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So one of my recent exam questions was a very long hypothetical closely related to something personal to me. I was kind of blindsided by the question's content and it was very upsetting. I blanked for a few minutes and moved on, saving the upsetting one for last. It was a struggle to be able to focus and be rational and not just write down my emotional reactions to the situation. I feel like I gave the best answer I could. I realize this sounds whiny and that there are lots of uncomfortable topics in law school. Part of me feels like I might just be overreacting to the stress of exams, but another part of me feels like the question was kind of out of line.

Is it worth it to send an email to the academic dean about it? Or should I just suck it up? I don't want to cause any trouble, and I'm not really sure what talking to the dean would accomplish.

In what way was it "out of line"? It's impossible to say without you giving more details, since there are definitely ways for a professor to cross the line when posing a hypothetical but you're also admitting that it's a hypersensitive area for you.

need details

I don't really want to post a whole lot of details because I don't want to out myself... it was about some current events that more than likely have effected some students other than just myself. I could just be being super sensitive though, you're right.

I guess an analogous (but extreme) example would be if I was a Libyan student that had just lived through the revolution, and the prof wrote a whole hypo about what Gadhafi did and who could sue him for what.

Sounds like you're just being sensitive. I suspect a lot of professors draw on current events to create hypos.

* wants to be a lawyer *

* doesn't want to separate personal emotions from objectively evaluating legal arguments *

c3pO4 wrote:* wants to be a lawyer *

* doesn't want to separate personal emotions from objectively evaluating legal arguments *

I said I was probably being sensitive.

And I want to do transactional law. Pretty sure I don't have any sensitive feelings about M&A.

You probably won't out yourself by saying which event. I'm guessing many profs write exam questions around current events. All mine did.

Like a rape similar to a rape you were victim of, someone's entire family killed in a car crash similar to the same happening to you, or killing an unborn child when your unborn child was killed semi-recently? That would probably be worth an email even if the dean can't do anything.

If it was talking about abortion or some political issue that you feel strongly about then no, not at all.

Addendum:

RPPSSC wrote:I don't really want to post a whole lot of details because I don't want to out myself... it was about some current events that more than likely have effected some students other than just myself. I could just be being super sensitive though, you're right.

I guess an analogous (but extreme) example would be if I was a Libyan student that had just lived through the revolution, and the prof wrote a whole hypo about what Gadhafi did and who could sue him for what.

Still the same as above. If it is a political thing then no. If it like a rape or something then it might be worth it and no one will think you are being whiney even if the dean cant help.

c3pO4 wrote:* wants to be a lawyer *

* doesn't want to separate personal emotions from objectively evaluating legal arguments *

Yep. Part of the point of law school is to rid you of your pathetic human emotions or crush you in the process of trying.

I'm probably just insensitive, but this doesn't seem like anything "out of line" to me. Seriously, you replace the names with initials and analyze the issue spotter.

Also, what is the administration going to do? The most you'll get is a "that sucks" and a pat on the back.

There's a chance of this happening in any hypo that a prof writes.

Let's say an exam had a question involving someone dying in a car accident. What if some student had just lost a relative to an almost identical accident?

Write an email. Won't hurt.

Thanks for the replies. I guess I'll just suck it up, I probably am being too sensitive. It just was strange, nothing I've read all semester had any kind of an effect on me, and the one thing I have personal feelings about that bothers me comes up in an exam. It really threw me off, but I think I pulled it out in the end. And the dean can't really do anything anyway.

bk187 wrote:There's a chance of this happening in any hypo that a prof writes.

Let's say an exam had a question involving someone dying in a car accident. What if some student had just lost a relative to an almost identical accident?

That's rough, but this is law school. You should have known there's a car accident question on just about every exam.