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1. Posted by BIGLAW 1ST YEAR - 3 months, 3 weeks, 5 days, 22 hours, 36 minutes ago

   Why would the students accuse the professor of being racist if he was going to award an extra exam point to minorities?  I thought that giving minorities handouts was the only way to not be labeled a racist...?  But then again, one point isn’t much, so maybe he is a racist.  A non-racist professor should give all non-whites at least 10 free points on every exam.

2. Posted by Hadley V. Baxendale - 3 months, 3 weeks, 5 days, 22 hours, 30 minutes ago

   In order for our nation to resolve the divisiveness along racial lines, people need to understand the distinction between views that are “racial” and those that are “racist.” A generalization supported by statistics, an opinion about discriminatory practices, a selection without regard to race are not necessarily racist even though racial. By definition, “affirmative action” is discrimination and the discussion should be about when or how discrimination is justified.  But we will never resolve the issues if we cannot discuss them freely in the “robust marketplace of ideas.” More and more, people are keeping their opinions to themselves, internalizing their feelings, and this is not healthy.
   I don’t know enough about the facts of this situation to take sides, but the issue is certainly presented.
   BTW first.

3. Posted by BIGLAW 1ST YEAR IS A BIGGOT - 3 months, 3 weeks, 5 days, 21 hours, 58 minutes ago

   The 1st comment was clearly posted by an ignorant and a biggot.  I am an attorney who never expected handouts and never received them.  Telling black students, he would add one point to their scores if they get the same scores as white students was a racist statement full of sarcasm.  You and that professor, Mr. Biggot owe to take lessons on diversity, go learn about the contributions of minorities to this great nation that is America.  But Mr. Biggot, if your reasoning in law school is as flawed as your reasoning in your comment, if you graduate from law school, I predict you will have a hard time with the bar exam.  You still have time to learn though, rookie.  Good luck.  Someone who wish you well.

4. Posted by SC - 3 months, 3 weeks, 5 days, 21 hours, 50 minutes ago

   BIGLAW, are you kidding me? Maybe those students accused Professor Peltz of being a racist because of the insinuation behind his 1 point “gift”, namely that minorities need help to surpass whites academically. 

   I know neither the man nor the situation (and I suspect that you don’t either) so I can’t attest to his intent behind the remark, but it was inflammatory nonetheless and as an educator he has a responsibility both to his students and his profession to refrain from such antics. 

   That being said, Peltz is certainly free to criticize affirmative action (and many do).  If the students merely voiced concern in a letter to their dean, then Peltz should grow up, students complain, and these students followed the proper protocol.  If the statements were more widespread and malicious, then the students should know better and maybe this will be the lesson that teaches them.

5. Posted by Labelling is poor debating - 3 months, 3 weeks, 5 days, 21 hours, 50 minutes ago

   Labelling someone as a biggot is always the last resort of a poor debater.  Perhaps the professor was trying to open the students eyes about how racist affirmative action really is.  Their gut reaction to such a statement was racism.  Now take that into the real world where most states and large cities award extra points to minority contractors that equal the same bid as white contractors.

6. Posted by NUMBER THREE CLEARLY CAN'T SPELL - 3 months, 3 weeks, 5 days, 21 hours, 48 minutes ago

   The 3rd comment was clearly posted by someone who can’t spell, who doesn’t know that an ignorant person is an “ignoramus,” not an “ignorant,” and who does not understand the use of commas.

7. Posted by Reality - 3 months, 3 weeks, 5 days, 21 hours, 46 minutes ago

   Insulting someone’s ability to complete law school has nothing to do with the issue.  Comment 3 is ridiculous and does not belong here.  This is a serious issue, lets stop the personal attacks.

8. Posted by Shay - 3 months, 3 weeks, 5 days, 21 hours, 44 minutes ago

   The problem with a law suit of this nature is that it undermines the teaching environment and the give and take between students and professors that ought to be fostered in law school.  Law students must be free to question their professors viewpoints in order to learn to think critically about justice system measures.  It is a travesty for the pedagogical environment that a law professor would choose to sue students who questioned the underlying philosophy influencing his teaching methods, argumentation, and politics.  I hope that this does not have a chilling effect on critical commentary by law students on campuses throughout the nation.  What a dangerous precedent!

9. Posted by Rick - 3 months, 3 weeks, 5 days, 21 hours, 42 minutes ago

   "the insinuation behind his 1 point “gift”, namely that minorities need help to surpass whites academically”

   Please explain why this is offensive but point assignment in affirmative action programs for minority admissions aren’t?

10. Posted by Marc H - 3 months, 3 weeks, 5 days, 21 hours, 42 minutes ago

    ... and the word is spelled “bigot,” not “biggot.”

11. Posted by BIGLAW 1ST YEAR - 3 months, 3 weeks, 5 days, 21 hours, 40 minutes ago

    To poster #3:

    I am a first year associate, not a 1L.  If I was a 1L, I would call myself a 1L and “biglaw” wouldn’t make sense.  Think before you post.  I went to a top law school, graduated order of the coif, was on law review, passed the bar, and work at one of the most prestigious firms in the country.

12. Posted by Ali - 3 months, 3 weeks, 5 days, 21 hours, 28 minutes ago

    BIGLAW, I wonder how your prestigious firm would feel about your comment that “A non-racist professor should give all non-whites at least 10 free points on every exam.” You’re lucky these postings are anonymous.

13. Posted by SC - 3 months, 3 weeks, 5 days, 21 hours, 27 minutes ago

    Rick - I’m certain I DIDN’T say in my comment that point assignment in admissions programs wasn’t offensive.  You may have some inside information that these students don’t also find such point assignments offensive, I doubt it.

