Lawsuit Filed After Tragic Death of Northwestern Student

Ilana Linder, Manley Burke, ilinder@manleyburke.com The mother of Jordan Hankins, a Northwestern University basketball player and Alpha Kappa Alpha (AKA) pledge who committed suicide, has filed suit against AKA National, the local chapters, and several individuals, seeking to hold the...
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Are Mandatory Study Tables Considered Hazing?

Ilana Linder, Manley Burke, tburke@manleyburke.com A federal Complaint was recently filed by Sigma Lambda Upsilon (SLU) against the University of Virginia (UVA) that begs the question of whether requiring pledges to study at least twenty-five (25) hours per week constitutes...
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Who is Discriminating Against Whom?

Ilana Linder, Manley Burke, ilinder@manleyburke.com Over a year ago, a small student group that was deregistered by its university filed a lawsuit against the school. Just last month, the U.S. Department of Justice intervened, filing a brief in support of...
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Two Lawsuits Filed Against Harvard

Tim Burke, Manley Burke, tburke@manleyburke.com On December 3, 2018, two separate lawsuits, one in federal court and one in state court, were filed against Harvard by several Fraternities and Sororities. The suits challenge Harvard’s controversial decision to penalize students who...
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Were Single Sex Fraternities Bullied Off Campus at UMW?

Susan C. Stone & Kristina Supler, Student & Athlete Defense/Title IX Practice Group, Kohrman, Jackson & Krantz, LLP, scs@kjk.com & kws@kjk.com College campuses have long been known as incubators for political values. From 1960s sit-ins against the Vietnam War to...
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Male Assailants Claim Victimization Against Their Universities

Ilana Linder, Manley Burke, ilinder@manleyburke.com Over the last few years, there has been an increase in the number of lawsuits filed by male students against their universities in which a claim of gender bias in the school’s handling of sexual...
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Lawsuit Filed Following Criminal Plea Bargain

Katherine Schoepflin, Manley Burke LPA, kschoepflin@manleyburke.com The former President of the Phi Delta Theta Chapter at Baylor University and the National Fraternity are being sued for $1 million dollars following a plea deal stemming from a 2016 sexual assault case....
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Largest Ever Settlement Reached in Hazing Case

Tim Burke, Manley Burke, tburke@manleyburke.com David Bogenberger died on November 1, 2012 of alcohol poisoning following what was reported to have been an “event at an off-campus fraternity Pi Kappa Alpha, where fraternity members and members of various sororities hosted...
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K-12 Case with Potential Future Implications for Greek Groups

Ilana Linder, Manley Burke LPA, ilana.linder@manleyburke.com Although it is uncommon for Fraternal Law, or higher education law more generally, to intersect with K-12 education law, there are some interesting takeaways that can be gleaned from public school cases. One such example is...
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Investigation into Tragic Death of Ohio University Student Focused on Hazing

Katherine Schoepflin, Manley Burke, kschoepflin@manleyburke.com Hazing is in the headlines once again, and this time all eyes are on Ohio University. OU has issued a cease and- desist letter to the Epsilon Chapter of the Sigma Pi Fraternity after the...
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Florida Supreme Court Rejects Challenge to Hazing Statute

Tim Burke, Manley Burke, tburke@manleyburke.com Robert Champion, the drum major of the Florida A & M “Marching 100” band, died in November of 2011 following his participation in the hazing ritual known as “Crossing Bus C”. Those who “crossed” from...
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Court Finds for Alpha Chi Rho in Zoning Challenge

Tim Lynch (Fraternal Law) and Jeffrey Rosario, ESQ, (Office of Jeffrey Rosario Turco) Fraternal Law previously reported on a Pennsylvania state case involving the Penn State fraternity chapter of Alpha Chi Rho (AXP) and the State College Borough Zoning Appeals...
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