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Well. Here we are, halfway through the spring semester, with in-person instruction suspended until at least April 10, and with most law school faculty and staff directed to work remotely.<\/p>\nWell. Here we are, halfway through the spring semester, with in-person instruction suspended until at least April 10, and with most law school faculty and staff directed to work remotely.<\/p>\n
This isn\u2019t at all where any of us thought we\u2019d be at this point in the semester. We\u2019re obviously not alone; across the country, law professors and law students are adjusting to a new reality, not just with our legal teaching\/learning lives but also with our personal lives. Gyms, bars, restaurants, public libraries, sporting events, concerts\u2014all closed or cancelled with the list growing by the minute.<\/p>\n
In such a fluid situation, it feels difficult to keep up with the latest news, cancellations, and closings. Such a fast-paced, ever-changing situation raises anxiety, particularly for those of us who like to pride ourselves on being in control of the situation (or at least believing<\/em> we are in control of the situation). And there are lots of us like that in the law school\u2014faculty and<\/em> students.<\/p>\n In this situation, none of us has control. That feels scary.<\/p>\n Teams of administration, faculty, and staff have been working throughout the last week to make sure that we\u2019re addressing the changing circumstances (for example, first by restricting visitors to Eckstein Hall and now by closing the building) and that we\u2019re prepping to provide instruction to students even if we\u2019re not going to do so in-person. For example, the legal writing faculty have been tinkering around together (remotely) on various platforms to brainstorm the best ways to deliver our classes online. We all want to do our best for our students, even if that \u201cbest\u201d right now is going to look different than it might have under normal circumstances.<\/p>\n A lot of patience and a little good humor will go a long way as we navigate this difficult and uncertain period. To that end, I\u2019ve asked some colleagues and students to share what they\u2019re doing to adjust to our new learning environment, what they\u2019ve learned by being stuck at home, or how they\u2019re coping with being stuck at home. Enjoy their responses and add yours in the comments section.<\/p>\n Dean Nadelle Grossman, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs: I\u2019ve been spending a lot of time helping faculty transition to online learning. I have been implementing university decisions at the law school. And I have been transitioning my own class to online learning. All while working remotely.<\/em><\/p>\n Haley Wentz (2L): My cat could not be happier to have me in my apartment 23\/24 hours every day! I love being able to be with her even though she sleeps basically the whole day. Things I\u2019m doing: (1) I moved to Milwaukee right before law school started and spent my first summer working in Madison. Though I’ve called this wonderful city \u201chome\u201d for almost two years I am still wildly unfamiliar. I’ve been going to a new neighborhood every day and taking a long walk to get fresh air and to explore this amazing city! (2) READING FOR PLEASURE! The one thing I have a lot of right now is time. Maybe I’ll actually make a dent in my \u201cto-read\u201d pile. . . . (3) Catching up with far-away friends. I have wonderful friends flung far and wide and have been having gloriously long phone calls and FaceTimes with them! (4) If you like yoga, my yoga studio is offering <\/em>free virtual yoga<\/em><\/a><\/span>!<\/span> Maybe it\u2019s a service you or someone you know could use in these complex times.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n Christine Wilczynski-Vogel, Associate Dean for External Relations: From my world-wide headquarters at my kitchen table, I have discovered we have cardinals. I have lived in my house for 10 years and have never seen a cardinal. But as I sit here working, there is a beautiful red cardinal on my deck. \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Rob Hameister (2L): I\u2019ve been making my own bread for about two years now. I have welcomed the opportunity to organize my work around my ability to babysit the dough while it rises. Since the stores have been low on bread etc. I\u2019ve also had a pleasant spike in popularity among friend and family who can\u2019t get their hands on good bakery! <\/em><\/span><\/p>\n Professor Paul Anderson: Well – I have learned that I am particularly horrible at texting and not much better at emailing.\u00a0I keep sending things, and then saying “wait a minute did I just . . . .” I have also learned that play doh sticks to the carpet (my girls are home as well), we were not prepared to homeschool, it is possible my 6 and 10 year old will be putting my classes together as they get this more than I do, and washing my hands 20 seconds all the time is really making my skin dry. But I also found TV Mass pretty comforting and realized my wife’s obsession with hand wipes, washing hands after the sign of peace, and moving away from people who were coughing prepared all of us for this in some ways. Finally, I can find a way to grill just about anything in the backyard, so considering that, we are still \u201cgoing out\u201d to dinner. And the new Forensic Files II is out now, and pretty good, . . .\u00a0 Stay safe everyone.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Julie Leary (3L): My job gave me the option to work from home, and I am taking full advantage of it. I actually have a designated work space at home, but I am mostly working from my bed. While I am pretty happy about this arrangement, my cats are the biggest fans of the COVID shut-in. Ferdinand, in particular, is making the most of the situation. He spends 90% of the day laying on my lap or my legs, sleeping. He gets pretty offended when I have to get up to do anything. I requested my absentee ballot for voting without disturbing Ferdinand, and everyone else should request their ballot, too, by going here<\/a> <\/span>as soon as possible before April 2.<\/em>I have not had the chance to get bored yet and adopt some new hobby, I\u2019ve actually been pretty busy between work and conducting the remaining Moot Court interviews over the phone. By next week though I may have to find something to occupy my time, like sewing haute couture cat clothes, or reading a book for the first time in three years. <\/em><\/span><\/p>\n Professor Jake Carpenter: The \u201copportunity\u201d to learn new technology for delivering content virtually is exciting. I think I\u2019ll grow professionally from it and I hope it will force me to create new content that will be helpful for students even when we return to regular classroom instruction. <\/em><\/p>\n Alicia Bernards (1L): Vanessa [Flores (1L)], a few friends, and I have started playing online Settlers of Catan while chatting on FaceTime. I have an at-home \u201coffice\u201d space too, but since my IT boyfriend\u2019s desk is in the same room and he makes a lot of phone calls during the day, I spend a good amount of time with a textbook on the couch. If you live with someone else who is also stuck at home, noise cancelling headphones are an essential survival hack. Just know that you can\u2019t hear how loud you are chewing your gum while wearing them and your roommate\/significant other might go insane as a result. <\/em>Perhaps not advised, but I am also taking occasional sojourns to walk the dogs of several hardworking healthcare workers so they can keep fighting the good fight. I get fresh air, puppy loves, and a brief respite from being stuck in my apartment with my boyfriend (insert laughing emoji here). There is a lot of santizing that occurs for each of these events, no lectures needed.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n Professor Melissa Love Koenig: My inner techie likes learning about new technologies. I\u2019m excited to spend time with the LAWR faculty practicing <\/em>[Microsoft] T<\/em>eams and sharing ideas. My dogs are happy to have me home!<\/em> I\u2019m heartened to see family, colleagues, students, and friends coming together to work on creative solutions during this crisis.\u00a0 I\u2019m grateful to hear kind and loving messages from many and to see people dealing patiently with this situation.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Ellen Matheson (1L): For my part, it’s wonderful to be able to spend more time with my son on the weekdays. He loves to laugh at anything and everything (no one has ever laughed at so many of my “jokes”) and just started standing up on his own. But it’s also really hard to focus on “state privileges and immunities” or “private dispute resolution” with an eleven-month old babbling in your ear. That being said, my mom and my sister step in whenever my husband and I need to work, so we’re doing just fine. Every day, I think about how relieved I am that my husband and I decided to move back to Milwaukee – in times like these, living near family is such a gift. <\/em><\/span><\/p>\n