    The validity and ramifications of Affirmative Action can be debated all day, but that doesn’t stop Prof. Peltz’s comment from being demeaning (and YES preferred treatment in admissions can be argued to be equally demeaning).

    BIGLAW, I agree that Post #3 is pretty lame, but as an Order of the Coif, Order of Barristers graduate from one of the top law schools in the country (and a minority to boot) your impressive resume doesn’t make your prior comment any more valid.

14. Posted by BIGLAW 1ST YEAR IS AWESOME - 3 months, 3 weeks, 5 days, 21 hours, 24 minutes ago

    "I am a first year associate, not a 1L.  If I was a 1L, I would call myself a 1L and ‘biglaw’ wouldn’t make sense.  Think before you post.  I went to a top law school, graduated order of the coif, was on law review, passed the bar, and work at one of the most prestigious firms in the country.”

    All those accomplishments and, yet, you still remain able to stay so humble. We are all truly impressed.

15. Posted by OMG! - 3 months, 3 weeks, 5 days, 21 hours, 23 minutes ago

    I am utterly humbled and awed by you, BIGLAW 1ST YEAR, both because of your measured and judicious use of ALLCAPS and your flagrant self-fellation in a public forum.

    Good on you.

16. Posted by SUCOL - 3 months, 3 weeks, 5 days, 21 hours, 23 minutes ago

    If there are just a few things I learned in law school, they are the following: (1) law school is the LAST place where true debate and freedom of expression are protected; (2) most professors are exceedingly ignorant and narrow minded, yet claim to be progressive; and (3) most law students are remarkably thin skinned, which will serve them poorly in the legal profession and in life. The article above is very thinly written, and without more facts I would not comment on the situation in Arkansas.

17. Posted by Legalese - 3 months, 3 weeks, 5 days, 21 hours, 22 minutes ago

    Wow....Biglaw seems like the sort of law student that we all hated when we were law students.  All of those alleged achievements, and he’s still a moron.  Priceless.

18. Posted by Student in the class when it happened! - 3 months, 3 weeks, 5 days, 21 hours, 18 minutes ago

    I was a student in the class when this event took place.  Anyone who was there understands that it was NOT a racist comment, but that the that comment occured in a debate and open discussion.

    Academic freedom works both ways.  On the one hand you can not argue for freedom in the classroom setting to explore new ideas and have open discussion, and then on the other hand say that something said was wrong.

    Taken in context Prof. Peltz did the right thing.  These two girls, and I personally know both of them, carry a large chip on their shoulder. 

    I hope Prof. Peltz wins.  I would testify on his behalf!

19. Posted by Lynn - 3 months, 3 weeks, 5 days, 21 hours, 14 minutes ago

    To poster #3:

    Another correction: “someone who wishes you well” not “someone who wish you well”.

20. Posted by VS - 3 months, 3 weeks, 5 days, 21 hours, 12 minutes ago

    I am appalled, not that much by the facts in the article, but by the strain of racist and intolerant attacks among colleagues in this Comments section.  I thought our profession was supposed to exemplarily lead when it comes to civility in our society. I guess I am wrong.

21. Posted by cesar - 3 months, 3 weeks, 5 days, 21 hours, 11 minutes ago

    The lesson for all BLSA chapters is to make sure you know the true views of all professors invited to a BLSA sponsored event. Because if not, you run the risk of being offended at your own event under the guise of intellectual freedom.

22. Posted by suede22 - 3 months, 3 weeks, 5 days, 21 hours, 9 minutes ago

    I guess we know how BIGLAW stands on the race issue.  I also suspect BIGLAW isn’t too bright.

23. Posted by Chavez - 3 months, 3 weeks, 5 days, 21 hours, 3 minutes ago

    That sounds great Cesar - a scripted discussion with non-objectionable debaters in which the audience knows all the answers in advance and nobody gets offended.  (Sorry to carry your argument to its logical conclusion).  That seems like precisely the type of debate we should have in our law schools!  Good luck facing a real adversary in the real world.  Please.

24. Posted by Powerman - 3 months, 3 weeks, 5 days, 21 hours, 1 minute ago

    I assume the alleged libel is more than students complaining.  Otherwise, the lawsuit will be summarily dismissed and the professor will be disgraced.  I am thinking it is more than students complaining because a professor should know what it takes to succeed on the merits of a libel lawsuit.

25. Posted by H.V. Baxendale - 3 months, 3 weeks, 5 days, 20 hours, 59 minutes ago

    Re: 8: you may describe how the academic world ought to be, but now there is a terrible problem with intolerance of views that contradict liberal thought.  It is not an even playing field.  A viewpoint that would be called “conservative” is shouted down and those who hold them are attacked, fired, and harrassed.  It shouldn’t be that way.
    Re: 21:  A special interest group (such as BLSA) should intentionally present other sides to their views by inviting--and respecting--those who hold them.  Unfortunately, most stack the deck and avoid intellectual challenge.

26. Posted by anon - 3 months, 3 weeks, 5 days, 20 hours, 58 minutes ago

    Long live the Onion

27. Posted by Jumping to conclusions - 3 months, 3 weeks, 5 days, 20 hours, 54 minutes ago

    To posters 17 and 22, et al.:

    Why is biglaw a moron or not too bright?  Is it only because you disagree with his/her viewpoint on affirmative action?  Obviously if you believe the honors. law review, etc. that he/she admits to then biglaw is pretty bright and not a moron.  Can’t we engage ourselves in a substantive debate without attacking posters like we are in first grade???

28. Posted by shelby - 3 months, 3 weeks, 5 days, 20 hours, 50 minutes ago

    I am an African American attorney who graduated from law school in 2006. I was not an active member of my law school’s BLSA chapter because I view it as seperatist. The chapter members only wanted to associate with people who looked like them and thought like them. They weren’t interested in a healthy exchange of ideas with people of differing viewpoints. This is no way to prepare minority law students for real life, where they will encounter all types of people. if other BLSA chapters are anything like the one at my law school, they need to change.

