The test must go on.
A Fordham Law grad went into cardiac arrest while taking the bar exam Wednesday, but other aspiring lawyers were reportedly forced to shoulder on during the scary ordeal.
As school safety officials worked to revive the unidentified woman inside Hofstra University’s sports complex in Hempstead, Long Island, proctors didn’t immediately pause the second day of the New York State Bar Examination, according to Newsday and ABC 7, which spoke with test-takers.
“That’s a real person who could be dying right in front of us, and we’re still being expected to continue to finish our questions for this exam,” one law student told the newspaper.
The medical episode happened just before a lunch break, when the woman fell from her chair and went into medical distress inside the David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex, a Hofstra spokesperson told The Post.
Public safety officers immediately provided CPR and other life-saving measures until paramedics reached the scene and rushed her to a local hospital. Her condition was not immediately known.
When test-takers returned from lunch, the scene was clear, and they didn’t hear about the unnerving moment again.
“From a purely human standpoint, that’s another human being in distress. And that’s not something that you could just be flip to the back of your mind immediately — at least for me,” the law student also told Newsday, which reported the pupil was also from Fordham Law.
But the state Board of Law Examiners, which administers the tests, defended the proctors’ actions.
“This event occurred only a few minutes before the scheduled end of the exam session,” the board said in a statement to ABC 7. “Our staff came to the examinee’s aid as soon as they were alerted to the situation.”
But another student, Isaac, claimed to the outlet that there wasn’t enough urgency from the staff.
“The students around her were telling the proctors, ‘Why are you refusing to seek assistance?’” he said. “And she kept on saying, ‘Shut up, and continue with the exam.’”
Some students near the medical emergency were in tears and moved their seats for arriving first responders, Newsday reported.
The Post could not reach the state board for comment Friday.
Applicants need to pass the state bar exam to practice law in New York.
Nicole Lefton, who is a Hofstra Law School instructor and head of academic support and bar exam preparation, told test-takers that services were available in the aftermath of the shocking incident.
“We understand that witnessing a medical incident during the Bar Exam today may have been distressing,” she wrote, per Newsday.
“While we cannot share any medical details about the incident, we want to acknowledge the impact it may have had on you.”
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