In the Counterculture there was the meme "Student as Nigger," derived from a popular book. We pursuing intellectual excellence woke up to the reality that we might be treated badly by professors. That frequently included lack of due process.
A classic example is that the game changes once we are in the course. An eager-beaver professor adds to what has to be read, how many papers have to be done, and even how many classes are scheduled and when. At Harvard Law School, one reason I decided to take a lucrative ghostwriting offer and leave as a 1L was that a few eager-beavers sent notices that there was additional reading material which had to not only be read but absorbed by the next class. In those days, attendance was taken and we were called on.
However, the generation of protest hasn't made much of an inroad on the extra pile-on of work. Former 1L at Southern University Law School Courtney Home reported on her blog that she left the program because of such an alleged abuse. Professor Donald North had scheduled an extra class on the weekend. On Abovethelaw.com, the managing editor David Lat is usually the one who presents on the site developments which have deep implications for not only an institution like law school but also the whole social fabric. Here he looks into the case of the initially unscheduled class.
It seems unusual that a law school, which teaches contract law theory and practice, would breach a contract with students. One wonders if Home will file a lawsuit with North, the law school, and the university as defendants. That could have more traction that those 14-something class action lawsuits filed against law schools for alleged fraud in presenting job figures. As we know, those suits haven't been faring well in the court of law, despite getting a lot of attention in the court of public opinion.
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