29. Posted by Ark Lawyer - 3 months, 3 weeks, 5 days, 20 hours, 37 minutes ago

    I was a student at UALR last year when this all happened. The bottom line is that some very militant black students started slinging mud at everyone they could think of when they didn’t make it onto the law review editorial board.

30. Posted by Paul Scott - 3 months, 3 weeks, 5 days, 20 hours, 34 minutes ago

    Re: Post No. 11 from Biglaw.  Your statement, “If I was a 1L,” should have been “if I were...” And you graduated from a “top law school,” are a first year associate at a “prestigious firm,” and were Order of the Coif????  I do, nonetheless, find your first post very amusing.  Carry on…

31. Posted by Bill - 3 months, 3 weeks, 5 days, 20 hours, 28 minutes ago

    Shelby: At my law school, most of the black students sat on one side of the student lounge, and the white students sat on the other side. It was just like high school and undergrad. I was very disappointed that that level of immaturity continued among future lawyers. You’re correct, it has to end at some point; are they going to go to work at a firm and sit on different sides of the conference room? I don’t know if it had anything to do with our BLSA, though. It seemed entirely voluntary and institutionalized, so I don’t know what could be done about it.

32. Posted by Jennifer - 3 months, 3 weeks, 5 days, 20 hours, 12 minutes ago

    It is unfortunate that it is so difficult to have an honest discussion of the benefits and drawbacks of affirmative action. Affirmative action is a system that is meant to do good, but because of the racial tension surrounding it, it is so difficult to discuss it that we can’t work on improving it and adapting it to the changing racial climate in our country. It’s time to stop dancing around the issues of race in America and start facing it in an honest way to help us all move forward towards better understandings of each other.

33. Posted by Paul Scott's Writing Style is Amusing - 3 months, 3 weeks, 5 days, 20 hours, 9 minutes ago

    Poster #30, PAUL SCOTT, needs to be deported due to his inability to speak English.  Chicago Manual of Style Rule 5.141 demonstrates that biglaw used “was” appropriately and that PAUL SCOTT used “were” erroneously.  Very amusing…

34. Posted by Chris - 3 months, 3 weeks, 5 days, 20 hours, 5 minutes ago

    I agree with you Bill.  I think it starts with people like you and Shelby who are willing demonstrate that its okay to “sit on the other side of the student lounge...or the firm”.  The point I must make is that out of all areas of academia, law should remain one wherein the free flow of ideas and opinions are exchanged.  Feel free to debate the opinion, but please don’t inhibit the dialogue. Dialogue is key and is one way that we lawyers resolve issues (legal or otherwise).  I’m saddened that this particular story had to escalate to a lawsuit and am convinced that the outcome will not produce the desired results.

35. Posted by Lauren Ruff - 3 months, 3 weeks, 5 days, 20 hours, 2 minutes ago

    This professor needs a reality check. He’s teaching Constitutional Law but doesn’t seem to understand that the First Amendment is not an excuse to ignore basic decency. I am also incensed that a professor would resort to such immature behavior as to sue his students.

36. Posted by associate - 3 months, 3 weeks, 5 days, 19 hours, 44 minutes ago

    Sounds to me like one of those things you see on YouTube where students make outlandlish claims and accusations at the teacher until they prod the teacher into saying or doing something that they really don’t mean or didn’t fully think through.

    But these guys went the extra mile to print that he “is a racist” in a professional letter which is over the line and gives the teacher a legal way to respond; a libel suit.

    Race issues will never be settled in this country until ALL people are allowed to express their opinions without retribution in a free exchange of ideas or until only one race remains in the country.  It’s just human nature, and it doesn’t matter how “educated” people are.  Until this “shouting down” and personal/professional attack/destruction stuff ends (on all sides) and everyone can be heard, there are going to be race issues.

37. Posted by associate - 3 months, 3 weeks, 5 days, 19 hours, 42 minutes ago

    35, Lauren

    You should read the whole article.  Apparently the students wrote the dean demanding that the professor be fired for being a racist.  You don’t respond to that by ignoring it, or you’re permanently out of a job because you “are a racist”.

    How would you advise the professor to respond other than by seeking legal redress?

38. Posted by Law Student at UALR - 3 months, 3 weeks, 5 days, 19 hours, 35 minutes ago

    To Post #18:
    As a student who also attends UALR, it is unfortunate that you would write such comments that state you “personally know both of them”, and then turn around and say they “carry a large chip on their shoulder.” This is an unfair statement and it’s sad to think that you would post these comments in an anonymous setting such as this; however, as we walk the halls I would caution to think that you have never personally made these statements to either one of these students. 
    I ask that we adhere to the Comment Policy of this forum which states avoid “personal attacks.”

    I’ve also taken Prof. Peltz and would hope that this suit is able to come to a conclusion in a court of law and not court of public opinion.  However, one must raise the issue of timing.  These complaints and letters to the law school were from March 2007 and before, over a year ago; however, Prof. Peltz is just now bringing a claim (although he has every right if not barred by any statute of limitation), no one has stopped and raised the issue what these students are going thru as it relates to filling out their bar application in preparation of sitting for the bar.  Of course those who have undertaken this process understand there are possible questions that ask whether or not you have been named or have been a party to a suit.  If these events took place when arguably they were 2L why would you wait if you were defamed to bring a suit a year later? 

    The email from Prof. Peltz demonstrating his frustration that students “are able to complain…and everyone is expected to just take it” is disappointing because although he is tenured and everyone knows if you’re tenured you’re untouchable, no student has “to just take it” from him either.  It’s a two-way street and if one makes comments that might potentially get them in trouble, you can not then go and run behind the status as a tenured professor and think you have the right to say whatever.

