Princeton settles suit against Trenton State

After months of negotiations, Princeton University and The College of New Jersey have reached an out-of-court settlement that will allow The College of New Jersey to keep its name. Princeton filed suit against the Trenton, NJ college in June after officials voted to change its name from Trenton State College to The College of New Jersey. Princeton was founded in 1746 as the College of New Jersey and became Princeton University in 1896. The agreement reached by the two schools allows them both to use the name "College of New Jersey" so long as they both "strive to make clear the entirely separate histories of the two institutions, notwithstanding that at different times in their two histories they have had the same name," according to the settlement. Under the terms of the agreement, The College of New Jersey cannot suggest that prior to 1896 it was an institution of higher education under that name. And Princeton may only use the name "College of New Jersey" in historical references. After reaching the agreement, officials from the two schools released a joint statement expressing their satisfaction with the outcome. "We are pleased that this dispute has been resolved in a way that minimizes the likelihood of confusion and fully protects each other's right to the use of the name '(The) College of New Jersey,'" unnamed officials from both schools said in the statement. According to the joint remarks released Thursday, the settlement will eliminate any confusion between the two universities regarding the name. "The terms of the agreement should help to assure that the public will not believe that there is any connection or association between our two institutions, even though at different times in our histories we have had the same name," officials said in the statement. Students from both schools said that the settlement was beneficial for all parties. Princeton sophomore Sulene Chi said Princeton officials acted properly by allowing The College of New Jersey to keep its name. "I'm happy that the university settled the suit because I don't think it's important for them to be quibbling over such a small issue," Chi said. "I think Princeton should be able to hold onto its reputation by current progress instead of past glories." Cheryl Greenberg, a freshman at The College of New Jersey, said that while the name change caught a lot of people affiliated with the college off-guard, she thought it would benefit the school in the long-term. "The change would have been better accepted if people had been notified about it sooner," Greenberg said. "I think that the name 'The College of New Jersey' will bring in more out-of-state residents and that is what the Board of Trustees had wanted when they decided on the name change." And officials said the agreement will allow both schools to hold onto their "respective histories and accomplishments."

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