Daily Debriefing
By Lindsay Ellis, The Dartmouth Staff
Published on Thursday, February 16, 2012
Robert Champion’s parents filed a wrongful death lawsuit Monday against the owner of Fabulous Coach Lines and the driver of the charter bus on which Champion, a student and band member at Florida A&M University, was hazed before dying as a result of the November 2011 incident, The Associated Press reported. The lawsuit states that drivers working for the bus company were told by company managers to ignore instances of hazing occurring on their vehicles. New band members were allegedly forced to run from the front to the back of the bus while current members kicked, slapped and hit them, the AP reported. Band “pledges” were also forced to answer questions while being suffocated with a pillow, the AP reported. The bus driver, Wendy Mellette, allegedly forced Champion back on the bus when he exited to vomit, according to the AP. Champion, who had been a “vocal opponent of hazing,” served as drum major for the university’s band, according to the AP.
Texas Tech University chess grandmaster Susan Polgar will transfer her leadership and her best 10 players to Webster University later this year with the goal of establishing a chess program, The New York Times reported Tuesday. Polgar started Texas Tech’s chess program — which is named for her — in 2007, but decided to leave due to the institution’s “lack of financial resources,” Polgar said in an interview with NBC affiliate KCBD. While one chess player can receive up to $30,000 in scholarships at rival programs, Texas Tech gave $30,000 to the entire program last year, even after winning the 2011 Final Four Championship, KCBD reported. Webster’s team, which will rank first nationwide on paper in its first official year, will also be named for Polgar, The Times reported.
Colleges and universities reported an 8.2 percent increase in charitable contributions in 2011, amounting to $30.3 billion, from the 2010 fiscal year, Inside Higher Education reported Wednesday. This marks the first significant increase since the start of the 2008 economic recession, according to Inside Higher Ed. Gifts primarily came from foundations, accounting for approximately 28.6 percent, and alumni, who gave 25.7 percent of the contributions, Inside Higher Ed reported. Stanford University, Harvard University and Yale University received the most in charitable contributions, with $709.4 million, $639.2 million and $580.3 million raised, respectively, according to Inside Higher Ed.