CommentaryJURIST Guest Columnist Stephen Griffin of Tulane Law School says that barely 4 months after Hurricane Katrina flooded New Orleans and dispersed its students and faculty, Tulane Law is re-opening its doors in January and looking forward to renewal of the institution and its community…
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Tulane Law School will reopen to the public on January 2 and hold the first classes of the spring 2006 semester on January 9. Behind this simple statement lies weeks of nonstop work by the Law School administration, faculty, and staff led by Dean Lawrence Ponoroff.
Like all the institutions affected by Hurricane Katrina, the Law School faced unique challenges in a disorienting environment. All of us thought we would be out of our offices for a few days at most, but one of the worst hurricanes in this nation’s history scattered us across the country. This unprecedented catastrophe was followed by one of the brightest moments in the history of higher education in the United States. Rising to the occasion, hundreds of colleges, universities and professional schools took in students and faculty affected by Katrina and gave them a fall semester they will always remember. This wonderful act of enlightened generosity will stand forever as an example for the rest of the nation in responding to natural disasters.
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Topic: As for the Law School, we are eternally grateful for the support shown to us by the law schools across the country who, for the most part, took our students in as one-semester visitors on condition only that they pay their Tulane tuition. We now look forward to the return of all of our students in January.
Katrina changed New Orleans along every dimension imaginable. The Law School building itself was only lightly damaged and had no flooding, but our faculty and staff were not so lucky. At least four Law School faculty and many staff lost their homes and almost all of their personal possessions. Many more suffered damages amounting to tens and hundreds of thousands of dollars. Thousands of students were suddenly homeless and many lost their personal belongings as well.
Once the fall semester was cancelled, the Law School administration began searching for strategies that would provide the best spring semester possible for upper-class students and a full year’s worth of courses for first year students. The plan eventually worked out has a “normal” 14 week semester for upper-class students that uses every room and every possible time slot to squeeze in more than 100 courses in a single semester. First year students who managed to visit away at other schools will also have a standard 14 week semester with our usual spring courses. However, most of the first year class did not visit. They will experience all of the normal required courses for both fall and spring compressed into two ten week semesters. With vacation and exam breaks, the spring “semester” for these first year students will extend until the end of June. This complex schedule has been made possible by the active cooperation of the faculty, many of whom will be teaching three courses over six months.
Clearly spring semester 2006 will be something special and not just because of the unusual shape of the schedule. Law students returning to New Orleans will experience a completely unique legal environment. There are a myriad of unusual legal problems in housing, criminal justice, insurance, and the environment, to name only the most obvious. Tulane Law School is fortunate to have well established clinics that can assist in all of these areas. In addition, the Law School has always had one of the leading programs in community service as a graduation requirement. Pro bono legal work will surely be needed now more than ever. Before his untimely death in September, David Gelfand, one of Tulane’s leading constitutional law scholars, had been busy creating an innovative public service program called From the Lake to the River Foundation (The New Orleans Coalition for Legal Aid and Disaster Relief). This program summons the resources of lawyers and law students across the country in assisting with the legal problems involved in rebuilding New Orleans. All Tulane Law students will have a chance to assist with the complex issues presented by rebuilding one of America’s great cities.
Right now many in New Orleans and Louisiana doubt whether the federal government will follow through on the promises made in September and commit the resources necessary to rebuild. The return of students to New Orleans in January will be a much needed boost. Students bring energy, enthusiasm, and commitment. I expect that these qualities will have a multiplier effect, allowing local citizens to see a way forward to address their problems. Tulane University and the Law School know that they have key roles to play in the rebirth of New Orleans.
The key factor that has made restarting the Law School possible has been the commitment of both faculty and students. The optimism and support of the faculty, along with the vast majority of students, has provided the spirit necessary to ensure that the Law School will come back from this setback stronger than ever.
Stephen M. Griffin is Rutledge C. Clement, Jr. Professor in Constitutional Law at Tulane Law School. He served as Vice Dean from 2001-04. He can be contacted at sgriffin@law.tulane.edu
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