Complaints are beginning to roll in about last week's earthquake
disrupting the first day of the California bar exam after hundreds of
test takers in a room close to the epicenter were promised an extra
five minutes.
On July 29, a magnitude 5.4 earthquake struck the Los Angeles area at
about 20 minutes before noon. No major damage or injuries were
reported.
Thousands of people taking the California bar exam were wrapping up
essays during the final minutes of the morning session when the
earthquake rattled rooms, some of which were close to the epicenter
about 30 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles.
Steve Mitchell, an Orange, Calif., resident, was in the smaller half of
a ballroom at the Ontario Convention Center with hundreds of other test
takers when he began to feel rumbling. The tables shook, people
screamed, the lights swayed and some ceiling tiles fell, hitting a guy
behind him. He got down on his knees, prepared to get under the table.
Later, during the lunch break, he heard that the people in another part
of the ballroom were told they would get an extra five minutes to take
the exam.
"Our smaller room didn't get any kind of announcement," he said.
"If we lost anywhere from two to five minutes, that's potentially five
to 10 points you could get on the test," he added. "If I were a person
who did not pass, and it was by five points, and I was in a room that
got a five-minute disruption from the earthquake, I would definitely
protest it. I would definitely make it an issue."
Cori Jones, a student at the University of La Verne College of Law, was
in the half of the ballroom that was promised the five minutes.
"The proctor did announce in our room that we would get an extra five minutes to finish the exam," Jones wrote in an email to The National Law Journal.
"However, promptly at the three hour mark he called time. I asked the
two gentlemen sitting next to me if we had gotten any extra time by
their watches and they said no."
But Jones said the exams should not be graded differently, adding that
"there has been a lot of hype and complaining about the situation."
Rick Harris, a claims specialist in Portland, Maine, said he had just
finished his exam in a basement room of the Anaheim Convention Center
when the earthquake hit. He heard crashing and saw people screaming or
jumping under their desks.
He said he had no complaints, since he was finished with his test. But
he felt bad for others who were struggling with the exam amid rumbling
and lights swaying overhead.
He heard that others in the Ontario Convention Center had been promised
an extra five minutes but didn't get it. "If I was taking the exam in
Ontario and needed the extra five minutes, I would be upset," he said.
Gayle Murphy, senior executive of admissions at the State Bar of
California, admitted that "people might not appreciate the fact they
didn't get an extra five minutes."
She said she had not received letters or complaints so far but
anticipated several to arrive after the test results come out in
November. "We know what happened obviously, and we'll take that into
account when we do an evaluation of the exam," she said.
-- Amanda Bronstad