UChi Students & Alumni Taking Questions Forum

[zhenders]

Reminds me why I chose to go to Uchi. Dont come here if you're a PUSSY. Go to Berkeley or some other lame ass school

Even if this is a joke, ftfy. Most UofC rising 2Ls and 3Ls are friendly and chill. This kind of stupid-ass sexism isn't a thing here.

[Cantbanthesnowman]

Reminds me why I chose to go to Uchi. Dont come here if you're a PUSSY. Go to Berkeley or some other lame ass school

Even if this is a joke, ftfy. Most UofC rising 2Ls and 3Ls are friendly and chill. This kind of stupid-ass sexism isn't a thing here.

That has nothing to do with anything. The schools made a decision that people can come here and say things that might be offensive to some. Sorry you lost pal.

[daedalus2309]

Reminds me why I chose to go to Uchi. Dont come here if you're a PUSSY. Go to Berkeley or some other lame ass school

Even if this is a joke, ftfy. Most UofC rising 2Ls and 3Ls are friendly and chill. This kind of stupid-ass sexism isn't a thing here.

That has nothing to do with anything. The schools made a decision that people can come here and say things that might be offensive to some. Sorry you lost pal.

5% chance this guy actually goes here

[landshoes]

wtf is even happening right now in this thread

Reminds me why I chose to go to Uchi. Dont come here if you're a PUSSY. Go to Berkeley or some other lame ass school

Even if this is a joke, ftfy. Most UofC rising 2Ls and 3Ls are friendly and chill. This kind of stupid-ass sexism isn't a thing here.

That has nothing to do with anything. The schools made a decision that people can come here and say things that might be offensive to some. Sorry you lost pal.

5% chance this guy actually goes here

yeah this

[A. Nony Mouse]

Hey, look, turns out you CAN ban the snowman.

[UnicornHunter]

Hey, look, turns out you CAN ban the snowman.

[UnicornHunter]

I do think there's a mildly interesting conversation to be had regarding that letter. I thought it was poorly worded but agree with the overall gist. An academic atmosphere should be respectful but open.

[Eldon Tyrell]

What a weirdo.

[landshoes]

I do think there's a mildly interesting conversation to be had regarding that letter. I thought it was poorly worded but agree with the overall gist. An academic atmosphere should be respectful but open.

Right. This letter was more about posturing (and culture-war signaling) than about genuinely addressing the issue. It's disappointing because I feel like it's worth discussing. Geof Stone and Prof. Strauss have both addressed it before in a nuanced and respectful way. It can be done. This was not it. I would not feel respected as an incoming freshman who got that letter. It's not up to the intellectual or interpersonal standards that I've come to expect from U of C as an institution.

[landshoes]

Also so much of this is just really inflated and silly.

From here http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/loca ... story.html

And while formal policies on trigger warnings are rare — fewer than 1 percent of respondents said their institution had one — 15 percent said students had requested trigger warnings in their courses, and 12 percent said students complained about the absence of such warnings, according to the report from the coalition of more than 50 national nonprofits supporting First Amendment principles.

Students have...complained?!?! Surely the robust tenure system will protect professors from entertaining stupid complaints from students! Oh, wait, higer ed administrators are trying to gut the academy by replacing tenure-track professors with powerless adjuncts? Surely that's not the problem! How could it be the problem if it's not caused by 19-year-old girls?! I mean, really, let's focus on the serious issues here:

That same year, after a debate over sexual assault on campus was scheduled, students at Brown University organized a safe space on campus with counselors, bubbles, Play-Doh and pillows. The space was designed to give students who might find the discussion troubling a place to recuperate, The New York Times reported.

ACADEMIC FREEDOM WILL NEVER RECOVER FROM THIS INSULT

[UnicornHunter]

Also so much of this is just really inflated and silly.

From here http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/loca ... story.html

And while formal policies on trigger warnings are rare — fewer than 1 percent of respondents said their institution had one — 15 percent said students had requested trigger warnings in their courses, and 12 percent said students complained about the absence of such warnings, according to the report from the coalition of more than 50 national nonprofits supporting First Amendment principles.

Students have...complained?!?! Surely the robust tenure system will protect professors from entertaining stupid complaints from students! Oh, wait, higer ed administrators are trying to gut the academy by replacing tenure-track professors with powerless adjuncts? Surely that's not the problem! How could it be the problem if it's not caused by 19-year-old girls?! I mean, really, let's focus on the serious issues here:

That same year, after a debate over sexual assault on campus was scheduled, students at Brown University organized a safe space on campus with counselors, bubbles, Play-Doh and pillows. The space was designed to give students who might find the discussion troubling a place to recuperate, The New York Times reported.

ACADEMIC FREEDOM WILL NEVER RECOVER FROM THIS INSULT

The only thing I really have an issue with is schools not allowing speakers onto their campus.

http://www.thescrippsvoice.com/articles ... s-conflict
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/09/us/br ... islam.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/ar ... Sep12.html
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/gra ... -opinions/
http://theprincetontory.com/main/censor ... e-darwish/


Whatever you think of those speakers (and I loathe most of them) it's absolutely insane to me that we've gotten to the point where colleges can't even bring certain speakers on to campus. I graduated before the safe space/trigger warning movements really started, so I have no direct experience with them, but as an outsider looking in it does look like they've gone too far.

