This is one of our two most popular issues of the year. When we include a scheduling appendix, The Civilian flies off the racks quicker than usual. With that in mind, we’ve done our best to include as many class and professor reviews as possible and tried to include information on whether classes allow laptops or a paper option.
I’ve said it before, but I think it’s worth repeating: I feel like The Civilian has a sort of “civic duty” to let students know which professors ban the use of laptops. Students currently cannot easily discover that information before the first day of class. If there are professors at the Law Center who continue to ban the use of laptops in class in the future, I think the class should be marked as such on the scheduling information sent out by the registrar. While I understand why professors might reasonably prefer to ban the use of laptops during class, it’s just as reasonable that students should know that they will be denied the privilege before they meticulously build their class schedule. For students like me, who learn best by typing notes and reviewing typed notes, a ban on the use of laptops can mean a very real danger to GPA. While I’m not always a fan of the free market, this is a circumstance where it can work: students should have all the information they need in deciding which classes to schedule, and that includes whether laptops are allowed during lecture.