Word: hls
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These incidents led a black student group to call for a speech code on campus. Thomas’ book follows HLS through the next three tumultuous years, during which time a speech code was a very real possibility. But he does not stick religiously to the plot: as Thomas introduces different professors and administrators, he often gives extensive histories of their legal and political careers. It is in these biographical sketches that he is harshest...
...from his class for his comment that “the blacks have contributed nothing to torts”—clearly within the context of referring to black Crits. Rosenberg’s comments about his own case may be applied broadly to the climate that ruled HLS circa 2002—and probably still rules there today: “For a faculty member to be strongly criticized—and even threatened with formal sanctions—for making critical remarks about a genre of scholarship in class strikes at the very heart of academic freedom...
Most notably, Climenko Professor Charles J. Ogletree comes across as a man more interested in furthering his chances of being appointed to the Supreme Court than in performing genuine academic work. And former HLS Dean Robert C. Clark is dubbed “Boneless Bob,” an unprincipled administrator who otherwise believes in free speech but was cowed into submission by the Crits...
Because the book has so much of an ideological slant—it is more Sean Hannity than Bob Woodward—the reader may find himself questioning whether Thomas gives a complete account of what happened at HLS in 2002. He certainly does not present his readers with some of the stronger arguments for limiting certain racist speech on campus. Thomas uses a clever tact throughout the book to preserve as much of an appearance of impartiality as possible: rather than voicing his own opinion, he peppers his book with commentary by Harvey Silverglate, who according to Thomas...
...currently stands, there is already an alarming paucity of academic diversity at HLS. Thomas reports that in 2003, there were no professors at HLS who adhere to the conservative “originalist” interpretation of the Constitution, despite the fact that it is the philosophy of choice of many leading jurists, including Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas. Conservative students report being routinely hissed and booed after making comments in class...