“Irrevocably Shaken”: Columbia Law Review Editors Demand Cancellation Of Exams Due To Campus Protests

Following up on Thursday's post, Columbia Law School Offers Optional Pass/Fail Grading Amid Campus Protests:  Aaron Sibarium (Washington Free Beacon), ‘Irrevocably Shaken’: Editors of Columbia Law Review Demand Cancellation of Exams, Citing Trauma Caused by Police Presence on Campus:

The student editors of the Columbia Law Review issued a statement on Wednesday urging Columbia Law School to cancel exams in the wake of the police operation that cleared the university’s unauthorized encampment, saying the "violence" had left them "irrevocably shaken" and "unable to focus."

The statement, which represents the majority opinion of the editorial board and was endorsed by five other law journals, including the Columbia Human Rights Law Review & A Jailhouse Lawyer’s Manual, accused the police of "brutalizing" students—though no major injuries have been reported—and claimed that canceling exams was a "proportionate response" to the "distress our peers have been feeling." ...

Columbia Law School told the Washington Free Beacon it had no plans to cancel exams, which it said would be administered "through the conclusion of the exam period." ...

If the law school won’t cancel exams, the editors say it should at least make all courses pass/fail—a move that would make it impossible to differentiate between those who ace their tests and those who barely pass them.

"Instituting an optional Pass/Fail policy is not really optional when employers will see that some students have grades and others do not," the statement argues. "[T]his leaves room for the introduction of extreme bias into the hiring process."

Jonathan Turley (George Washington; Google Scholar), “Irrevocably Shaken”: Columbia Law Review Editors Ask for Cancellation of Exams Due to Protests:

The editors of the Columbia Law Review are virtually guaranteed their picks of top jobs after graduation. Yet, they told the law school that the clearing of the unauthorized encampment constituted traumatic “violence” that left them “irrevocably shaken” and “unable to focus.” They were joined by editors of five other law journals, including the Columbia Human Rights Law Review & A Jailhouse Lawyer’s Manual.

They portrayed the trauma as the appearance of counter protesters and police on campus, accusing a  “white supremacist, neo-fascist hate group” of “storming” campus.

The Columbia students told the university that “many are unwell at this time and cannot study or concentrate while their peers are being hauled to jail.” ...

[T]he question is how such law students are emotionally prepared for the pressures of practice when such protests shut them down and leave them “unable to focus.” However, they have been educated in systems that have fostered the sense of victimization or trauma from opposing views.

While often called the “trophy generation,” it sometimes seems like this is becoming the trauma generation. I do not blame these students. Teachers and administrators have reinforced this view. That was evident in the controversial cancelling of a federal judge at Stanford Law School last year. ...

Outside of the Columbia Law Review offices is a thing called life. It is neither predictable nor comfortable. We enter the lives of our clients when they are often failing apart. We have to bring our skills and support at those moments without the assistance of a trauma tent or emotional coach.  We also cannot ask judges for postponements to allow us to process the stress of the moment.

This is not meant to be another “buck up buttercup” dismissal. I understand that the campus faced disruption and that many feel deeply about the underlying issues. That passion is needed. Young lawyers should be motivated to right wrongs in this world. I also understand that many of these law students likely had friends who were arrested or involved in the protests. However, our clients look to us for strength not fragility in such moments.

The response from Columbia Law School should be simple: see you at the exams.

• Above the Law, Columbia Law Review Asks To Cancel Exams Amid Administrative Grading Confusion, General Absolute Chaos
• The Daily Beast, Columbia Law Review Students Want Exams Canceled Amid Campus Chaos
• The Daily Signal, Columbia Law Review Demands School Cancel Tests for Students Traumatized by NYPD
• Outkick, Columbia Law Students Embarrassingly Demand Exams Be Canceled, Put Weak Mindset On Display

Prior TaxProf Blog coverage:

• New York Times, 54 Columbia Law Faculty Condemn Administration For Disciplinary Action Against Anti-Israel Student Protesters (Apr. 23, 2024)
• Washington Post, Punish Columbia Professors, Not Students Protesters, For The Intellectual Degeneration On Campus (Apr. 28, 2024)
• Law.com, Columbia Law School Delays Exams Amid Protests and Police Activity (May 1, 2024)
• Bloomberg Law, Columbia Law School Offers Optional Pass/Fail Grading Amid Campus Protests (May 2, 2024)