Notably pricy with tuition rates staggering at a $67K per year, Washington University School of Law ranks among the priciest law schools in the United States. For those considering transferring to a more affordable institution, a cautionary tale may give pause. A law student, Allie Brown, transferred to Georgetown with the expectation of not having to pay for a year she wouldn’t spend at WashU, only to be billed $17,000 nonetheless.
This, Brown contends, is an act of retaliation by the university, a response to accusations of threat she incurred from a professor and fellow students. This situation, filled with considerable drama, seems to stem from a law school debate on tone policing. Brown referenced the term “Uncle Tom” during a class, resulting in her professor insisting on a more “professional language.”
But the heart of academia is in the free exchange of ideas, regardless of the diction or language used. Whether discussing the implication of housing policies or the case of a Tennessee judge criminally charging Black children for a non-existent crime, critical discourse shouldn’t be limited by the choice of words.
The severity of the situation escalates when we consider the repercussions; if Brown does not pay the imposed amount, the school can withhold her transcripts, hindering her ability to secure a job post-graduation due to bureaucratic hurdles. To borrow from Brown’s narrative, the situation is deeply concerning and brings into sharp relief matters of academic freedom, freedom of speech, and the right to a free exchange of ideas in the modern law school environment.
Read the full account of Allie Brown’s experience here.