Brittany
Lovely
is
a
2L
at
Georgetown
University
Law
Center
just
trying
to
get
through
the
semester,
like
pretty
much
everyone.
She’s
also
pregnant
—
due
in
a
matter
of
days
(the
first
week
of
December),
so
in
my
mind,
she
deserves
all
the
accolades
for
balancing
those
two
enormous
tasks.
But
instead
of
focusing
on
studying
and
growing
her
baby,
she’s
had
to
use
her
third
trimester
to
fight
the
powers
that
be
at
GULC
over
pretty
basic
accommodations
during
finals.
Lovely
is
due
December
2nd.
GULC
exams
are
scheduled
on
December
6-13,
with
possible
deferral
exam
dates
on
December
16-18.
Anyone
who
has
ever
been
pregnant,
had
a
child,
been
around
a
newborn,
or
has
even
a
shred
of
empathy
would
quickly
realize
some
sort
of
accommodation
is
required.
As
reported
by
CNN,
Lovely
met
with
Title
IX
officials
at
Georgetown.
The
Title
IX
official
and
Lovely
came
up
with
two
options:
to
take
the
exam
early
when
the
finals
period
opened
or
take
it
at
the
same
time
as
everyone
else
in
the
class
but
from
home,
which
would
likely
be
a
few
days
after
giving
birth.Both
options,
which
the
Title
IX
official
gave
to
the
registrar
and
the
Office
of
Academic
Affairs,
were
denied,
Lovely
said.
Lovely
asked
to
meet
with
the
official
who
denied
her
request.
At
the
meeting,
the
official
cited
the
university’s
honor
code
and
a
school-wide
policy
prohibiting
early
exams.
And
according
to
a
petition
—
signed
by
7,000
student,
alumni,
and
faculty
—
the
response
from
the
administration
official
was
truly
out
of
pocket.
Georgetown
Law
suggested
Brittany
bring
her
days-old
child
to
campus
a
few
days
after
birth,
with
minimal
recovery,
to
take
the
exam
with
more
time
so
she
can
breastfeed
her
newborn
baby
during
the
exam.
They
told
her,
“Motherhood
is
not
for
the
Faint
of
Heart.”
As
if
taking
exams
at
eight
months
pregnant
was
some
luxury.
Remember,
all
Lovely
was
seeking
was
the
ability
to
take
the
exams
early
or
from
home.
This
infuriating
response
galvanized
classmates
who
got
to
work
with
the
petition
referenced
above
and
circulating
this
flyer.
The
(understandable)
ire
over
the
situation
from
extended
members
of
the
GULC
community
seems
to
be
the
only
thing
that
moved
the
needle.
Lovely
reports
that
“only
after
all
of
the
public
outcry,”
a
resolution
was
reached
with
the
law
school.
While
not
commenting
on
the
specifics
of
Lovely’s
account,
a
spokesperson
for
the
school
had
the
following
comment,
“Georgetown
is
committed
to
providing
a
caring,
supportive
environment
for
pregnant
and
parenting
students. We have
reached
a
mutually
agreeable
solution
with
the
student
who
raised
concerns.”
“Georgetown
offers
academic
and
practical
resources
to
assist
in
the
completion
of
a
student’s
degree
while
they
are
pregnant
or
parenting
including
pregnancy
related
adjustments
from
the
Office
of
Title
IX
Compliance,
and
disability
accommodations
from
our
Academic
Resource
Center. Georgetown
does
not
publicly
comment
on
the
specifics
of
individual
student
matters,”
the
spokesperson
continued.
Lovely
hopes
her
experience
means
permanent
changes
so
that
future
pregnant
students
don’t
have
to
deal
with
this
bullshit.
“What
I
really
would
like
to
see
is
the
school,
and
I
guess
law
schools
generally,
to
like
to
see
their
role
in
supporting
their
students
and
really
show
up,”
she
said.
“I
would
expect
a
policy
change
at
this
point
from
the
school,
just
to
make
sure
that
nobody
else
ever
has
to
go
through
something
like
this
again.”
Kathryn
Rubino
is
a
Senior
Editor
at
Above
the
Law,
host
of
The
Jabot
podcast,
and
co-host
of
Thinking
Like
A
Lawyer.
AtL
tipsters
are
the
best,
so
please
connect
with
her.
Feel
free
to
email
her
with
any
tips,
questions,
or
comments
and
follow
her
on
Twitter
@Kathryn1 or
Mastodon
@[email protected].