3L in 3…2…
T-minus two weeks until I start 3L. So what’s the scoop?!
DELTA VARIANT
Obviously, this is the foremost concern for everyone returning to campus. Here’s how HLS is handling things as of 22 August 2021, although precautions are constantly changing!
BEFORE STARTING CLASS
All students must take a COVID-19 test on the day they arrive to campus; on day 4 or 5 after arrival; and 1 week after arrival. We don’t have to quarantine unless symptomatic, but we are supposed to avoid social gatherings until all three tests come back negative. Additionally, everyone must provide proof of vaccination (or be approved for an exemption) before starting classes.
INSIDE THE LECTURE HALL
Masks are mandatory inside all Harvard buildings, and the administration has been working to increase ventilation within the classrooms. The tougher part is, no food or drink at ALL inside the lecture halls - including water. I couldn’t drink water during my two-hour MPRE last week and didn’t love that, so this might be a tough adjustment. I’m also not sure if the school has implemented social distancing measures in the seating plans, so TBD on that as well.
OUTSIDE THE LECTURE HALL
After the ‘arrival-on-campus’ sequence, all students will self-administer weekly COVID tests (unvaccinated folks will test twice a week). The administration has also set out designated spots for eating and drinking in common spaces; not sure what this means for Justice Kagan’s free coffee, but it doesn’t look good. Finally, the registrar adjusted our transit time between classes from 10 minutes to 30 minutes to allow for distancing in the halls and extra cleaning in the classrooms.
OTHER
With respect to other HLS-related activities, student orgs have received guidance to limit in-person speakers and opt for virtual whenever possible. Any food involved will consist solely of “touch-and-go’s,” as we used to say at the Air Force Academy; we’ll just grab our food at the end of the talk and get out of there. Totally understand, but it’s still a huge bummer because lunch talks were the highlight of 1L for me! (For more info on lunch talks, check out this post).
We can also host HLS-associated group events off campus, but only in outdoor spaces. Hope Cambridge has invested in some serious patio heater systems…
SO - HOW DO YOU FEEL?
I’m 75% excited, 25% hesitant about returning to campus. One one hand, I’m fully vaccinated and not personally worried about getting sick. I’ll happily wear a mask and abide by the school’s rules to make sure everyone feels as safe as possible. Plus, an incidental perk - cold calls will probably be far less intimidating with half my face covered.
Between Zoom classes and masks, I’m realizing, I really got off easy with this whole cold call thing.
On the other hand, returning with so many limitations makes me nervous for all involved. Many of my professors are older; some of my classmates can’t get vaccinated for legitimate reasons; and goodness knows the full academic impact of missing class after a positive test. Bottom line, I sincerely hope we’re not rushing things simply because everyone planned to return for so long that we’re simply unwilling to pivot now.
COVID-19 PRECAUTIONS ASIDE…
Honestly, I’m thanking my lucky stars I’m not a 1L or 2L! The former are obviously brand new to law school; the latter have never been on campus before. Meanwhile, us 3Ls are rolling in like cool a** cucumbers who have been on a nice, long, pajama holiday (at least, that’s how I feel). I’m sure I’ll be more stressed when the first day of school finally rolls around (7 Sept), but it’s definitely a relief to not worry about fitting into a law school environment for the first time.
As far as physically returning to a classroom, I won’t deny that Zoom School was much easier. No buses, no lugging around books or printing tons of pages…I’ll probably miss that. But I definitely feel like I’d be missing out if my final year was spent on the couch. I’m also very, very excited about my fall course load (maybe because it consists of exactly two classes - LOVE) but more importantly, I CAN’T WAIT TO SEE MY FRIENDS!!!! Six feet, masks, it doesn’t matter. I have really missed these people and I can’t wait to live up “3LOL” with them.
Plus, do I feel less pressure about getting dressed up again when I know I’ll wear a mask the whole time? um, yes. 100%.
