Rachel Canning Sues Parents for Financial Support...Wins

Rachel Canning in court. Rachel Canning, the 18-year-old New Jersey high school senior who made worldwide headlines after suing her parents for financial support before eventually dropping the case, has apparently chosen the college she will attend in the fall. “Decision made,” Canning posted on Facebook on March 30, (the post is only visible to her approved Facebook friends). “WNE U class of 2018, biomedical engineering major, with a 56,000$ scholarship.” That’s Western New England University, in Springfield.
WNEU’s student body is small, at just 3,800, and the cost for tuition and fees for full-time engineering undergrads is currently $32,606, plus room and board, which is an additional, $12,688, according to the school's website. (Canning's scholarship would more than cover one year's fees.) The various athletics offerings include lacrosse and football cheerleading, both of which Canning has participated in as a student at Morris Catholic High School in Denville, New Jersey.

Canning, who moved out of her parents’ house and into that of her best friend at the end of 2013, alleged abuse by her mother and father, Sean and Elizabeth Canning, in the lawsuit she filed. In the suit, she asked for immediate support, current private-school fees (which her parents had stopped paying) and future college tuition. Her parents, in response, alleged that Rachel had moved out because she had disciplinary problems at home and had refused to abide by their rules, which included to stop seeing a boyfriend, who they believed was a bad influence.

The story, which gained national and then international traction, brought an avalanche of anti-Rachel criticisms, particularly from story commenters; but even new headlines referred to the teen as “spoiled” and a “brat.” A handful of others penned supportive blogs and "liked" her Education for Rachel Facebook page.
She eventually moved back into her parents’ home in suburban Lincoln Park and soon thereafter dropped her lawsuit. Family Division Judge Peter Bogaard in Morristown, New Jersey, ordered its dismissal, noting that Canning “is obviously an intelligent young woman who has a bright future,” and adding that everyone involved is “encouraged at this point to look forward and not look back.” On that note: Good luck at school, Rachel.