Columbia Law School is letting students request final exam postponements if they are suffering from the “traumatic effects” of two recent grand jury decisions in Missouri and New York not to indict police officers in the deaths of unarmed black men.
The school’s interim dean, Robert E. Scott, announced the policy in an email, the New York Times reports, and a spokeswoman acknowledged that a small number of students already had their exams pushed back. Scott said he consulted with the university’s administrators to approve the policy, which he added is in accordance with the school’s procedures for accommodating students who are experiencing trauma during exam periods.
“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,” Scott wrote. “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.”
The announcement of the policy follows a letter written by the Columbia Law School Coalition of Concerned Students of Color, and posted online, addressing the school’s faculty and administration. “Our trauma will be present with us on exam day, our trauma is inhibiting us from sleeping at night, and our trauma is ever-present among the words in our textbooks,” the group wrote. “We are now asked to use the same legal maneuvers and language on our exams this Monday that was used to deny justice to so many Black and Brown bodies.”
Former Ferguson, Mo., police officer Darren Wilson was not indicted in the August shooting death of Michael Brown, sparking nationwide protests against police brutality. And NYPD officer Daniel Pantaleo, who put Garner in an apparent chokehold, was not indicted in the July altercation that resulted in Garner’s death.
25 Key Evidence Photos From the Ferguson Grand Jury
Officer Darren Wilson's vehicle is shown at the scene of the confrontation in this undated evidence photograph made available by the St. Louis County prosecutors office St. Louis CountyA bracelet was found near where Officer Darren Wilson fatally shot unarmed teen Michael Brown on Aug. 9, 2014 St. Louis CountyThe cap 18-year-old Brown wore the day he was shot by Officer WilsonSt. Louis CountyThis photograph shows a casing from a bullet fired from Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson's gun. St. Louis CountyA blood-stained sheet covers the body of 18-year-old Michael Brown. St. Louis CountyBrown's blood is spattered on the ground near where his body lay after being shot by Officer WilsonSt. Louis CountyAnother bullet casing from Officer Wilson's gun, which was fired a total of 12 times that day in AugustSt. Louis CountyThis photo shows shattered glass from Officer Wilson's car window, which was shot out during a struggle between Wilson and Brown, according to grand jury testimonySt. Louis CountyThe interior of Officer Wilson's police vehicle. Wilson says he used the radio to call for backup after the shooting St. Louis CountyAnother bracelet discovered near Officer Wilson's vehicle following the shooting St. Louis CountyA close up of the exterior of Wilson's vehicle following the incident St. Louis CountyEvidence left following the incident on the exterior of Officer Wilson's police carSt. Louis CountyHandprints mark the rear window of Wilson's vehicle. St. Louis CountyA traffic cone and police tape mark the scene near where Brown was shot on Canfield Drive in Ferguson, Mo. in AugustSt. Louis CountyOfficers fetch a bullet from a hole left in the side of a building near the sceneSt. Louis CountyA bullet fired by Wilson's gunSt. Louis CountyThe uniform Officer Wilson wore the day he shot and killed Michael BrownSt. Louis CountyOfficer Darren WilsonSt. Louis CountyWilson says he feared for his life during an altercation with Brown, leading him to use deadly force.St. Louis CountyEvidence left on the breast pocket of Wilson's uniform following the shooting of Michael Brown St. Louis CountyThis image shows Wilson soon after the shooting. At the time, the officer underwent a medical examinationSt. Louis CountyDuring the medical examination, bruising was discovered on Wilson's cheek where he says Brown punched him in the faceSt. Louis CountyMedical examination also found cuts on the back of Officer Wilson's headSt. Louis CountyThe gun Officer Darren Wilson used when he shot and killed Michael BrownSt. Louis CountyA bullet found in Officer Wilson's weapon after the shooting of Michael BrownSt. Louis County
