There’s no better way to pay respects to one’s alma mater than by filing a lawsuit against it – that is, if you're a graduate of Dartmouth College.

In the last 14 months, Dartmouth has been sued by its alumni not once, but twice.

The most recent suit, which was filed two weeks ago, states that the College “violated an 1891 agreement to maintain parity on the Board of Trustees” after it appointed five charter trustees last September, effectively tipping the scale against the alumni-voted members of board.

The Dartmouth reports:

The original lawsuit was brought in response to the Board of Trustees’ Sept. 2007 decision to add eight additional Board-selected trustees to their ranks. This decision would end the parity between alumni-elected trustees and Board-selected trustees that existed since 1891. The Board voted on June 9 to set a “freeze” on its membership until the lawsuit was settled. They broke the freeze on Sept. 5, appointing five additional charter trustees.

The Order of Notice for the lawsuit states that the Association of Alumni reached a “legally binding contractual agreement” with the College in 1891…

[…] “The College’s September 5, 2008 actions constitute a material breach of the College’s obligations under the 1891 Agreement,” the statement reads. “The Plaintiffs and the other alumni will be irreparably harmed as a direct and proximate result of such a breach.”

Who cares if the agreement is nearly 120 years old?

A gentleman’s agreement is a gentleman’s agreement, and therefore, it must be upheld ad infinitum – irrespective of the changing times, of course.

Until this matter is resolved, expect a never-ending cavalcade of lawsuits to come against the College and the Board of Trustees—and for the College’s prestige to continue plummeting as a result.