    As sad as it is to admit, this article has shed light on the 800-pound elephant that has been in the room and no one is addressing it.  These issues and various other problems did not start with these two young ladies and unfortunately will not disappear when they graduate.  It’s sad to think that these problems still plague society to this day.  I hope that we will be able to move past this but without light we are all in darkness.

39. Posted by Former Student - 3 months, 3 weeks, 5 days, 19 hours, 34 minutes ago

    I attended the William H. Bowen School of Law and graduated in 2005.  I was a member of the law school’s BLSA chapter.  Professor Peltz was one of my most memorable and favorite professors.  His teaching style was very unique and provocative. He was extremely challenging, yet always fair.  I know him personally and know that he is in fact not a racist.  This is truly a tragic situation for all parties involved.

40. Posted by 3L headed for BigLaw - 3 months, 3 weeks, 5 days, 19 hours, 29 minutes ago

    I read these articles every single week for the pure comedic value. However, this week I decided to join in the tomfoolery. 

    I am a black woman who will be going to a Big Firm (already have the offer) and I think what seems to be lost on many of you is this - at PWI’s (predominantly white institutions) people gravitate to whomever makes them most comfortable - whether they be white or brown or black. If you are a person who isn’t welcoming to people of color - then it will be segregated. Always. Do any of you go sit with brown people instead of white people in the lunch room? Or vice versa? If so, kudos to you - if not… well its natural, sad but very natural. 

    I HOPE that I will have a different experience when I begin at the firm - but i’m not holding my breath. Last summer there were 48 of us, of which there were 4 black women - unless the 44 were very gregarious people we always had to initiate the convo - I was literally skipped over in conversations. I’m not blaming anybody or upset - but that was my reality last summer and I’m sure will be my reality in the future. I don’t love it - I’m not the chip carrying militant black woman that we all seem to be in MANY white people’s eyes - but I accept it as it is because I can’t cure ignorance, I can only be myself and make that big money! :)

    Blessings to you all. I hope that you can set aside your biases and see the forest for the trees.

41. Posted by Paul Scott - 3 months, 3 weeks, 5 days, 19 hours, 20 minutes ago

    To Poster 33:  you need a grammar lesson as well.  The word “were” is the past subjunctive of the word “be.” The past subjunctive is sometimes called the “were” subjunctive, because “were” is the only subjunctive form that is distinct from the indicative past tense or “was.” The verb “were” appears mainly in “if” clauses and in other constructions expressing hypothetical conditions.  Accordingly, I am correct.  And I did not learn the distinction at U. of Michigan Law School or at my “presitigous” national law firm as a first year associate, but rather in high school years before.  BTW, the Chicago Manual of Style does not support your conclusion.

42. Posted by Carol Lee - 3 months, 3 weeks, 5 days, 19 hours, 4 minutes ago

    This professor is clearly a racist.

43. Posted by Chris P. Corbitt - 3 months, 3 weeks, 5 days, 18 hours, 52 minutes ago

    I think Rule 5.127 is on point and Paul is correct.

    http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/ch05/ch05_sec127.html

    A subscription is required…

    5.127 Present subjunctive
    Apart from a few set phrases (e.g., so be it, be they, she need not), in present-day English the present subjunctive typically appears in the form if I (he, she, it) were {if I were king} {if she were any different}. That is, the present subjunctive ordinarily uses a past-tense verb (e.g., were) to connote uncertainty or impossibility. Compare if I am threatened, I will quit (indicative) with if I were threatened, I would quit (subjunctive), or if the canary sings, I smile (indicative) with if the canary sang (or should sing, or were to sing), I would smile (subjunctive). See also 5.114.

    You all crack me up.. now get back to work

    By the way, I had Professor Peltz and he was and still is a great teacher. 

    And, if anybody maligns my grammar, I just might sue, if i can prove damages.  It is of note that Arkansas has a law on the books for defamation per se, meaning damages don’t have to be proved.  The two types of defamation that can occur without having to prove damages would be accusations of a crime and the imputation of the unchasity of a woman or a bad disease.

    By the way, is there a statutory award of attorney’s fees in a defamation case?  I think there might be so the little guy can sue the big corporate bad guy for damaging his reputation, just like in a breach of contract case.  My memory tells me that attorney’s fees may be statutory for the winner, so that knife cuts both ways.

    Perhaps there are facts here that the article does not expound upon.  I would have to believe Professor Peltz researched the elements of a defamation claim well before he filed suit. 

    Is Professor Petlz a public or private figure?

    Was there publication?  The letter would definitely be publication.

    What are the damages?

    Carry on…

44. Posted by Tim - 3 months, 3 weeks, 5 days, 18 hours, 37 minutes ago

    Whether or not what Peltz said can fairly be considered “racist,” his response is unwarranted, unprofessional, and possibly revealing.  Peltz doth protest too much?

45. Posted by R - 3 months, 3 weeks, 5 days, 18 hours, 31 minutes ago

    I have an actual legal question here, as opposed to weighing in on one side or the other as to whether this professor is or is not a “biggot.”

    Do lawsuits like these - defamation lawsuits based on someone calling someone else a racist - get filed much? And if so, do they ever succeed? And if so, on what grounds and what sort of damages might be awarded?

    It seem s to me that someone filing a suit like this had better be careful that he or she doesn’t end up like Oscar Wilde!

