The First Day

Once again I find myself up late at night when I should be in bed. Foreshadowing, perhaps? The good news is that class begins at 10:50 AM instead of 8 AM, so I probably won't show up late like I did this morning.

My alarm went off at 7 AM, and I slammed the snooze button. My phone alarm clock rang a minute later and I knocked the thing to the floor. That helped quiet the incessant ringtone, but at the cost of a broken phone (Silver lining: I got a new phone). When I finally stirred and groggily pulled myself out of bed, I noticed that I only had twenty minutes before the start of class. Shit. So I took a speedy shower and hustled down Cedar St. towards campus. Unfortunately, there was a slight problem; I had no idea where class was being held.

My schedule read 'AUD.' In my sleep deprived stupor, I needed a minute or so to figure out that it meant 'auditorium.' Too bad I didn't know where the auditorium was. Luckilly, I encountered a sign near the front of the main building that told me our class had been moved from the auditorium to 2B, but by the time I arrived, it was 8:05.

I felt awkward walking in late to a post-graduate course, but I was able to make my way to the back without much fanfare. A few others came in after me, which made me feel a bit better. Twenty minutes later, however, Professor Stiglitz lectured the class about arriving late. He called our actions "rude, unprofessional, and unacceptable." A laywer could never tell a judge 'But your honor, I overslept.' Fair enough. Besides learning 'how to think like a laywer,' we're supposedly being taught how to 'act' like one. Like a professional. And as much as I'd like to disagree with him, I can't. He's right. But that doesn't change the fact that I'm likely going to show up late again. I, like many people, struggle to get up in the mornings. The last year of my life hasn't exactly helped matters, since I was able to set my own hours and wake up when (gasp) I actually felt like it.

If I could, I'd simply avoid going to class on mornings where I'd be tardy. But I can't. The dreaded roll sheet is passed out each session, and if I miss a certain number of classes, something happens. I'm not entirely sure what that 'something' is, but it probably has to do with a lower grade or losing credits. Anyone else notice the blatant contradiction that they've created here between 'treating us like professionals' and roll sheets? Because I do.

A few minutes later, the Professor made quite an impact on the class when he covered his despise for laptops. He told us that people are often easily distracted and choose to check e-mail or surf the web during class, and while he has no problem with an individual person daydreaming, doing it electronically disturbs the people behind you, which is "unacceptable." Logically, his argument falls apart if no one else is distracted. I was *this* close to raising my hand...

"What about those of us in the very back row?"

...but I thought better of it.

I had heard Stiglitz preferred to use rooms with a camera in the back that he controlled form the podium, and frequently used it to check on students' computer screens. If he found them to be off task, he would pick on them repeatedly. I didn't think much of it, until I saw the camera mounted against the back wall. But it's lack of movement (and poor angle in relation to me) made me feel much better. Until of course, he mentioned that he had hired a 'tutor' to tattle on anyone who was off-task.

I've met the tutor before. Her name is Renee and she was my TA for the Summer Enrichment course. Seemed nice enough. Helpful. But if I hear of her actually ratting out one of the students, I'll lose all respect for her.

We didn't do much else today, so apparently the lesson I learned is that law students are treated as both professionals AND children. Oh, and that I might need to take daily naps. Hopefully the one I took this afternoon will suffice for the sleep I'm going to miss tonight, since I've got to brief a Contracts case.