# Law School searches for the 'appropriate' response to Rabois ## ### June Cohen Editorial staff Law School community mem bers, responding to anti-gay remarks made by first-year law student Keith Rabois, have cho sen a number of different outlets for their anger — including send ing a letter detailing Rabois' com ments to a law firm he had hoped to work for. Meanwhile, the reactions them selves have become a topic of dis cussion at the Law School this week, with some law students complaining the response has been marked by personal attacks on Rabois rather than an intelligent discussion of the issues raised by his behavior. More than 100 people and repre sentatives of at least three local newspapers showed up to view an address on "Free Speech, Hate Speech," advertised through fliers and scheduled to be delivered by Rabois yesterday afternoon. Rabois, however, failed to show. Several students sent reports of the Jan. 19 incident in Otero to one of the law firms Rabois hopes to work for; more than 400 people signed a petition disassociating the Law School from the anti-gay remarks; and a poster with Rabois' face and a Daily article has attracted myriad comments and signatures, ranging from "Keith, you witch, welcome to Salem" to "Only a truly small mind would express itself in this manner you have chosen." Rebecca Laibson, a first-year law student, said "I think his com ments were inappropriate, but the reactions were also inappropriate. "I had hoped a response to an incident like this would be an opportunity to discuss homophobia and other issues in an open forum, rather than a personal attack on one individual," Laibson said. But others were less critical of the community re sponse. "I think the initial reac tions showed hurt and anger, and were more ex treme," said Suz- Anne Woods, a second-year law student. "But overall I think the response has been fairly measured." Several students last week sent a letter enclosing Daily reports of the incident to a Newport Beach law firm at which Rabois is a final ist for a position, according to sec ond-year law student Jamie Ker shaw. The students, in what Kershaw described as an act of "retributive justice or vengeance or whatever," said in the letter that they wanted to bring the issue to the firm's attention, Kershaw said. The stu dents are planning to send similar letters to every law firm in Cali fornia, he added. Kershaw emphasized that the students who sent the letter were straight. Whether the incident would affect Rabois' career aspirations was a point of contention among law students. Some, like law stu dent Allison Tucher, who hung the posters in the student lounge, said the incident would "certainly hurt his chances if law firms heard about it." Others, however, were less sure. "In certain firms it would hurt, but in other firms it would probably help," said one law student who asked not to be identified. Gays encouraged More than 400 Law School stu dents, deans, staff and faculty members signed a petition disso dating the Law School from the anti-gay remarks. The document appears as a half-page ad in today's Daily. Law School Dean Paul Brest said the ad "seem(ed) just the appropriate way for the institution to respond — not with official sanc tions nor with vituperations, but just by putting itself on record" as objecting to the behavior. The strength of the response — if not the specific courses it has followed — has been a source of encouragement and support for several gay, lesbian and bisexual students in the Law School. "It's been nice not to have to initiate a lot of the response," said Tom Nolan, a second-year law student who is a co-chair of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual Law Stu dents Association "When something like this happens, it's hard not to respond emotionally. . . . It's easy to feel isolated," Nolan said, adding that he found the involvement of straight students in the response particularly encouraging. Along with galvanizing com munity support, last week's inci dent at Otero has also provoked wide-ranging campus discussion. First Amendment law, the Uni versity's Fundamental Standard and appropriate community responses to hateful speech have all cropped up in both classroom and informal student discussions. Brest said the focus of commu nity discussion has been "less about constitutional issues and more about appropriate non-legal responses." Woods added, "I think there's a remarkable consensus that he had the right to make the com ments — no one has denied that. But we are exercising our free speech rights to tell him that we — as a community — don't share his views." Another student, who did not wish to be identified, said the question of whether such inci dents should be disclosed to the community is more difficult. The student said "this was a fairly easy case" to decide because of the public nature of the event. But he added, "Where do you draw the line? The answer's not so clear" in such cases as plagia rism and cheating. Rabois could not be reached for comment yesterday.