46. Posted by Will - 3 months, 3 weeks, 5 days, 17 hours, 54 minutes ago

    These comment boards are always amusing. The personal attacks are sad for one and I commend the people who actually think/type about the situation at hand.(What really matters). Nobody cares where you received your degree from or how much you think you know regardless of your acheivements. If you are not adding to the situation at hand, don’t type at all, please. I also love how people comment on what they will never be, experience or understand. I want an open line of communication with everyone, but keep it intelligent. ask or say anything and i’ll try to respond

47. Posted by Anonymous - 3 months, 3 weeks, 5 days, 17 hours, 30 minutes ago

    I also don’t like the segregation stuff, though I come to it from a different perspective than most people.  As a matter of fact, despite being in more racist atmospheres I still managed to have friends who weren’t white & I’m white myself (most of my real friends growing up were black & someone being a different race wasn’t novel to me since I was around people of other races starting at 4 and maybe even sooner considering my family).  Shelby (#28) hit the nail on the head & described the situation at my undergrad as well as my view on the whole concept of separatism.  My high school had a similar group but the group didn’t run around calling white people racists, avoiding anyone not like them or demanding handouts due to being black; would have been ironic considering most of the people at that school were black.

    I actually break a norm & don’t identify w/white people since most of them don’t look like me.  If I’m also in a given situation, it’s more likely that someone who isn’t white (any race you can think of) is more likely to talk to me than a white person; I’m more shy so I don’t tend to strike up conversations at random w/anyone.  If you want to call me someone who is more receptive to people of color, that’s fine since I don’t really have a side of the table to go to though I didn’t know that sort of thing radiated off someone.

    I don’t support affirmative action myself but that’s b/c if I ran things, the racists would be dead (of any race, not just white) & things would be a lot different.  I grew up in the South, btw but didn’t see race as a huge issue until I lived in Atlanta.

48. Posted by Oscar Wilde - 3 months, 3 weeks, 5 days, 17 hours, 29 minutes ago

    Thanks, Will.  What do you think about the infield fly rule?

49. Posted by Martin L. King - 3 months, 3 weeks, 5 days, 17 hours, 19 minutes ago

    Hi Will, Question for you:

    What is your opinion of Jane Austin’s “Pride and Prejudice”?

50. Posted by Level 70 Prot. Warrior - 3 months, 3 weeks, 5 days, 16 hours, 53 minutes ago

    Hey Will.  Is it just me, or are Warlocks WAY overpowered?

51. Posted by Arkansas Attorney - 3 months, 3 weeks, 5 days, 16 hours, 48 minutes ago

    It is definitely interesting to see the various comments from individuals who are engaged (are who desire to be engaged) in the legal profession.

    I am an African-American attorney who graduated from UALR in 2005.  I had a very close relationship to Prof. Peltz due to our similiar academic pursuits.

    Despite my person realtionship with the man, I was surprised by his in class comments and stood behind the law students right to complain to the adminstration.  For clarification, no PUBLIC letter was written that labeled the professor a racist- this was all discussion between the students and their administration.

    Anyone who has read the Complaint (or even gone to law school and read this article) can see that there is no legal basis for his claim and that it will be dismissed unless his complaint is revised.

    No one is questioning his right to oppose affirmative action.  He can scream it from the rafters if he liked.  HOWEVER, the students who were offended have an equal right to call their professor to task if they feel it is unacceptable.

    Last year, this situation was resolved...a year later he files a Complaint.  It a shame that some feel that personal character attacks would merit a lawsuit that would prohibits students from going to their adminstration about their academic climate.

52. Posted by Level 70 Prot. Warrior - 3 months, 3 weeks, 5 days, 16 hours, 45 minutes ago

    I kid, I kid.  Will does have an excellent point, but it will almost certainly fall on deaf ears.  Here’s how the internet works:
    Step 1: Read enough of the article to get pissed.
    Step 2: Read a few of the comments, at least enough to decide you are intellectually, morally, and economically superior to everyone posting.
    Step 3: Post your opinion, but be sure that there’s at least a 2:1 ratio of ego-puffery to content.  (Important!  2:1 is only a minimum!  Feel free to really put that e-peen on display!)
    Step 4a: Abandon the thread, confident that you brought reason to the savages or
    Step 4b: Await responses.  The posters agreeing with you are correct.  Inflate ego accordingly.  The posters disagreeing with you are misguided and/or intellectually, morally, and economically inferior to you.  Feel free to let them know.

53. Posted by Merkury43 - 3 months, 3 weeks, 5 days, 16 hours, 32 minutes ago

    I am sooo tired of hearing about all this affirmative action stuff. We’re beating a dead horse. It is what it is. People fail to realize the reasoning behind affirmative action: trying to equalize a playing field that never was, and still isn’t, equal. If you’re in law school, or made it through law school, shut up and be grateful, and stop worrying about who else is getting in and why.

54. Posted by Apparently I'm a racist because I'm white - 3 months, 3 weeks, 5 days, 15 hours, 33 minutes ago

    It’s ironic that those who probably feel they are lending the most credible and reliable information to the discussion (i.e. grammatical correctness), have completely tarnished their own credibility. Even me. What am I saying? Spelling contest anyone?
    I’m not an affirmative action advocate, because I have over $100K in loans; but these conversations,whether in public forums or in classrooms, always seem to denigrate to a contest about your own credibility. I’d be curious to know how the topic of points awarded on an exam came up in relation to a person’s race. What was the point of that conversation? It was probably affirmative action, in which case it makes an interesting point. And that’s it. Just because a white person talks about race, doesn’t make them racist. And while I was a white student, I’m repeatedly informed to the contrary (currently I am a white lawyer for those of you with the quick wit ;). Therefore, I don’t discuss race unless I am anonymous. Or if I’m talking to other white people, because if I talk to a black person about black people, I’m racist just for noticing he or she is black. I would never be so bold as to discuss race beyond the text in a classroom; and if I was ever hired as a professor’s private counsel, I would advise him or her against it as well. Intolerance, impatience, and insecurity make the climate a little too hot and dry to consider lighting a match.

