ADVICE FOR YALE LAW SCHOOL: “Sorry, but if you’re triggered by the Federalist Society, you don’t belong on a law school campus. … These students may be among the best and brightest, but they also need to do some growing up.”
That’s doubly true if you’re a law school administrator like Ellen Cosgrove and Yaseen Eldik.
Related: David Lat: The Latest (Ridiculous) Controversy At Yale Law School.
Yes, it’s true that no official investigation was initiated or disciplinary action taken—despite calls from some offended students for such steps. Yes, it’s true that Eldik and Cosgrove (eventually) told the sender that none of this would be reported to the bar.
But again, listen for yourself, to the entire recording. Pay attention to the tone, the implications, and the insinuations. Eldik and Cosgrove speak carefully, in a way that gives them plausible deniability (and makes YLS’s artfully worded statement literally true). The overall effect a listener is left with, however, is that the email sender is in trouble with the administration, his misdeeds could have career consequences for him—and if he knows what’s best for him, he’ll apologize.
The sender never did apologize—good for him, since he had nothing to apologize for.
Dean Heather Gerken, along with Cosgrove and Eldik, needs to apologize to this student, to the Federalist Society, and to the legal community at large for this childish-yet-thuggish behavior.
Meanwhile at Slate it’s a variation on the old “Republicans Pounce!” take: Yale Law School’s Free Speech Blunder Bolsters the Federalist Society’s Victim Mentality.
It wasn’t a “blunder,” it was oppressive conduct. And if you’re worried about the Federalist Society looking like a victim, maybe don’t leap at any opportunity to victimize them.
