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Downturn Hits Harvard Law School, Forcing Coffee Cuts and Clinic Moves

Posted Sep 11, 2009 7:21 AM CST
By Debra Cassens Weiss

Even the venerable Harvard Law School has been hit by the recession.

The school is cutting its budget in ways big and small, the Harvard Law Record reports.

The law school expects to cut back on conferences and symposia because law firms are reluctant to sponsor them. Four legal clinics were moved from neighborhood locations to the campus, and three staff positions were eliminated. Library hours could be cut, along with the hours of dining facilities. And a dozen employees were laid off last spring.

The school is also cutting some of its “most conspicuous and controversial luxuries,” the story says. Free food at student events will likely be trimmed back. Free coffee will be served only until 10:15 a.m. rather than noon, and will be available in fewer locations.

Hat tip to Legal Blog Watch.

Comments

1.

Matt
Sep 11, 2009 9:35 AM CST

I feel absolutely awful for those pretentious Harvard students.  After 10:15, they actually have to look down their noses at their local Starbucks barista.

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2.

B. McLeod
Sep 11, 2009 9:48 AM CST

At least there is no mention of any austerity measures impacting the very upscale restrooms.  By a mighty effort, they can probably come to grips with the coffee problem.

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3.

Dan
Sep 11, 2009 12:48 PM CST

It seems like you both have jealousy issues you need to work out. Either that or you just have an irrational dislike for Harvard students. Sure, some of them may be pretentious, but that’s no reason to stereotype all of us that way. Nobody complained in the article about the coffee; in fact, everyone I know here is grateful it exists at all. It’s just an article about how even Harvard, with the biggest (by FAR) endowment of any university ANYWHERE, has to cut back. That means the downturn is even impacting the wealthiest groups. That’s news.

Also, not sure what “very upscale restrooms” you’re referring to, because all of the ones I’ve been in have been quite ordinary. Perhaps they’re reserved for snarky guests?

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4.

AboveBoard
Sep 11, 2009 2:38 PM CST

You tell them Dan! The world revolves a certain way for life to flow. If money flows into the hands of the “pretentious” types then so be it. Someone, most likely their parents, grandparents etc. worked for that dollar. Why do we knock each class. Trust me, I’ve been at the low low end, the middle end and now work for people at the top everyone in all classes have their issues. Lets just be content, strive for a better world and learn.

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5.

B. McLeod
Sep 11, 2009 6:44 PM CST

Actually, as I think about it, the restrooms with all the marble and brass were in that other library, the one they let the public access, but which does not have law books or a United Nations document depository.  Maybe the restrooms in the law building have never been as nice?  I suppose it is possible.  (Although I do seem to recall a recent article that the ladies rooms have free tampons and coffee.  Was that on this site?)  Or, maybe Harvard students don’t realize that most people don’t have marble and brass restrooms (so they assume those are “quite ordinary”).

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6.

Dan
Sep 12, 2009 12:00 PM CST

Haha, actually, B. McLeod, that’s a joke I would have made myself, that we wouldn’t realize not everyone has marble and brass restrooms. Although I assure you (though I’ve only been here two weeks so far) I haven’t seen any restrooms like that around campus. Maybe they save them for our 2L year when we’re more fully indoctrinated?

I suppose I can understand people make such assumptions about Harvard. I went to a state university for undergrad before coming here and I was worried about that sort of thing myself. So far I haven’t seen any evidence of it, though, even from the students who were at Ivy League undergrad schools.

It was more Matt’s comment that offended me than yours. I’m sure you HAVE been in a bathroom like that somewhere on campus. It wouldn’t surprise me to find one someday. I just haven’t yet.

If the women are getting free coffee in the restrooms, then I need to sue someone for discrimination, because the men sure aren’t.

It’s actually fairly limited free coffee. Just a few catering drink dispensers (trying to think how to describe them…kind of like the Gatorade containers football teams have, only for coffee) outside of a few classrooms. I know most schools don’t do that, I just want to make the point that I (and the students in my section, anyway) am very appreciative of the coffee. We all wish it still went til noon instead of 10:15, but nobody is offended or upset by it. We’re just glad it’s there at all.

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7.

Dan
Sep 12, 2009 12:02 PM CST

Also can someone explain to me why free food at student events would be a “controversial luxury?” Even Rutgers managed to do that for most of our student groups. Why shouldn’t HLS?

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8.

B. McLeod
Sep 12, 2009 5:53 PM CST

Dan, I think the building was called something like “Widener Library.”  Anyway, it was somehow identified or marked as a library, which was why I went inside.  At the time, I was more interested in United Nations collections than law books, and I had been to several UN depositories in other parts of the country.  All the others were in public access libraries, and so I assumed the one I heard of at Harvard would be in the main library.  This Widener building, at least as I understood it while visiting, was the main library, but the staff there told me that the UN collection was in a different building with the law books, and was not public.  That would have been probably around 1982 or 1983, but I would guess the library building would be still somewhat similar.  I can’t imagine that they would have taken out all that marble and brass.

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9.

J.D.
Sep 12, 2009 8:00 PM CST

Everyone in Harvard voted for Obama, so they’re just reaping the rewards of their foolish decisions.

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10.

B. McLeod
Sep 13, 2009 6:28 PM CST

How does J.D. know this stuff?  I thought we still had secret ballot.

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