55. Posted by mossstyle - 3 months, 3 weeks, 5 days, 15 hours, 24 minutes ago

    I graduated from UALR and was actually in the classes that are at the center of all of this controversy.  Also, I sat next to one of the defendants in a class or two and always stopped to talk to her around campus.  Professor Peltz did not just show Onion article as a response to the classroom debate on affirmative action.  Professor Peltz would frequently begin class with a clip from The Daily Show or an article from The Onion. 

    Concerning giving “People of Color” an extra point if they tied with a Caucasian; the following is what actually happened.  Towards the end of the semester, Professor Peltz said that he had reflected upon certain student’s arguments that “People of Color” - not “Black” - had been discriminated in the past in the realm public schools and higher education.  He then passed out a form to all students allowed an individual to check, just like on a college application, whether they were “African American,” “Native American,” etc. He then said that if you wanted to turn it in with your numbered exam, and you scored the exact same as someone who did not refer to themselves as a traditionally discriminated class, then you would receive one extra point.  Professor Peltz would not know when he was grading the exams if a particular exam number matched with a form that identified a persons race, rather, his secretary would have been the one to actually award the extra point when she matched the exam numbers to the racial identification numbers.  Finally, for those of you who have attended law school, you know that a Con Law exam is not based on 100 points.  My Torts exam had over 1300 possible points.  No one was actually going to get a better grade based on their race and it was not as if Professor Peltz said “I am going to single out Black students and give them an extra point.”
    Finally, what the article also does not say is that the students and the BLSA attempted to convince the faculty to discipline Professor Peltz.  They attempted to convince the faculty to restrict Professor Peltz from teaching any mandatory classes, such as Con Law, that “People of Color” might be forced to take as part of the curricula.  They tried to force him to take sensitivity training.  Basically, they tried to rail road him because, in Con Law class, he said that he felt that affirmative action was unconstitutional.  He was not the only one.  There were plenty of students that agreed with Professor Peltz’s point of view and said so in class.

56. Posted by Court Clerk - 3 months, 3 weeks, 5 days, 15 hours, 19 minutes ago

    The complaint with the exhibits are here:

    www.pulaskiclerk.net

    goto court records, chose civil, search for “peltz” name and choose docket entries

    you may read the complaint and letters for yourself

    I love the internet.

57. Posted by T-Lyn - 3 months, 3 weeks, 5 days, 15 hours, 17 minutes ago

    Funny how when we hear “affirmative action” we think color… Not being from this country I read quite a bit about this issue when I took a class - Law & Social Justice – in law school.  I remember when my professor cited the stats which indicated that white women had benefited from affirmative action far more than any other single group listed in the bill signed in 1965, two white women got up and walked out! I see the same thing here at work.  There is a large and powerful women network group which does not hesitate to ask leadership why women make up less than 10% of the partnership rank when they make up more than 50% of the new hires each year. Why is affirmative action acceptable when it benefits women and becomes a dirty phrase when blacks benefit?

58. Posted by court clerk - 3 months, 3 weeks, 5 days, 15 hours, 15 minutes ago

    Amended Post 56…

    www.pulaskiclerk.com

    that is

59. Posted by WOULD YOU LIKE TO KNOW WHAT WAS WRONG WITH HIS COM - 3 months, 3 weeks, 5 days, 14 hours, 6 minutes ago

    Would you like to know what was wrong with what he said?

    It was not the political point he was trying to make.

    And it was not the fact that it was done in the classroom.

    It was the fact that he directed it at the black students in that classrooom.

    Note how many people took exception to people criticizing BIGLAW and calling him a bigot.  At least one person wrote that we should avoid the personal attacks.

    When that professor in that classroom effectively turned what was a political debate on the general practice of affirmative action and turned it into a directed attack at the black people in that classroom, he stepped over the line.  With that one comment he turned a debate among a classroom of equal students into a debate between the “real” students (ie. white) and the black students who were thereby categorized as a stereotype: the inferior charity case.

    Imagine, if you will, that BIGLAW’s comment had been not a generalization but specifically targeted at every black commentator on this website.  Would that be an over the line attack or merely a mere political argument?

60. Posted by Shocked - 3 months, 3 weeks, 5 days, 14 hours, 3 minutes ago

    Have we learned nothing from fighting other people’s battles?
    Everyone apologize and move on.

61. Posted by mossstyle - 3 months, 3 weeks, 5 days, 13 hours, 36 minutes ago

    post 59 - that was a matter of perception...i sure did not see that - and yes, I am white...I also have a gay African American roommate, my best friend is Native American, and I just spent the week with a Jewish family in New York...you turned it into an us against them thing - not Professor Peltz

62. Posted by Lawya - 3 months, 3 weeks, 5 days, 13 hours, 36 minutes ago

    @WOULD YOU LIKE TO KNOW WHAT WAS WRONG WITH HIS COM

    There you go, you knock that strawman on his ass!

    Also, capslock is cruise control for cool.

63. Posted by HVBax - 3 months, 3 weeks, 5 days, 13 hours, 28 minutes ago

    Re: “the black students who were thereby categorized as a stereotype: the inferior charity case.” This reflects a consequence, probably unintended, of affirmative action, and is why many members of a minority that might benefit from it oppose affirmative action.  They do want to be in a system where others might assume that their achievements were obtained not on their own work and merits but with “a little extra help” and the further implication that they needed extra help. And I agree with their perspective.
    At one time this country needed radical measures to put the Civil Rights laws into practice and effect.  Perhaps the need is not as great now and those measures should be softened some?  If all of the contracts go to minority/women owned businesses and none to majority/male businesses, hasn’t the problem been solved and rule needs to be relaxed some?  Shouldn’t the removal of artificial devices that breed resentment be one of the goals?

