Dartmouth sued by its Alumni Association

The Association of Alumni has filed a lawsuit against the College over changes in governance adopted by the Board of Trustees. The Board changed the governance system to prevent the alumni from electing half of the Board members, as they have done since 1891. It also changed the rules for electing trustees, after having had such change rejected in a vote of alums. The Association seeks an injunction to prevent the Board from filling any of the new charter trustee seats authorized by the Board.
College President Wright says he’s “deeply disappointed” by the lawsuit. Board Chairman Ed Haldeman, apparently the driving force behind the shameless power play that led to all of this, finds the suit “regrettable” and hopes that it won’t be a “distraction” from “the good work of the faculty, students, and staff.” Haldeman, cliche-ridden even by the standards of his type, fails to explain how the suit could distract faculty, students, and members of the staff who actually add value to the College.
UPDATE: Students are, of course, thinking about the issues raised by Haldeman’s power play. This letter to the Dartmouth Independent by senior Tatyana Liskovich is a good example. But such thinking should not be viewed as a “distraction.” In any case, it is provoked by the power play, not the reactive lawsuit.

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