Minority students at prestigious law schools say they need to delay their exams because they were too busy protesting the grand jury decisions on the Garner and Brown cases.
Student groups at Harvard Law School, Georgetown University Law Center and Columbia Law School say demonstrations and rallies over the Eric Garner and Michael Brown cases have prevented many students from adequately preparing for exams.
A coalition of minority groups at Harvard "say many students have been compelled to take action because the 'national tragedy' implicated a judicial system they had chosen to join by studying law. They criticize administrators for largely staying on the sidelines."
"We led rallies, held vigils, and published an oped. You were silent on this issue," the coalition wrote in a letter issued over the weekend. "We petitioned the government, served as legal observers, created spaces of solidarity, drafted model legislation, and marched through the streets of Boston and Cambridge."
University officials at all three schools have said that students can petition to have their exams rescheduled and those requests will be considered on a per case basis. Columbia and Harvard are offering students sessions with trauma counselors and mental health professionals to deal with the lack of indictments.
"Our practice of individualized consideration, among other things, allows us to connect with students and provide them the support they need when they are suffering trauma severe enough to warrant deferral," wrote Ellen Cosgrove, dean of students at Harvard Law.
Columbia urged its students to stay focused on the "serious issues" raised by the cases. "Focusing on routine matters such as exam schedules ... diverts attention away from the real issue that should be examined now: how to ensure a criminal justice system that protects fairness, due process, and equality," the school said in a statement.