64. Posted by Gary Lander - 3 months, 3 weeks, 5 days, 13 hours, 12 minutes ago

    As a lawyer for 37 years and a baseball fan for longer, I say kudos to Oscar Wilde for asking Will his opinion of the infield fly rule.  I think it should be on the bar exam.  This obviously has been a serious exchange of views, but this levity (?) is all I could muster after 30 minutes of reading through all of the posts on a Friday afternoon.  Take me out to the ball game.

65. Posted by Sali - 3 months, 3 weeks, 5 days, 13 hours, 10 minutes ago

    Well I can not wait to see how this unfolds.  Black people are always being labeled charity cases.  I experience it on jobs when I start and I notice that when I show my true intelligence the dumbest person on the job is still on a mission to prove me wrong.  I am still the one with the last laugh.

    I say as long as Black people continue to win discrimination lawsuits, then the wrongdoer will continue to pay for their behavior.  I sure hope this Prof has his ducks lined up.  He has potentially ruined the students career’s while I am sure he built his around the behavior he was known for having.

66. Posted by Student in the class when it happened - 3 months, 3 weeks, 5 days, 13 hours, 3 minutes ago

    i lied i was not there and i could not have said something further from the truth.

67. Posted by Affirmative Action by the numbers - 3 months, 3 weeks, 5 days, 11 hours, 57 minutes ago

    Years of slavery + Jim Crow in USA = 357 (1964-1607)

    Years of “equality” = 44 (2008-1964)

68. Posted by mossstyle - 3 months, 3 weeks, 5 days, 11 hours, 38 minutes ago

    actually i was there

69. Posted by Further to the point of "Affirmative Action by the - 3 months, 3 weeks, 5 days, 9 hours, 58 minutes ago

    In 1607, a starter pistol went off (BANG!).  At that instant, most were allowed to join in the “race” of America, with the exception of at least one runner who was held back at the starting-line by shackles and chains.  Only after 357 years was the black descendent of that African-runner allowed to join in the “race”.  After sprinting for the past 44 years, in 2008 the black-runner is still far behind in the “race”; not necesarily because of his/her lack of effort, but instead due to the fact that his/her ancestor was involuntarily held back at the starting-line.

70. Posted by Not a hater - 3 months, 3 weeks, 5 days, 9 hours, 49 minutes ago

    As a student at UALR when this happened and as someone who was labeled a racist during this mess because of my law review membership, I am glad this case was brought into a “neutral” legal forum.  (Although since several judges were also involved with some of the racist allegations, the whole “neutral” thing is probably just a fantasy.) The plaintiffs created a hostile environment for many of their classmates and teachers during this time.  The administration failed to act in a timely and a fair manner and this suit is a result of that.  The legal community, including the judges, knew all about this.  It was very stressful for those us of who were just trying to get through school and to find gainful employment. 

    Feel free to criticize my grammar and punctuation. At this point in my life, I am more worried about billable hours than proper punctuation on a blog posting.

    Just as an FYI, the 3L plaintiffs are part time students and are taking 4+ years to graduate.

71. Posted by Everett - 3 months, 3 weeks, 5 days, 9 hours, 32 minutes ago

    "He ... was accused of criticizing affirmative action...”

    Doesn’t that just say it all. 

    So much for open and honest debate.

72. Posted by Push it to the Limit! - 3 months, 3 weeks, 5 days, 8 hours ago

    "Hey Will.  Is it just me, or are Warlocks WAY overpowered?”

    lolz 4 true.

73. Posted by Neisha - 3 months, 3 weeks, 5 days, 7 hours, 31 minutes ago

    People really do not understand what it is like to be black in America. While America is the best country in the world, we still have so far to go. If you (the white man) had to choose between hiring a qualified white man and a slightly more qualified black man, you would choose someone who look like you, your family members and friends. The problem though is that you have a lock on every aspect of the system. You control which laws to pass, which agencies to fund, which students to educate, etc… Affirmative action will never seem fair to you because you never have to worry if you didn’t get that job because you didn’t look like the hiring manager.

74. Posted by Neisha - 3 months, 3 weeks, 5 days, 7 hours, 30 minutes ago

    Feel free to attack my grammar as well, I have finals to study for!

75. Posted by Weary - 3 months, 3 weeks, 5 days, 6 hours, 19 minutes ago

    I should have known better than to end my week by reading the comments to this particular post.  It makes me weary to see how far we have not come on this issue of “race.” And really, what is “race” after all but some way to divide people from each other.

    Neisha, yes, it can be a hard struggle to be black in America.  It also can be a struggle to be poor in America...or overweight in America...or Choctaw in America.  What galls me about your comment is its gross generalization.  Not every white man only hires the person who looks like him, his friends and his family.  If that were the case, Ken Chenault would not be the CEO of American Express.

76. Posted by Mary M. - 3 months, 3 weeks, 4 days, 21 hours, 10 minutes ago

    Neisha, Weary has a point.  Generalizations like those in your comment can be as damaging as actual discrimination & rascism.  Minorities races and women have come a long way towards equality.  While there is still a long road ahead of us, continued comments like yours only help continue the division among the various ‘groups.’ I am a current 3L at a predominately white law school that promotes unity, without worrying what color or gender the students are.  Our head dean is black but all anyone notices is that he is a good dean who cares about all his students, as do the professors, regardless of their race or gender.

