Yale Law School Triggers Me

Update:

• David Lat, Yale Law Student Who Sent 'Trap House' Email Faces Removal As 2L Rep (Oct. 18, 2021)
• Andrew Koppelman (Northwestern), Yale Law School’s Bullying, Coercive Diversity Leaders (Oct. 19, 2021)
• Yale Daily News, Racism, Conservatism And Free Speech At Yale Law School (Oct. 20, 2021)
• Eugene Volokh (UCLA), Lawyers, Law Students, Law School Administrators, And Language (Oct. 22, 2021)
• The Atlantic, A Worrisome Peek Inside Yale Law’s Diversity Bureaucracy (Oct. 23, 2021)
• Washington Free Beacon, Backlash Against Media Coverage Of The Yale Law School 'Trap House' Email (Oct. 25, 2021)
• Trent Colbert (Yale 2L), Why I Didn’t Apologize For That Yale Law School Email: 'We Must End The Culture Of Performative Repentance' (Oct. 26, 2021)
• Peter Berkowitz (J.D. 1990, Yale; Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution), An Open Letter To Yale Law School Dean Heather Gerken (Nov. 1, 2021)
• David Lat, The Newest Insanity Out Of Yale Law School (Nov. 4, 2021)
• Simon Lazarus (J.D. 1967, Yale), Where Yale Law School Has Gone Off The Rails, And What Is Needed To Get Back On Track (Nov. 13, 2021)
• David Lat, Yale Law School And The Federalist Society: Caught In A Bad Romance? (Nov. 15, 2021)
• Washington Free Beacon, Yale's Akhil Amar Calls Law School Administration's Handling Of 'Trap House' Email Controversy 'Dishonest, Duplicitous, And Downright Deplorable' (Nov. 16, 2021)
• David Lat & Eugene Volokh (UCLA), More On The Two Yale Law School Controversies (Nov. 17, 2021)
• Washington Free Beacon & Josh Blackman (South Texas),  Yale Law School Dean Heather Gerken Admits Error, Stops Short Of Apologizing To Targeted Students; Law Prof Calls For Conservative Yale 1Ls To Transfer (Nov. 18, 2021)

Following up on yesterday's post, Ruth Marcus (Washington Post), At Yale Law School, A Party Invitation Ignites A Firestorm:  Kathleen Parker (Washington Post), Yale Law School Triggers Me:

A sign on my desk reads: “I’ll be nicer if you’ll be smarter.”

I’m not feeling nice today — and I’m talking to you, Yale.

No offense intended toward my many friends — and certain family members — who attended the university in Connecticut. But the recent campus skirmish over an alleged triggering event has revealed the absurdity of, oh, just everything — students’ overindulged self-regard; the failure of colleges and universities, generally, to encourage maturity and intellectual rigor in its charges (rather than indulging crippling sensitivity); and our exaggerated notions of triggering as a social and civil guard rail.

Who, anyway, taught the college-bound that they should always be protected, that people should always be “nice,” or that feelings should never be hurt?

What happened at Yale is this: A creative, second-year law student at its venerable law school emailed an invitation to classmates for a “Constitution Day Bash,” to be held at the “NALSA Trap House” and co-hosted by the Federalist Society (of which he’s a member). He promised “American-themed snacks,” such as fried chicken and apple pie.

Before we go further, a few questions, definitions and clarifications: First, who knew Constitution Day was a reason for celebration at graduate schools? Second, NALSA stands for “Native American Law Students Association,” of which the student is also a member. Third, “trap house,” in case you’re unaware, is defined by the Urban Dictionary as, “Originally used to describe a crack house in a shady neighborhood . . .”

I don’t think the definition was referring to tree-lined streets, but I also don’t think shady neighborhoods come in only one race, color or ethnicity. But at least nine other law students inferred as much and filed complaints of racism with the Office of Student Affairs. Rather than tell the complainants to get a life, administrators crumpled in a heap of cheap umbrage. Associate dean Ellen Cosgrove and diversity and inclusiveness director Yaseen Eldik called the alleged offender in for a little chat, which he wisely recorded, and told him that not only was his invitation out of line, but also that his membership in the conservative Federalist Society was triggering.

My sides are splitting with laughter, not from any kinship with the FedSoc, as it is nicknamed, but because I don’t have a pillow handy to smother my screams.

When a student uses the term “trap house” at a place like Yale, at worst he’s saying, let’s hang out and get high. Any Friday is an excuse for a party, trap houses are everywhere and nearly everyone eats (and enjoys) fried chicken, despite Eldik’s claim that the reference was “used to undermine the argument that structural or systemic racism contributes to US health inequalities.”

Please, Jesus, stop me from saying what I’m really thinking. ...

Eldik, who served in the Obama administration, has mastered the art of insinuating in the nicest way possible that if you don’t do what I say, your life is over. Incidents of diversity extortion aren’t rare. We read about them often enough to wonder where it might end.

• Reclaim the Net, Yale Law School Pressured Student to Apologize For Email That Used the Term “Trap House”