During my time as associate dean for academic affairs, one of my duties was to receive reports of close family deaths during exam period and to excuse students from their exams during the grieving period so that they could travel home for funerals and memorial services, etc.  Although there was usually independent verification for most of these sad events, the number of grandparent deaths in particular, as a percentage of our total student body, seemed statistically improbable.  What was it, I wondered, about law students that put their grandparents at such high risk for a trip through the pearly gates?  Even on an age-adjusted basis, the numbers seemed high. 

As it turns out, the numbers are high.  This is a public-health issue that, until now, has gone largely unexamined and unaddressed.  Perhaps, once the implications of the following article are fully understood, we will be able to initiate some educational programs for seniors whose grandchildren are in law school, warning them of their greater vulnerability to illnesses and injuries that could lead to their demise during the exam period.  This is important, folks.  Someday, when you're the grandparent of a law student, you'll be glad you were warned. 

For more details about the magnitude of the health risk involved, click here.