77. Posted by Joseph B Mansour, CFE, CPA, CEO, CFO - 3 months, 3 weeks, 4 days, 16 hours, 7 minutes ago

    Professor’s are there to encourage various thoughts from their students. At the heart of this case is the Professor’s ability to teach vs. the student’s ability to think of ways to test the system. We encourage students to test their thoughts in an accademic envirenment, without the recourse of the real world of injury. How else can a student learn. I believe the best solution here is for both sides to sit down and communicate about what is important. It is possible that both sides are right. But if teachers encourage students to test the system, so be it. As an an investigator of Fraud, Tax , finding hidden assets and various illegal schemes, I find my out of the box thinking aids me in obtaining good results for my clients. This thinking process is encouraged by my teachers when I was a student.  Proff. here is good advice, drop the law suit and be greatful you reached students who are reallly thinking. After all that is your goal for being a teacher is it not?

78. Posted by MC - 3 months, 3 weeks, 4 days, 14 hours, 15 minutes ago

    To “Not a hater” (post #70) - the *plaintiff* in this case is the beloved law professor, *not* the law students!  The law students are the defendants. 

    Did you say you were on law review?  And you are now concerned about billable hours?!  I hope you are not in litigation.

    The professor is a racist!  He should stick to teaching Constitutional Law and leave his personal veiws out of the classroom (e.g., giving an extra point to minorities who scored the same as White students on an exam - that is the most divisive, corrosive garbage I have ever heard).

79. Posted by 2L - 3 months, 3 weeks, 4 days, 7 hours, 44 minutes ago

    I will admit I did not take the time to read all of these posts (I stopped around 30) but I think this entire episode is ridiculous and should have been nipped in the bud by the administration.  At my law school the professor who is the best known and probably one of the most respected in the state is extremely inflammatory and makes no excuses about it.  He wants a response and he wants discussion.  If students are too timid to respond and debate openly they should not spread malicious rumors later in secret.  Both need thicker skin and there needs to be discussion (after all this is an institution of higher learning) not insinuation and legal action.

80. Posted by plaw07 - 3 months, 3 weeks, 3 days, 18 hours, 31 minutes ago

    What is the conceptual difference between reducing admission standards for minorities and awarding an extra point on an exam? Seems to me that the prevailing ethos in law schools, as well as most of academia, is that “inflammatory” = “good” except when the statement is uttered by a conservative or a white.

81. Posted by plaw07 - 3 months, 3 weeks, 3 days, 18 hours, 18 minutes ago

    I am aware that my sentiments will provoke, like an involuntary reflex, the charge that I am a racist. Zzzzzzz.....

    A sage whose named escapes me once said that “patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel”. In my humble view, accusations of racism--in this context and in this type of forum--are the last refuge of intellectually challenged people who have no other way of defending an indefensible position. It is clear to me that while the Emperor has no clothes, a whole army of commenters is willing to stake their gol-darned intellectual lives on the proposition that he does. And viciously to denigrate those who think otherwise.

82. Posted by plaw07 - 3 months, 3 weeks, 3 days, 18 hours, 5 minutes ago

    @67 and 69

    There have got to be a lot of veeerrrryyyyy old African Americans in law school these days. At the age of 56, I know I couldn’t handle first year again.

    I am pleased that our society has found a way adequately to compensate those African Americans who were denied entrance to law school in the early 17th century.

83. Posted by HVB - 3 months, 3 weeks, 3 days, 13 hours, 15 minutes ago

    #69:  Here’s where your track meet analogy fails: During the race, everyone stopped running to get into cars--even those who formerly wore shackles. The race started again with everyone on the starting line.  Meanwhile, new runners joined the race; they had worn shackles from other events, and had just a much catching up to do--and were at last look in the final pack.

84. Posted by Cali Girl - 3 months, 3 weeks, 2 days, 18 hours, 37 minutes ago

    How many generations has it been since we all had a dream that our children would be judged by the content of their character and not the color of their skin?  Too many. 

    Can’t we all just get along?

85. Posted by 2L - 3 months, 3 weeks, 2 days, 15 hours, 56 minutes ago

    Long live America;-)

86. Posted by RHG - 3 months, 3 weeks, 2 days, 12 hours, 58 minutes ago

    I assume we are not getting the full story because it appears that most of what is complained about, both sides actions are protected free speech.

    From the defendants’ perspective: even if the complaint was completely fabricated (which it appears all sides agree was not the case), a private complaint to the supervisor of a college would have nearly absolute privilege.  Right, wrong, or indifferent, there is a right to petition the Government for redress of grievances (i.e., to complain). 

    From the professor’s prospective:  comments during a debate, even if offensive to some, are likely privileged and help stir discussion, as is obvious from this case.  Likewise, in the debate about affirmative action, both sides often call the other side racist (allegedly racist for not wanting equal rights versus allegedly racists for advocating explicit racial discrimination). 

    The only item that gives pause is the alleged comment about awarding extra points to minority students.  However, since that does not appear to be a major issue, I suspect that it was either stated as a satirical example or not implemented.

87. Posted by What! - 3 months, 3 weeks, 2 days, 8 hours, 13 minutes ago

    If we are talking about judged by the color of skin.  Why in higher education do we have a Black Law Society?  How ridiculous is that! How polarizing!  I could understand a Martin Luther King law society, but not a club based on race instead of an idea.  Maybe the real problem here is the black law society.

88. Posted by mossstyle - 3 months, 2 weeks, 3 days, 14 hours, 19 minutes ago

    The problem with affirmative action is that it is based upon race as opposed to the needs of the individual.  UALR’s has a program named PLUS, which is an acronym for Pre-Law Undergraduate Scholars.  It should be called Pre-law for people who are not Caucasian.  The only person that I ever spoke to about this who was in the PLUS program was an African American individual whose father was an M.D.  Do the children of Doctors, regardless of the ethnicity, really need financial help?  Does the child of an M.D., who happens to be African American, deserve more help than a Caucasian child who grew up with a meth head mother in a trailer park?  We all know the answer to those questions.  And, by the way, my best friend is not a gay African American, but my roommate is.