Hi

Governor Patrick has declared a State of Emergency for Massachusetts in anticipation of the storm.  As you might imagine, there are a number of offices working with various campus services to prepare the campus and community.

If we need to send urgent updates during the storm and aftermath, we will update the Law School’s website and send email when possible but a critical means of emergency contact is Message Me.  If you haven’t already done so, register for Message Me https://messageme.harvard.edu/ so that you can receive text alerts as necessary

Before the storm, please review the University emergency page:
www.harvard.edu/emergency

the law school’s emergency contacts page:
www.law.harvard.edu/about/administration/emergency-information.html

and check out the State of Massachusetts page:
www.mass.gov/portal/
for additional information on the storm and emergency preparedness.

Other than that, remember to charge up all of your devices, get a flashlight if you don’t already have one (each RA in the dorms has a flashlight to assist residents), stock up on batteries, and have some non-perishable food on hand since food service may be limited in the event of a black out.

Classes are still scheduled and the plan is to keep most if not all services in place but we will keep you posted if anything changes.

We realize that many students will be traveling abroad over the course of the year and wish to remind you of the required procedures.  Harvard University requires ALL students who are traveling under university auspices (that is, receiving either credit or funding) prior to departure to:

register the trip in the Harvard Travel Registry.  This enables the University to locate you quickly and provide assistance in the event of an emergency (i.e. natural disaster, civil unrest, etc). Registering is required for all students traveling on trips funded or arranged by the University and strongly recommended for everyone.  Students should create a profile in the Travel Registry and then record their specific travel information and make sure the information stays up-to-date.

review, sign and return the appropriate Assumption of Risk and General Release

obtain an International SOS membership card and review the program’s services

In addition, HLS students should review Harvard’s Global Support Services’ travel risk ratings.  Students who are considering travel to an area that is categorized as high-risk must:

complete and submit the Questionnaire for Graduate Student Travel

consult with Steve Taylor, Associate Director of International Safety and Security

This is necessary for travel in conjunction with courses or clinics as well as independent travel.  Please be aware that HLS may advise against — and may even withhold support for — travel that is deemed to pose excessive risk.

For more information on each of these steps, and traveling abroad in general, please be sure to visit our international travel webpage.

If you have questions, you may contact Sara Zucker, Director of International Legal Studies Programs.

We wish you the best for safe and productive travels.

The 40th Anniversary of the Paper Chase: A Conversation with Dean Minow & John Osborn (HLS ’70 and author)
TONIGHT 6-8pm
Austin West & Rotunda, Harvard Law School
– 6-7pm: A conversation with Dean Minow & John Osborn.
– 7pm: Q&A from students/audience.
– Reception to follow in Austin West Rotunda with book signing by the COOP
– Watch The Paper Chase in Caspersen South, or The Pub the week before the event
– Check out the Special Exhibit in Caspersen Treasure Room, 4th floor Library

As a continuation of the series of security events we offer, I want to remind you about the following event today:

The Rape Aggression Defense (RAD) Program taught by HUPD officers empowers female students, faculty, and staff to combat various types of assaults by providing them with realistic self-defense tactics and techniques. This empowerment is taught through four basic principles: education, dependency on self, making one’s own decisions, and realization of one’s own power. The objective of RAD is to develop and enhance self-defense options for women. The classes provide women with the knowledge to make educated decisions about resistance.

Class is open only to female students, faculty, and staff.  From 3:15-5:15 pm in Milstein East C.  Space is still available so you can attend if you haven’t registered (as long as space permits).

The still-to-be-named-Pub will start its regular hours (Wed-Fri  5-10pm) this evening.
The Pub is available to HLS students and guests during its hours of operation.
The Pub is also available for reservation for large groups anytime (they’ll open up if need be).
More details are at:
http://www.dining.harvard.edu/node/207

Health Insurance Waiver Deadline: 2/28
Waiver application deadline for spring 2012 is February 28. Students with comparable health insurance who wish to waive HUSHP Student Health Insurance Plan must submit applications online prior to the deadline in order to remove term bill charges. Info: http://hushp.harvard.edu/waive

Dependent Health Insurance Deadline: 2/28
Dependent insurance enrollment and renewals for the 2012 spring term must be submitted by February 28 in order to be eligible for coverage. Applications after this date will not be accepted. Info: http://hushp.harvard.edu/hushp-student-dependents

Health Insurance for Graduating Students
The Harvard University Student Health Program (HUSHP) expires on July 31. Plan ahead early in order to secure insurance coverage for August 1. More information on options for graduating students:
http://hushp.harvard.edu/graduating-students

After Hours Urgent Care: Schedule appointments online
Visit HUHS Patient Login to view available times and schedule a same-day appointment for non-routine care in our After Hours Urgent Care Clinic. Appointments from 6:00-11:00PM are available to book online beginning at 3:00PM, Monday-Friday. HUID required.