[landshoes]

I agree, but I think it's a completely different issue that gets conflated with various non-issues in order to form one big strawman.

If a student complains to a professor, the professor should be able to handle it. Handling disagreement is a basic part of free discourse, and is a basic part of an educator's job. So why are student complaints and desires so very threatening to professors that they are threatening to the existence of academic freedom?

The real threat to academic freedom is not students or student complaints. The real threat is money (or the lack thereof). If student complaints can threaten a professor's ability to put food on the table, then students DO have the power to shut down academic discourse. And too many people blame the students for complaining, when that's the student's prerogative. Students are young and might be foolish, that's why they need an education! Of course they will do things that might be unwise, or advocate for things that are unwise, or make complaints that do not reflect their best interests. Really, the problem is when student complaints can lead to a professor being fired. That only happens with the cooperation of the administration. And it happens readily when a professor is a replaceable adjunct with zero job security.

U of C can protect academic freedom without grandstanding about trigger warnings and safe spaces. Grant more professors tenure and give them real financial security. Increase university-provided research funding, so researchers don't rely on external grant funding from ideologically limited granting orgs.

Material security is the real driver of academic freedom. Talking about the concerns and desires of teenagers with a mocking tone is lip service at best. It might even be a dangerous distraction from the real threat to academic freedom---the people who hold the purse strings.

[landshoes]

Also, I realize my post was not entirely responsive to yours---but the inclusion of the idea of "trigger warnings" in the letter made it very clear that it was not just intended to discuss the type of academic freedom that results from having a diversity of speakers visiting a given school. Refusing to bar certain speakers from campus, I think, is the appropriate position for an administration to take. It simply has nothing to do with trigger warnings. Conflating trigger warnings with speakers being barred from campus is an indicator that the person doing the conflating is primarily interested in scoring points against a strawman---coddled millenials or whatever.

[thestruggle]

do most students go home stay in chicago for winter break or do most go back home right after finals?

[daedalus2309]

do most students go home stay in chicago for winter break or do most go back home right after finals?

90% leave town in my experience

[KMart]

do most students go home stay in chicago for winter break or do most go back home right after finals?

90% leave town in my experience

This sounds about right.

[Lawyerman08]

I'm signing up for a class where the prof asks for a statement of interest to join the class. I've never done one of these. Does anyone know how long/how substantive prof's expect these statements to be?

[daedalus2309]

Fed Courts with Mortara? It fits into my schedule well and I want to clerk eventually but Mortara is a polarizing figure. How is he as a professor?

Edit: and his evals are positive but have small sample sizes.

[WheninLaw]

Fed Courts with Mortara? It fits into my schedule well and I want to clerk eventually but Mortara is a polarizing figure. How is he as a professor?

Edit: and his evals are positive but have small sample sizes.

I took Crim Pro III and Fed Courts with him. He's certainly polarizing, but an excellent professor. Extremely difficult finals. Good mix of law professor and practitioner. Also, if you do well in the class and/or ask smart questions, he will help in the clerkship search.

Mortara probably gets UoC more clerkships than the other professors, combined.

[daedalus2309]

Fed Courts with Mortara? It fits into my schedule well and I want to clerk eventually but Mortara is a polarizing figure. How is he as a professor?

Edit: and his evals are positive but have small sample sizes.

I took Crim Pro III and Fed Courts with him. He's certainly polarizing, but an excellent professor. Extremely difficult finals. Good mix of law professor and practitioner. Also, if you do well in the class and/or ask smart questions, he will help in the clerkship search.

Mortara probably gets UoC more clerkships than the other professors, combined.

Thanks. I meant that I'm taking fed courts because from what I hear judges like it. I'm afraid I'm probably too liberal to tap into the Mortara network, but it's good to hear that his class was a good one.

[WheninLaw]

Fed Courts with Mortara? It fits into my schedule well and I want to clerk eventually but Mortara is a polarizing figure. How is he as a professor?

Edit: and his evals are positive but have small sample sizes.

I took Crim Pro III and Fed Courts with him. He's certainly polarizing, but an excellent professor. Extremely difficult finals. Good mix of law professor and practitioner. Also, if you do well in the class and/or ask smart questions, he will help in the clerkship search.

Mortara probably gets UoC more clerkships than the other professors, combined.

Thanks. I meant that I'm taking fed courts because from what I hear judges like it. I'm afraid I'm probably too liberal to tap into the Mortara network, but it's good to hear that his class was a good one.

Mortara helps just as many libs as conservatives, so don't be shy about asking. Good luck in the class.

[landshoes]

How do/did people like Rappaport? Thinking about taking Evidence.

[KMart]

How do/did people like Rappaport? Thinking about taking Evidence.

I enjoyed him. His exam was hard, but fair. He's clear, kind, and available for help if you need him. I got the sense most people in our class liked him too.

[UnicornHunter]

How do/did people like Rappaport? Thinking about taking Evidence.

I enjoyed him. His exam was hard, but fair. He's clear, kind, and available for help if you need him. I got the sense most people in our class liked him too.

Didn't have him for evidence but +1.

Overall though I'd advise against taking new professors because it tends to be much harder to get old outlines and exams.

[landshoes]

Ok, thanks!