Law School Group Holds Forum on Suit

Twenty-five students gathered last night in Harvard Law School's Pound Hall to learn more about the Coalition for Civil Rights (CCR) case which will open March 3 before the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts.

Members of the coalition, which includes six minority student groups and the Women's Law Association, elaborated on the arguments they plan to use against the Law School.

The coalition has charged the school--which currently has six Black men and five white women among 64 faculty members--with discriminatory hiring practices.

The Supreme Judicial Court will decide only on whether the students have standing to pursue the case.

The Law School will be represented in the case by University attorney Allan A. Ryan and Harvard General Counsel Daniel Steiner '54.

The students said the case centers on two main issues: injury to the students and application of the Massachusetts Equal Rights Act of 1990.

Coalition members hold that students are injured in two ways. First, women and minorities are made to feel a "badge of inferiority," as outlined in the 1954 Supreme Court decision on Brown v. Board of Education.

With few women or minorities on the faculty, students do not see themselves as "good enough" to stand up and teach, CCR members said.

In addition, all students are denied the benefits of association with minority groups.

In response, the University team argued before the trial court that such injuries are "squishy and aesthetic," according to CCR members. Coalition members said this argument is the one they are most concerned about responding to.

The group plans to raise an additional issue which was not developed before the trial court, that of breach of contract as taken from the state Equal Rights Act. The coalition team said it will argue that students enter into a contract with their school in which the school guarantees that it will not discriminate against them.

CCR leaders also answered questions about Law School Dean Robert C. Clark's response to the case. The administration has not done much to answer students concerns, they said.

"When they talk about dialogue they talk aboutus dropping the law suit and them being the waythat they are," said John Z. Lee, a third year lawstudent.

April S. Ferguson, a third year law student andco-president of the Native American Law StudentsAssociation, said she believes a more diversefaculty would provide students with a bettereducation.

"Without faculty members that are interested inthe issues, we're invisible," Ferguson said. "Theydon't talk about water law here...[though] it's anissue to anyone west of the Mississippi."

Samantha Graff '93-94 said she viewed the lowturnout for the event as "a sign of the times."

"If this had happened 20 years ago, we wouldhave needed a large auditorium holding 300people," Graff said.

But Laura E. Hankins, a third year law studentwho will argue the case along with third-yearCaroline C. Wittcoff, said she thought the turnoutwas not indicative of the group's support in thecommunity.

"I know so many people who said 'I'm going tobe there [in the courthouse] at 8 a.m.,'" Hankinssaid

"When they talk about dialogue they talk aboutus dropping the law suit and them being the waythat they are," said John Z. Lee, a third year lawstudent.

April S. Ferguson, a third year law student andco-president of the Native American Law StudentsAssociation, said she believes a more diversefaculty would provide students with a bettereducation.

"Without faculty members that are interested inthe issues, we're invisible," Ferguson said. "Theydon't talk about water law here...[though] it's anissue to anyone west of the Mississippi."

Samantha Graff '93-94 said she viewed the lowturnout for the event as "a sign of the times."

"If this had happened 20 years ago, we wouldhave needed a large auditorium holding 300people," Graff said.

But Laura E. Hankins, a third year law studentwho will argue the case along with third-yearCaroline C. Wittcoff, said she thought the turnoutwas not indicative of the group's support in thecommunity.

"I know so many people who said 'I'm going tobe there [in the courthouse] at 8 a.m.,'" Hankinssaid