Judge rules that Newcomb College must be closed

On Thursday, a federal judge ruled against an attempt by students and alumnae of Newcomb College to stop the July 1 closing of Newcomb College. U.S. District Court Judge Carl J. Barbier ruled that the plaintiffs had not made their case, that Louise Newcomb's contract with the university was subject to various interpretations, and that the plaintiffs lacked the standing to bring the suit in the first place. He also said they failed to show how irreperable harm would be done without legal intervention.

The plaintiffs have not yet decided whether they will appeal the ruling.

Students, alumnae, and supporters of Newcomb went through enough heartbreak when Tulane wiped out Newcomb's faculty in 1987. Now, unless there is a successful federal appeal, there will be no more Newcomb College. I understand that Katrina changed everything, but to eliminate the nation's oldest women's college within a university, a college with a proud and luminous history, is a toxic and outrageous thing to do.