Even while saying they won't follow the trial, many Harvard students acknowledge the case has raised important questions.
"The media gave a lot of people a better indication of how our legal system works," says Derek T. Ho '96.
Some students say they are concerned about the case's implications for race, the death penalty and civil liberties.
Sameer Chopra '97 says he questions the defense team's allegations that Simpson was the victim of a racist police investigation.
"As far as the racial set-up they were discussing, it's all crap," he says of defense allegations that Los Angeles police detective Mark Fuhrman planted evidence at Simpson's Brentwood estate. "In any case, with O.J.'s notoriety, racial accusations are bound to arise, but it's almost impossible that they're true."
Edwards-Pitt says she agrees with the prosecution's decision not to seek the death penalty against Simpson. "I don't think I agree with the death penalty," she says. "Have him sit in prison for the rest of his life."
Eric d. Miller '96, director of the Civil Liberties Union at Harvard (CLUH), says he hopes to have a panel discussion on issues raised by the trial. He says many of the motions filed by Simpson's defense team go right to the heart of constitutional questions about the civil liberties of defendants.
"In my view, the rights associated with the criminal justice process are the quintessential civil liberties," Miller says. "In my view, I think the exclusion of unconstitutionally obtained evidence is very important to achieve fundamental fairness in the system and to prevent violations from that right."
Other students are enthralled by the courtroom minutiae. Velasco says he found the legal arguments about the nature of DNA testing fascinating. Kevin B. Acklin '98 wonders about the contents of the mysterious envelope, which some media organization say contains an unusued knife purchased by Simspon.
"I don't know what's in it," he says. "It's probably lab results, but it's hard to tell."
One student, Chen M. Yu '96, says the case has taught him a lot about how a trial judge should behave.
"Lance Ito is God," he says