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Once upon a time, a law school’s decision to bring a Supreme Court justice to campus to teach a class was a no-brainer. It would bring prestige to the school, it would be a unique educational opportunity for their students, and everyone would be pleased with the outcome. But now that increasingly controversial people are being appointed to lifetime appointments to the Court, it fundamentally changes the calculus for law schools.
The University of Florida Levin College of Law announced that in spring 2020, Justice Clarence Thomas is teaching a compressed course on the religious clauses of the First Amendment. That decision has been met with complaints by students at the law school. A new advocacy group, We Believe Survivors, wrote a letter in the student newspaper, The Independent Florida Alligator, asking Dean Laura Rosenbury and school administrators to “explain how the celebration of Clarence Thomas’ presence on campus will help the effort to address the culture at UF that has led to an increase in campus sexual assault.”
The letter calls attention to the allegations of sexual harassment Anita Hill made against Thomas as well as a recent UF survey on sexual assault and misconduct which found UF undergraduate female reports of nonconsensual sexual conduct increased from 23 to 26 percent since 2015. Given the concerning uptick in sexual misconduct at the school, We Believe Survivors believes treating Thomas as a honored guest at the law school will send a problematic message to survivors:
“If we come forward, will we be treated like Hill?” the letter said. “Will we be ignored while our abusers are paraded as esteemed guests at our law school? Does Levin really believe survivors? Or do we only believe survivors when their abusers aren’t powerful?”
As reported by Law.com, second-year law student Dalia Figueredo believe the issue was exacerbated because students weren’t told before Thomas was invited:
But it’s about accountability, the way Figueredo sees it, as she’d hoped her university would have first told students about the idea of inviting Thomas.
“Our administration is here to serve us, and I think it’s very important to question what kind of message law school is sending to potential survivors of assault or harassment when they invite someone who has been credibly accused to campus,” Figueredo said.
Dean Rosenbury’s statement on the controversy says she supports student advocacy at the law school:
“We are a diverse law school, and our students, faculty and staff care deeply about a range of issues,” Rosenbury said. “We encourage all of our students to become effective advocates, whether through student groups or other means.”
But Thomas will still be teaching at the law school next year.
Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, and host of The Jabot podcast. 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).