Reading and Study Strategies (Spring 2012)
Harvard Reading/Study Strategies Course: 2 weeks, morning or afternoon sessions, February 6-17 at Science Center, Lecture Hall E. To register, go to Bureau of Study Counsel at 5 Linden St. or call 617-495-2581. More info: http://bsc.harvard.edu/icb/icb.do?keyword=k73301&tabgroupid=icb.tabgroup127159

Before you feel anxiety about your grades, think about the following…
Former Dean Elena Kagan received several B’s during law school, especially her first year. She went on to become the first female dean of Harvard Law
School, the U.S. Solicitor General, and the 112th Supreme Court Justice.
HLS Tax Law Professor Halperin received his worst law school grade in: tax.
Dean Cosgrove received a Property exam back that had a note from the professor saying “this is exactly what I warned you not to do” – followed by her
lowest grade since kindergarten. She went on to work at a top law firm before becoming a Dean at Harvard.
At the time Judge Posner hired Professor Sitkoff to be his law clerk, Professor Sitkoff had received his lowest grade in law school in Law and Economics
– which had been taught by Judge Posner. Thereafter, he had one grade that was worse – in legal ethics. He graduated law school with High Honors.
Professor Singer earned a B- in Property. After graduating, he clerked, worked at a law firm, and has written one of the leading casebooks and treatises
on – wait for it – property. He has also authored two theoretical books on property and teaches Property courses at Harvard.
Professor Suk received her worst grade in law school – and ever – in Criminal Law. She went on to practice and research in Criminal Law. No employer
has ever asked about her grade, and her Criminal Law professor has remained a powerful mentor and reference for her throughout her career. “I care
much more about students’ preparation and performance in a course throughout a long semester than about performance on one timed exam taken on
one day,” she says.
Professor Michelman’s worst law school grade was a C+ in Property. He has written and published repeatedly in the field and has taught Property
courses at Harvard for over 40 years.
Professor Greiner received his worst grade on the exam he felt best about after finishing. And he nonetheless was retained as a research assistant for
the course’s professor.
Professor Scott got a D in constitutional law. “We do some of that here,” Justice White told Scott when he went for a clerkship interview. Scott
nonetheless was selected to serve as one of Justice White’s few Supreme Court law clerks.
Professor Meltzer’s father was a law professor who taught labor law. His lowest grade in law school was in: labor law. His labor law professor later said
to him, “I thought you might have done better, so I re-read your exam and it was every bit as bad as I thought it was the first time.”
Professor Ramseyer received a B on an exam at Harvard Law School and went into the professor’s office to complain. On the professor’s desk was a
plaque that guided his grading – he reserved B’s for “excellent, perceptive exams.” The professor told Ramseyer he had gotten a B because he “wrote
an excellent exam.”
In the second semester of his two-semester Contracts course, Professor Goldberg earned himself a B-. The next year, his former Contracts professor
hired him as a TA to help 1Ls with the class. Years later, as a Vanderbilt professor, Goldberg was awarded a teaching prize for teaching … Contracts.
Professor Barnes received a pass on his Trust and Estates exam while a friend whom he tutored received honors. Upon review of their exams,
Professor Barnes realized that his friend had given the obvious answers while he had read nuances into the questions that were not intended. He
learned two important lessons: 1) when you hear hoofbeats, think horses first, and not zebras and 2) the line between “honors” and “pass” is blurred.
“I know a guy who got mainly C’s his first year at HLS. He went on to become general counsel of a major federal agency, leading lawyer in his field, and
author of the leading casebook in his field. It is much more about the passion you have for your field than anything.” – Professor Einer Elhauge
Dean Martha Minow’s sister’s law school grades were so troubling during her first year that she never picked up her grades after that. Last year, she was
honored as a distinguished alum for her professional accomplishments, and no one even thought of her grades.
Professor Neuman’s first semester grades were quite mediocre and his criminal law teacher (Professor Nesson) told him that he didn’t know how to take
a law school exam. Neuman spent time with Professor Nesson learning how to take exams and revising his approach. Professor Neuman went on to
graduate first in his class at Harvard Law School, though no one asked about his grades when he ran for a seat on the UN Human Rights Committee.
Be well,
Your Harvard Law School Student Government
studentgov@mail.law.harvard.edu