University sued for "failing to prevent hazing"...- August 26, 2005 Plymount State was sued in a wrongful death action arising from an automobile accident that allegedly occured during a sorority pledge activity. The student was riding in a SUV and was 1 of 10 people in a vehicle designed to seat five passengers safely.The lawsuit said the student driving the SUV was "driving erratically to scare the pledges," who reportedly were blindfolded in the rear of the vehicle. The conspiracy charges allege the women planned to haze the pledges and engaged in harmful...http://univatty.blogspot.com/2005/08/university-sued-for-failing-to-prevent.html This fall more colleges are offering music licensing to their students- August 24, 2005 A good Chronicle of Higher Education article on the current pros and cons of offering a music service to students in an effort to minimize illegal file sharing. "More than 50 campuses have signed deals with online-music providers, up from about 20 last fall." "A survey conducted last fall at the University of Rochester, which has offered Napster for more than a year, suggests that many students still see it as an accompaniment, not an alternative, to pirating music. While 58 percent of the...http://univatty.blogspot.com/2005/08/this-fall-more-colleges-are-offering.html U.S. colleges struggle to combat identity theft- August 18, 2005 Good article in the Washington Post on all the problems colleges and universities are having keeping their databases secure.http://univatty.blogspot.com/2005/08/us-colleges-struggle-to-combat.html Fifth Circuit Rules Against Online Dating Service- August 4, 2005 White Buffalo, operator of LonghornSingles.com didn't appreciate the University of Texas refusing to deliver its spam directed at students attending the school and sued. In its ruling this week, the 5th Circuit refused to overturn a trial judge's opinion siding with the university. It concluded that the Can-Spam Act was never intended to block an Internet service provider, even one that is part of a government-run university, from filtering out unwanted commercial solicitations. An update to...http://univatty.blogspot.com/2005/08/fifth-circuit-rules-against-online.html Lawsuit allowed in MIT suicide case- August 1, 2005 A Massachusetts court has decided to allow a wrongful death suit to proceed against MIT psychiatrists and two student administrators who are not mental health professionals. The judge did dismiss claims against the university itself and dismissed some claims against the MIT employees. For example, the court said MIT could not be held liable for breachof contract because statements in MIT brochures about mental health services are too vague to constitute an enforceable contract. MIT is facing...http://univatty.blogspot.com/2005/08/lawsuit-allowed-in-mit-suicide-case.html |