UChicago Law Responds To Race-Baiting Student Event With 'Fine People On Both Sides' Schtick

How could a law school screw this up? Pretty easily actually.

Dear Members of our Community,

This week’s events are concerning because they do not reflect the best that I know our students can be or the values of our Law School and University. We aspire to welcome people of all backgrounds. We are committed to free expression and inquiry. We are a community of passionate individuals, conducting serious academic inquiry, and working to make each other smarter and better through rigorous debate.

Serious academic inquiry requires an environment in which diverse perspectives, experiences, backgrounds, and ideas inform and advance the intellectual exchange. Such discourse flourishes in a climate of respect and civility. Our commitment to free expression requires that we allow uncivil speech, but it does not require that we celebrate it. I am heartened that many of the responses to this week’s events have modeled the values of reasoned discourse.

The mission of the Law School is to investigate important questions facing the legal system, questions that are difficult and often uncomfortable. This mission is best advanced in an environment of inclusion. Our aspirations toward these core values can only be fulfilled with continuous attention and ongoing work on the part of all of us. I take very seriously the responsibility to make the Law School a welcoming place for all members of our community. I ask all of you for your help and commitment to the core values that are fundamental to our excellence.

Sincerely,

Tom Miles

Thomas J. Miles
Dean
Clifton R. Musser Professor of Law and Economics
The University of Chicago Law School
1111 East 60th Street
Chicago, IL 60637
(773) 702-9495
http://www.law.uchicago.edu

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