Forced Politics and Law School
by Robert Jaeckel Georgia State University
College of Law prides itself on having a diverse student body and a
diverse faculty. This is one of the many factors that make this an
outstanding Law School. I have greatly enjoyed the opportunity to
discuss differing social and political views with fellow law
students and law professors. The classroom, however, is not the
place for a law professor or student to force their personal
political or social agenda on others. Our country is currently going through a difficult time. We can
watch the news daily and hear all about the war in Iraq and about
the peace protesters here at home. Outside of the classroom everyone
is free to spend as much time as they wish discussing and debating
both sides of this very polarizing issue. Once class begins,
however, it is time to focus on the class material and not time to
stand on your soapbox and impose your personal views on others. There are stories currently going around the law school of
several people who have taken it upon themselves to spend a good
portion of the class time comparing President Bush to Saddam
Hussein, making references to the Republicans stealing the last
presidential election or calling President Bush an idiotic and
illegitimate leader. If this can in some way be related to the class
material, it is a great way to inject current thought into a
discussion. If the only purpose is to bash our current government
leaders, please save that for another time. During the last Presidential election several professors took
class time to discuss various aspects of cases like, Bush v. Gore,
531 U.S. 98 (2000) and Clinton v. Jones, 520 U.S. 681 (1997). Class
time was also used to discuss the changes that occurred after the
terrorist attacks on September 11th and their impact on individual
rights and due process. These all contained highly charged political
opinions, but they could also be incorporated into class to show the
current thought process on the Supreme Court and reactions of the
United States Department of Justice. A professor or student, during class, forcing their personal
political views on others, when those views in no way relate to the
current class topic, is a waste of valuable time. GSU is not the
most expensive law school in the state, but as students, we still
pay a lot of money for our legal education. During class time the
class needs to focus on the task at hand. Political discussion is
very important and can be a valuable learning experience. It allows
us to learn both sides of an argument and learn that we need to
support, with facts, the thoughts we are attempting to get across. A
one sided rant, during class, does not accomplish any of these. If
the political discussion is not related to the class, save the
discussion for another time. Spend the class time accomplishing the
goal of obtaining a quality legal education. There is plenty of time
outside of class that we can argue politics.
The views and opinions contained herein do not necessarily
reflect those of the faculty and student
body of the College of Law, the SBA Board or the editorial staff of The Docket.
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