I really enjoyed this week’s lecture because I got to meet the people helping to make decisions at Emory during COVID. I thought they did a really good job with their recommendations, and I personally had a great experience going to Emory during COVID, despite the unprecedented situation we were in. Although not all recommendations were adopted at the law school, such as 60-minute exams and not having proctored exams, a lot of the recommendations were adopted. Really helpful recommendations for zoom school were having each class recorded and making in person class optional if a person needed to stay home.
The student survey that Dr. Weeks spoke about also really stood out to me. People were worried that being schooled via Zoom at home would not be ideal. They were worried about having a quiet, internet-connected place to go to class and study. They were also worried that making friends and finding study groups would be much harder.
These worries were extremely relatable to me. I remember going through this situation myself, and ultimately choosing to go to law school even though the classes would mostly be on Zoom. My experience was different from my undergrad experience, and I struggled with many of these issues. I was fortunate to have a lot of other students living in my building, and so I was able to find one or two other students to study with. Overall, I am grateful we had professionals such as the ones that came in to make these decisions.
Nicholas, I am glad you found the discussion on the impact the pandemic had on education useful. I am sad that we weren’t able to hear from the K-12 superintendent because I do think the impacts there look a little different than what we experienced on a university campus, but I am glad that the class got at least a glance at all the work that was and still is going on behind the scenes to try and make sure everyone has access to their education.
I think timing our 1L law school year’s the way we did was a huge blessing and a huge curse. On the one hand, we spent the one year that you couldn’t do *anything* in a curriculum where you couldn’t do *anything.* It was two birds with one awful stone. On the other, our class has never gotten to know one another. It sounds like that may be the sort of lost opportunity that’ll cost all of us for years to come.
Hey Nick,
I think timing our 1L law school year’s the way we did was a huge blessing and a huge curse. On the one hand, we spent the one year that you couldn’t do *anything* in a curriculum where you couldn’t do *anything.* It was two birds with one awful stone. On the other, our class has never gotten to know one another. It sounds like that may be the sort of lost opportunity that’ll cost all of us for years to come.
Hey Nick,
I enjoyed the post. I felt the same way coming into law school. In retrospect, it was great getting to get 1L out of the way on a year that was already going to be heavily restricted. it’s two awful birds with one stone. The only part I regret is that we all didn’t get to know each other as closely as most law classes, given how so much of our initial courses were remote. And all the social events were on hold or in virtual formats (which is more like public speaking than a party since your face gets plastered up on the main frame for talking).
Example, I only know three or four other people who are going into patent law, which is crazy to me. I’m curious if you’ve thought the same.