Bergeron v. Board of Regents of University of Wisconsin System

363 F. Supp. 346, 1973 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12678
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Wisconsin
DecidedJuly 17, 1973
Docket72-C-538
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 363 F. Supp. 346 (Bergeron v. Board of Regents of University of Wisconsin System) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Wisconsin primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bergeron v. Board of Regents of University of Wisconsin System, 363 F. Supp. 346, 1973 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12678 (E.D. Wis. 1973).

Opinion

DECISION and ORDER

MYRON L. GORDON, District Judge.

The defendants have moved for summary judgment. The plaintiffs invoked the jurisdiction of this court pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1343(3) and (4) and 28 U. S.C. § 1331(a) seeking relief under the following provisions: the Civil Rights Act of 1964; 42 U.S.C. § 2000d et seq; 42 U.S.C. § 1983; the fourteenth amendment of the Constitution of the United States; and the declaratory judgment provisions contained in 28 U.S.C. §§ 2201 and 2202.

The constitutionality of a federally funded “Inner City Library Service Institute” (Institute) conducted at the University of Wisconsin- — Milwaukee (UWM) is challenged on equal protection grounds. The plaintiffs, as former participants, allege that the Institute is a “racially discriminatory educational program.” They also claim a denial of due process, urging the characterization of their dismissals from the Institute as a “disciplinary action” taken without notice or hearing. Finally, in a “pendent jurisdiction” claim, the plaintiffs charge that the defendants have broken their contract to the extent that certain stipends, tuition waivers and other privileges which accrued to the plaintiffs while they were participants in the allegedly unconstitutional Institute, were cut off.

On November 3, 1972, I denied the plaintiffs’ motion for a temporary restraining order; such order sought to reinstate them in the Institute “with full rights and privileges, including the granting of all financial aids, stipends, dependency waivers and the other student fees” and to “provide them with certain due process protections.” I denied the temporary restraining order on the grounds that the plaintiffs had not “demonstrated sufficient probability of their ultimate success to justify the issuance of a temporary restraining order.”

This matter is now before this court on the defendants’ (UWM) motion for summary judgment. If a genuine issue of fact remains to be tried after the denial of a motion for interlocutory relief, it would be error to grant summary judgment. See Progress Development Corp. v. Mitchell, 286 F.2d 222 (7th Cir. 1961). I have considered the entire record in this case, as well as the memoranda submitted by counsel, and it is my conclusion that there exists no issue of material fact. For the reasons hereinafter discussed, the defendants’ motion for summary judgment should be granted; it follows that this action should be dismissed as to each of the plaintiffs’ claims.

During the summer of 1971, UWM, through its School of Library and Information Science, received federal funding for the proposed Institute pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1031-34, for the academic year commencing September, 1971. The purpose of the two-year special program was to train students from disadvantaged backgrounds in library science in order to meet the needs of inner city communities. A recruitment program designed to bring minority persons into the Institute was initiated. The plaintiffs, four blacks and one MexicanAmeriean, were among the group of 15 so recruited. They were offered appointments in the Institute. In written letters of confirmation, the students recognized that:

“The successful completion of the academic requirements of the two-year *349 program qualifies the participant for a Masters Degree in Library and Information Science.”

In addition to receipt of the masters degree, upon completion of the two-year program, Institute participants would also receive a “Special Certificate” stating their qualification as librarians for inner city library service. In consideration of their participation, they were paid a stipend of $2400 plus $600 per dependent and were given a tuition waiver.

When the Institute began in September, 1971, the course of instruction was in its developmental stage. Participants were required to take the basic courses offered as a group, including 15-20 hours of field work designed specifically for the Institute.

There existed some duplication in titles of basic courses offered in the two-year Institute as compared to those offered in the “traditional” one-year graduate library school at UWM. However; each school’s courses were geared to the needs of that school’s particular constituency. The “traditional” library school’s basic courses were apparently fashioned to the requirements of the more affluent library user, while the Institute’s basic courses were aimed at the anticipated needs of inner city persons —non-users of traditional library resources.

The number of faculty members needed to give instruction in the special Institute was limited, since only 15 students were enrolled, and only six subjects were required for the academic year 1971-72, including field work and independent research and study as two of the courses. Once the basic courses were completed, students in both the “traditional” and the Institute programs were free to take courses in the other school.

On March 6, 1972, the plaintiffs commenced a 10-week boycott of Institute classes because they disagreed with its content, conduct and length, advising the Institute that:

“Presently, we see the entire program as a ‘put off, retarded session of bullshit . . .’ We no longer want to deal with or be a part of this type of program.”

An ultimatum, indicating that the plaintiffs would “not negotiate for anything less than completion of the program in August, 1972”, was presented to the Institute on March 21, 1972. On May 4, 1972, the Institute advised each of the plaintiffs of her unexcused absences and asked her to arrange to have her graduate standing determined. Only one of the plaintiffs complied with the May 4 directive. Each plaintiff received a grade of “incomplete” for that term’s coursework. Each plaintiff continued to receive her stipends throughout the period of the boycott.

Sometime prior to June .19, 1972, the plaintiffs attempted to register for the eight-week summer session at UWM without the payment of normal fees and were informed that only Institute participants received the tuition waiver privilege. Prior to this, the Institute had notified each of the plaintiffs that she could renew or continue under the program and, therefore, receive the fee waiver privilege if she agreed to elect in writing one of the following two options: (1) participation in the original two-year masters degree, plus “Special Certificate” program, or (2) the earning of a masters degree alone, within a shorter time specified by the participant’s transcript subject to the rules and regulations of the “traditional” school.

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Related

Bergeron v. Board of Regents
497 F.2d 927 (Seventh Circuit, 1974)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
363 F. Supp. 346, 1973 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12678, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bergeron-v-board-of-regents-of-university-of-wisconsin-system-wied-1973.