Some Law Students Need Advice

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A student who sits immediately in front of them in various classes with assigned seats persists in watching pornography on his large screened laptop during course lectures. What, if anything, should they do about this?   I have suggested leaning over and asking in a loud voice, “Wouldn’t it be more efficient to type with two hands?”

–Ann Bartow

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0 Responses to Some Law Students Need Advice

  1. MNObserver says:

    I like the idea of a loud, meant-to-be-overheard comment. But something along the lines of “Wow, you think THOSE breasts are real? I don’t think the other ones were.” Or perhaps engaging in a conversation along those lines with a fellow student, again meant to be overheard.

    Complaining to the administration would be the next step if the doofus is too dumb or too obnoxious to pick up on those.

  2. draconismoi says:

    Porn in class? At Northeastern the professors continually campaign to keep internet out of the classrooms so we can’t IM or surf the web during lectures. I never considered porn….

    Most universities have a computer conduct code that you have to “sign” the first time you activate your school account. All the ones I have read include something to the effect of “no pornography.” If this guy continues to watch porn, it would be simple to report him to the tech department, which would get him a warning if this is his first offense, or get his internet privileges revoked. And the thought of having to do all my research at the law library instead of on Westlaw or Lexis fills me with horror. I imagine a warning would suffice to get him to keep the porn at home.

  3. cublawg says:

    Here’s an idea: get your local computer science department to code up a packet sniffer that can identify, cumulatively, which students are eating up the most bandwidth in a classroom. Display said sniffer on an overhead as a “surfers of shame” and watch the sparks fly!

  4. staghounds says:

    Here’s an idea: treat both him and youself like adults. Privately, quietly, anonymously place a note at his carrel, locker or whatever telling him that his artistic preferences annoy his classmates, and request him to stop. That way there’s no confrontation, no embarassment.

    If that doesn’t work, ask him directly, also privately.

    A suggestion- if you can’t figure out that confronting and embarassing a classmate is a bad idea, you might think twice about engaging in the practice of law. You’ll find that a reputation for confrontation won’t help you in the long run.

  5. NotATurtle says:

    “Complaining to the administration would be the next step if the doofus is too dumb or too obnoxious to pick up on those.”

    I think the conspicuous consumption of pornography in law school classes makes this doofus both dumb and obnoxious. I can think of absolutely no reason to cut this guy any sort of break by attempting to handle the matter through non-official channels. He should be immediately reported to the administration. By the time you make it to law school, you should be well aware that this constitutes sexual harassment.

  6. vista.zhao says:

    I don’t think it would be the right way that we are seeking to stop this guy and
    regardless the most important issue of this problem. After reading this interesting problem, the followings come out of my brain:
    1, does this guy disobey any of law of state or federal?
    are these law constitutional? and are these law consistent with
    the rationale of liberty and just?
    2, does this guy’s act trespass or infringe upon any rights or anyone?
    3, does this guy have the right to behave in that way?
    4, should we must ask the third party for example the administrative
    department or the government for help? can we deal with this problem
    through direct negotiation?

    Well, there may be many issue we can find from this problem. In my perspective, the discussion on this problem would be more interesting
    if it is processed in this way.

  7. Tsevanrabtan says:

    Cuando yo estudiaba leyes no teníamos PC. La pornografía la teníamos en la cabeza y nadie se preocupaba por ella. No ha cambiado nada, salvo una leve mejora técnica.