A student group suing Harvard Law School over its minority faculty hiring policies just won't take "no" for an answer.

A superior court dismissed the group's case last February on the basis of the students' standing--in other words, students may not litigate claims against Harvard over matters of university policy.

But representatives of the Coalition for Civil Rights (CCR), which is composed of six minority law student groups and the Women's Law Association, say they plan to pursue their case to the highest level possible in the state.

"This issue is critically important in civil rights law," says third-year law student John C. Bonifaz, a CCR member.

The path the case will take in the Massachusetts legal system is unclear right now, however. The suit was filed in the fall of 1990.

In early December, CCR filed a motion for direct appellate review, which would take the case directly to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.

Later in the month, though, CCR also filed for an appeal.

Various organizations from around Massachusetts and the nation have filed an amici curiae brief in support of the students' case.

Harvard's counsel, Allan Ryan, says he plans to continue the University's original arguments against the student group.

The Right to Sue?

The CCR case will be the first time the Massachusetts courts have ruled on whether students have a right to sue their schools, according to Bonifaz.

Ryan says the law is clear on this point. "Massachusetts law does not give students the right to litigate claims such as these," he says.

But in the interests of ending discrimination, argues third-year law and CCR member student Laura E. Hankins, the court must broaden its definition of who can bring suit. Hankins says she believes that students are the only group in the University community likely to go to court over issues of faculty hiring.

"The people being considered don't want to make waves because of jobs down the line and the people in jobs won't either," she says. So students are the only people who would file."

Hoping for a Victory