Michael Berdan ‘22
Staff Editor
On Friday, Dean Risa Goluboff hosted a school-wide “Coffee Break” on Zoom. After prefatory remarks, Dean Goluboff opened the floor to student questions.
A number of questions centered on the administrative withdrawal of Frannie Skardon ’22, and her subsequent appeal. Skardon’s National Guard unit was activated March 17 to respond to COVID-19. Skardon notified the administration of her change in status, indicating that the National Guard is accommodating her educational obligations by providing her six hours each day for study. The administration responded that Skardon cannot complete the semester while receiving full-time compensation from the National Guard, citing Academic Policy I.H., which bars students from paid employment in excess of 20 hours per week during the academic year.[1] Skardon was given two options: Take a leave of absence from UVA Law or be administratively withdrawn by the registrar. Skardon was not told about any appeal process or offered any other recourse. She independently discovered that an administrative withdrawal can, in fact, be appealed, so she elected not to take a leave of absence, and the withdrawal was enforced by the administration on Tuesday, March 31.
Having received only twenty-four hours to prepare her appeal, Skardon started an online petition and submitted a letter to the editor about her situation to the Law Weekly, both of which circulated rapidly through GroupMe, Facebook, Twitter, and word of mouth among students and alumni. Although Skardon specifically requested that the media not be involved, within hours, Above the Law published a scathing report on the situation. That evening, the UVA Law official Twitter account (@UVALaw) issued a brief statement to say that the Law School is proud of veterans and that Ms. Skardon’s situation is “working its way through the usual process.”[2] Rep. Doug Collins (R-GA), retweeted the story that evening, calling UVA Law’s actions “Shameful,” and calling on the school to overturn Skardon’s withdrawal.[3] Local news media picked up the story shortly thereafter.[4] In a since-deleted tweet, @UVALaw replied to Rep. Collins, calling the Above the Law article “Inaccurate,” and noting that the matter was still in process. The next day, April 2, after receiving over 5,700 signatures on the petition, and over 140 letters of support, the Academic Review Committee unanimously granted an exception allowing Skardon to remain a full-time student.
In the coffee break conversation with Dean Goluboff the next day, I asked Dean Goluboff the first question, wanting to know whether the Law School will change or review its procedures in light of these events, in order to better handle emergency situations where policy leads to an unacceptable result. Dean Goluboff noted that she is always reviewing events and actions in order to improve, but regretfully declined to answer any further, citing privacy concerns.
My question was followed by a series of questions from Savanna Williams ’21, asking in her personal capacity whether Dean Goluboff had personally contacted Ms. Skardon, whether individual administrators would face discipline for the handling of the matter, why Dean Goluboff did not step in and correct the situation, and why formal statements from the Law School were made that misleadingly presented the issue as an ongoing decision, rather than a final decision being appealed. Dean Goluboff replied that she had not yet contacted Ms. Skardon, but intended to do so. She declined to answer the other questions, citing privacy concerns. Subsequent questions from other students about the institutional implications of these events were also not answered, although student concerns and suggestions were acknowledged.
Other questions were directed to Kevin Donovan, Senior Assistant Dean of Career Development, concerning the impact of COVID-19 on the private practice job market. Dean Donovan noted that firms actively pursue UVA Law students and that it is their interest to maintain ties they have built with the School over such a long relationship. Economic conditions could force them to choose a different path, but firms are working hard to try to welcome new associates and hold summer programs in some form. He also assured students that the Office of Private Practice is working its network of connections with firms for any information, and, over the next two weeks or so, he expects firms to be coming to more concrete decisions about this summer and communicating those to his office and to students. Dean Donovan invites students to reach out to the Office of Private Practice with any questions or concerns.
While students commend Dean Goluboff for hosting a public Q&A session directly following this controversy, members of the student body and I were dismayed that so many questions, even those seemingly unrelated to privacy concerns, were left unanswered. In the midst of this crisis, students hoped that UVA Law would continue to hold to its human-centered values and were concerned that the rigid application of policy nearly carried the day. “I guess my primary emotion is confusion,” says Ida Abhari ’22. “I’m left wondering what is being prioritized here, given the overwhelming amount of evidence that these are not normal times and cannot be treated as such.”
Incoming president of the Virginia Law Veterans, Jordan Armstrong ’22, says his group is “grateful that the general UVA Law community... shares our commitment to the wellbeing of our vets and understands the value that we bring [to the Law School].” But Armstrong, while hopeful that this will lead to improvement in the Law School, also expressed disappointment: “It seems clear that the current policy hurt, most importantly, Frannie during a stressful time, [and] it also undoubtedly publicly damaged the core reputation of UVA Law as a collegial institution.” Air Force Veteran Nevah Jones ’22 echoed the sentiment, saying, “[T]his issue never should have been dependent on an ‘appeal.’ It’s beyond disappointing that the initial decision-maker was either unable or unwilling to make the right call on such a common-sense question.” Admitted students who are armed services veterans were reported to be reconsidering their application to UVA Law in light of the controversy, a feeling that wouldn’t surprise Jones, who commented, “I chose UVA Law because it has a reputation for being veteran-friendly. However, I will think twice about recommending it to fellow veterans going forward.”
I personally remain hopeful that the administration will take steps to remedy what failed last week. Most obviously, the Law School should impose a blanket requirement for administrators to inform all students subject to withdrawal of all possible avenues for appeal. The shared values that make UVA Law both great and good require policies and administrative action structured to support students and keep them in our community. Those values were betrayed when Frannie Skardon was guided toward withdrawal without being informed of her options to appeal. In the wake of the matter’s resolution and the subsequent conversation with the Dean, students expect changes to be made to ensure that this will not happen again.
[Update]
The Law Weekly received a joint statement from Dean Goluboff and Frances Skardon ’22. Read it here.
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mwb4pk@virginia.edu
[1] https://www.law.virginia.edu/policies/i-academic-policies-and-procedures#ig
[2] https://twitter.com/UVALaw/status/1245539086636630021
[3] https://twitter.com/RepDougCollins/status/1245531120835399680
[4]https://www.whsv.com/content/news/UVA-student-activated-by-National-Guard-nearly-forced-to-withdraw-from-school-569334221.html