Dive Brief:
- Students at Columbia University Law School are being allowed to postpone December exams if they feel the Eric Garner and Michael Brown cases have "shaken their faith."
- According to the law school’s interim dean, Robert Scott, the grand jury decisions not to indict the police officers who killed Garner and Brown have some students questioning the integrity of both the grand jury system and the law in general.
- Scott said the postponement offer fits with school policies allowing exams to be rescheduled for a student’s illness, religious observance, death in the family, or exceptional circumstances, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Dive Insight:
Hopefully, the Garner and Brown cases will serve as a source of motivation, not despondency, for most law school students who are upset by the grand jury decisions. Scott said in an email sent out Saturday announcing the exam decision that for some students, and particularly students of color, the two cases could “undermine a sense that the law is a fundamental pillar of society designed to protect fairness, due process and equality.” The school is also bringing in a trauma specialist to meet with students who need counseling.
