There's a new university law school course named after Freddie Gray — here's the class description

Business Insider ^ | 08/12/2015 | Peter Jacobs

[SeekAndFind]

The University of Maryland law school will offer a course this upcoming semester on the arrest and resulting death of Freddie Gray, a black Baltimore resident whose death led to protests and unrest across the city.

Forty UMD students are enrolled in the course — called "Freddie Gray's Baltimore: Past, Present, and Moving Forward" — which will run for eight classes and be taught by law professors, as well as city officials. The law school announced the course Tuesday, and it already appears to have filled up.

Gray's death and the following unrest in Baltimore, the course's description states, "have highlighted and/or uncovered serious on-going social and financial dislocations within the City."

Here's more on what "Freddie Gray's Baltimore" will cover:

__________________________________________________

The course will examine the recent unrest itself and then examine the causes of, and possible solutions to, those dislocations, including an examination of problems in policing; criminal justice; housing; health care; education; poverty; and community development and joblessness. The course is not viewed by its organizers as an end in itself. Rather, it is intended to be a springboard for further student and faculty involvement in citizen and government efforts to reform law and policy in the subject matter areas listed above.

__________________________________________________

UMD may be in a unique position to address these issues.

[Teacher317]

Baltimore is desperate to become the next Detroit. In the 1960 census, Detroit was 80 percent white, was number five in the US by population, and was a boom town thanks to the manufacturing base going on overdrive for two decades after WWII. They also had a Republican mayor for 50 of the 57 years from 1905 until 1962... and have not had one since.

Then the 1967 Race Riots happened.

300,000 whites left by the next census, and HALF of all remaining whites left EVERY decades for the next 3 decades. NINETY-FIVE PERCENT of the white population from 1950 is no longer there as of the 2010 census. Whites generally don't riot, and don't fight back... but most do walk away once they are made to feel unwelcome... and Detroit has yet to recover. Houses and properties can be purchased for $1, and they have no buyers, because the back taxes are so oppressive that any investment would be unwise.

Baltimore is following the exact same pattern. What do they say about repeatedly doing the same thing and expecting different results?

[WayneS]

Clearly, the University of Maryland does not run a top-tier law school.

[kevkrom]

Meh. Using current events to “sell” a class that would probably be offered under another name anyway.

[WayneS]

When I followed the link in the article to the University’s curriculum web-site I got this:

http://www.law.umaryland.edu/academics/program/curriculum/catalog/course_details.html

[WayneS]

Further searching yielded this:

http://www.law.umaryland.edu/academics/program/curriculum/catalog/course_details.html?coursenum=552M

[WayneS]

Nevertheless, it is being offered by the University of Maryland’s Francis King Carey School of Law.

[WayneS]

From the course description: “The course will be taught on a Credit/No Credit basis. Attendance will be mandatory, but teaching faculty will allow for one (1) excused absence. Readings of no more than 20 pages per week will be assigned, but required reading may be supplemented by further recommended reading. Grading will be based on attendance and a short paper (8-10 pages) in which each student will recommend a solution that would address social problems identified in the class”

[BenLurkin]

[BatGuano]

Who would now take a Law Degree from the University of Maryland at face value? NOT I!

[EinNYC]

I wonder if the tuition-paying parents of the students know which courses their offspring are taking. If they saw this, they might tell the kid to pay their own tuition to take garbage like this.

[P.O.E.]

If I were black, I’d be insulted by all this pandering.

[BatGuano]

I have a friend who taught contract law as an adjunct professor at a large, Florida university. He told me that most of the students, pre-law students, could not write their thoughts on paper.

Pandering courses and any course that ends in “studies” is not worth the tuition to take or evidence on a transcript that the student was taking college seriously.

[JayAr36]

Grab your ankles friends, BOHICA!

[Half Vast Conspiracy]

http://www.law.umaryland.edu/academics/program/curriculum/catalog/course_details.html?coursenum=552M

[JayAr36]

How about a course for the black community that teaches RESPECT for others; women, law, community, education and to stay away from drugs or in other citizen type activities. The common things that normal people accept and live by.

[duffee]

I wonder if Freddie’s “Cash for Crash” will be taught as part of the curriculum? or if they’ll teach that he was a good but misunderstood boy who was just trying to turn his life around so he could become a rap star and care for his family.

[SeekAndFind]

FROM THE COURSE DESCRIPTION:

____________________________________________________________

Special Topic: Freddie Gray’s Baltimore: Past, Present and Moving Forward (1)

The idea for this course emanates from the recent disturbances in Baltimore arising from Freddie Gray’s arrest and his resulting death. These events have highlighted and/or uncovered serious on-going social and financial dislocations within the City. The course will examine the recent unrest itself and then examine the causes of, and possible solutions to, those dislocations, including an examination of problems in policing; criminal justice; housing; health care; education; poverty; and community development and joblessness. The course is not viewed by its organizers as an end in itself. Rather, it is intended to be a springboard for further student and faculty involvement in citizen and government efforts to reform law and policy in the subject matter areas listed above. Students will be apprised throughout the course of volunteer opportunities to work on the issues addressed in the course.

Each of the eight classes will principally be under the supervision of members of the law school faculty supplemented by other academics, experts and officeholders. Overall course administration will be handled by Professor Greenberger. Individual classes will be organized and taught in whole or in part by Professors Bezdek, Eisenberg, Goodmark, Guerin, Hoffmann, Hutchins, Leviton, Pinard and Weimer.

The course will be taught on a Credit/No Credit basis. Attendance will be mandatory, but teaching faculty will allow for one (1) excused absence. Readings of no more than 20 pages per week will be assigned, but required reading may be supplemented by further recommended reading. Grading will be based on attendance and a short paper (8-10 pages) in which each student will recommend a solution that would address social problems identified in the class.

Current & Previous Instructors:
Michael Greenberger;

552M (CRN: 97569) Credits: 1
Greenberger.
Fall, 2015 (Day).
Thurs: 3:15-5:15 September 3 - October 22.
Room 107.
0 openings. (Limit 40).
Booklist (Updated 8/4/2015).

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

What, no discussion of illegitimacy or black-on-black crime?

Maryland “Freak State” PING!