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szdaily -> Kaleidoscope -> 
Law student sues Harvard over tuition
    2020-06-25  08:53    Shenzhen Daily

A HARVARD law student has filed a lawsuit against the university because tuition prices and fees have remained the same despite classes moving to remote learning due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“I decided to sue Harvard because while they did make some effort ... the first semester we were online to mitigate things, they just have not lowered tuition,” Abraham Barkhordar, 23, said in an exclusive interview.

“They’ve actually suggested that to mitigate the difficulties of online learning that we rent office space as students,” said Barkhordar. “I just felt overall disrespected and unheard by the administration. And I think, as I’ve learned this year, the way to get justice in America is through the legal system.”

In March, during the height of the pandemic and in the middle of the semester, Barkhordar said he was forced to move out of his on-campus housing with very little notice. He decided to go home, which involved flying across the country and moving back in with his parents in California, where he said disruptions were commonplace since five people were living in one home.

Barkhordar said he felt like he was at a disadvantage. Since law school relies on participation, he said he had to wake up at 5 a.m. for class. And without the student spaces like the library and the study groups that usually come with a Harvard Law School education — in addition to the difficulty of learning online — he began to fall behind in class.

In May, he finished his first year of law school, 3,000 miles (4,800 kilometers) away from the library he said he had previously “lived in.”

The law school announced that classes will remain virtual into the fall while tuition will remain at US$65,875 — the same price as last year.

While Barkhordar’s lawsuit is strictly regarding this past spring semester, LeElle Slifer, one of the attorneys representing Barkhordar, said they may amend the complaint later to include the upcoming fall semester. Under Massachusetts state law, a plaintiff cannot sue for an anticipated breach of contract.

This past spring, most universities and colleges across the U.S. went remote as the novel coronavirus swept across the country. Classes were held over Zoom, many students moved back home and most tuition prices remained unchanged.

But by the end of the semester, more than 50 schools and universities faced legal complaints from students demanding that tuition or fees be refunded. Drexel University in Philadelphia, Columbia University in New York City, Michigan State, Vanderbilt, Brown, Berkley and the University of Colorado are some of the schools facing these legal challenges. In each claim, the plaintiffs — the students — center their argument around the fact that there was diminished value in an isolated, virtual education.

Barkhordar said he’s bringing the lawsuit against Harvard in the hope it becomes a class action lawsuit, saying he’s fully prepared and ready to represent his fellow classmates, which could be considered an injured class in court. (SD-Agencies)

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