"appropriate venues for intimate social activities"

I got another amusing email from my school... I just want to let you know ahead of time that all the emphasis is mine.

ENJOY!

To: RUTGERS LAW STUDENTS
FROM: RUTGERS LAW DEAN
DATE: 26 April 2007


Last night at 11:50 p.m., classroom videocameras were unplugged in two of the law school classrooms. We have sent notices before advising everyone that electronic equipment in classrooms is not to be unplugged or otherwise tampered with for any reason, and that the only persons authorized to unplug or modify classroom electronic equipment are members of the Law School’s IT staff. In the future, unplugging or otherwise tampering with classroom electronic equipment will be treated as an honor code violation and/or vandalism.



Assuming that no one in the law school community is so deprived of appropriate venues for intimate social activities that they would resort to a classroom, another possible explanation for unplugging recording equipment at the beginning of the final examination period is unauthorized collaboration on a takehome examination. I write, therefore, to remind everyone that the faculty and administration take a very dim view of unauthorized collaboration as well as any other forms of cheating on examinations. As law students, you are subject not only to the Law School's Academic Rules and Regulations and the University's Code of Student Conduct, but also to the American Bar Association's Rules of Professional Conduct, all of which prohibit acts of dishonesty.

Despite these reminders, every year students collaborate on takehome examinations or plagiarize, and although we do not publicize these incidents widely, we deal with them harshly. They inevitably result in the offending student receiving an F in the course. They also result in our informing the licensing authority of any jurisdiction in which the student applies to the bar of the cheating incident, making admission to the bar most uncertain at best. In recent years, offending students have also been suspended from the law school for as much as a year. Expulsion from the law school for cheating is not unthinkable.

I need hardly observe that being caught cheating is just not worth the risk. At the very best, it would be a totally inauspicious way to begin your careers. In addition, it could well result in total inability to be admitted to the bar, making your investment in law school worthless. Your responsibilities as a law student call upon you not only to refrain from cheating, but to report acts of cheating by others to the appropriate authorities. The faculty reposes enormous trust in you, in particular by giving takehome examinations in many courses. We expect that you will honor that trust, and we know that most law students take these responsibilities seriously.


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Personally, I disagree with his allegation that most law students have no where else to go for their so-called "intimate social activities." To the best of my knowledge, every law student I've met has (a) a or multiple roomates, (b) a significant other with whom they live, (c) a family with whom they live. Therefore, it seems to me that should two otherwise reasonable law students, especially those in situation (b) might be left with very few options insofaras venues for such activity. Given that law students, like most other students, are notoriously broke, it would be unreasonable to expect that they might rent a hotel room for said purpose. Additionally, it would be unreasonable to expect that on a weeknight preceding finals any student would want to spend a lot of time away from the place where he or she would be able to have access to the greatest number of legal resources. The aforementioned reasons make the choice of a classroom for illict activity nearly ideal.

From my own personal experience, the school is desolate at 11:50 at night. The few students you find are nearly always paired off in classrooms.

Just some thoughts on it...