Columbia University Law School Allows Students to Skip Finals Due to Trauma of Mike Brown Decision

by Terresa Monroe-Hamilton | December 8, 2014 9:35 am

That’s just dumb. Every student now will claim trauma so they can reschedule their finals. That’s a no-brainer. Whatever happened to teaching your students the rule of law? I mean, it is a law school after all. What trauma? The Grand Jury deliberated, reviewed the evidence and found overwhelming facts that supported Officer Wilson’s actions. Trauma because an officer did his job? Because a criminal got caught? As for Garner who had been arrested over 30 times previously… who could have not resisted arrest… who was in a headlock, not a choke hold… and died from cardiac arrest after resisting arrest… what part of following the law and obeying officers do these people not understand? Everything is upside down and ass backwards. The Grand Juries did their jobs – the officers did their jobs – and because the two perps were black, it is being used as an excuse to incite violence. Obama does Charles Manson proud. He’s giving Charlie what he has dreamed of his whole life – a race war and everyone from the race hustlers, to the DOJ, to the White House are on board with it.[1]

From Gateway Pundit[2]:

Interim dean Robert Scott[3] to the Columbia Law School community is allowing students to skip their finals due to the effects of the non-indictments in the Michael Brown and Eric Garner cases. The law school has also arranged for a trauma specialist to hold sessions for anyone interested in discussion the trauma of the recent court decisions.

Via Power Line Blog[4]:

The grand juries’ determinations to return non-indictments in the Michael Brown and Eric Garner cases have shaken the faith of some in the integrity of the grand jury system and in the law more generally. For some law students, particularly, though not only, students of color, this chain of events is all the more profound as it threatens to undermine a sense that the law is a fundamental pillar of society designed to protect fairness, due process and equality.

For these reasons, after consultation with students in the law school and with colleagues on the law faculty and in the administration, I am taking the following steps to assure our responsiveness and involvement in this particular moment:

– In recognition of the traumatic effects these events have had on some of the members of our community, Dean Greenberg-Kobrin and Yadira Ramos-Herbert, Director, Academic Counseling, have arranged to have Dr. Shirley Matthews, a trauma specialist, hold sessions next Monday and Wednesday for anyone interested in participating to discuss the trauma that recent events may have caused .

Several members of the faculty have agreed to schedule special office hours next week to be available for students who would like support and/or would like to talk about the implications of the Brown and Garner non-indictments. These office hours will include:

Conrad Johnson – Monday, 12:00 – 2:00, Room 833
Olati Johnson – Monday, 12:00 – 4:00, Room 630
Susan Sturm – Wednesday, 2:15 – 3:15, Room 617
Katherine Franke – Monday, 1:00 – 3:00, Thursday, 9:00 – 11:00, Room 637

– I support the idea of an open community dialogue to discuss the concerns of students in the wake of recent events, and to share diverse and collective notions of injustice that these cases raise. I will encourage all members of our community to attend.

– The law school has a policy and set of procedures for students who experience trauma during exam period. In accordance with these procedures and policy, students who feel that their performance on examinations will be sufficiently impaired due to the effects of these recent events may petition Dean Alice Rigas to have an examination rescheduled.

This is simply more political pandering and political correctness for the sake of grandstanding. If I were attending law school or had a child attending one, it would not be at Columbia Law School. They obviously have a basic misunderstanding of the law. What irony – following the law causes trauma in law students. Perhaps I should say, ‘Progressive law students.’

Endnotes:
  1. are on board with it.: http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2014/12/columbia-university-law-school-allows-students-to-skip-finals-due-to-trauma-of-mike-brown-decision/
  2. Gateway Pundit: http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2014/12/columbia-university-law-school-allows-students-to-skip-finals-due-to-trauma-of-mike-brown-decision/
  3. Robert Scott: http://www.law.columbia.edu/fac/Robert_Scott
  4. Power Line Blog: http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2014/12/not-a-parody.php

Source URL: https://rightwingnews.com/culture/columbia-university-law-school-allows-students-skip-finals-due-trauma-mike-brown-decision/