Water Wars (Fall 2011): One of the most worthless time vacuums I’ve ever taken part in on any academic level. The grading is incredibly arbitrary, expectations for any assignment (1/3 of your grade is response papers, 1/3 is final project, 1/3 class participation) are constantly evolving, changing, or simply not relayed to the students. As for class participation, he writes your name down every time you make a comment in class or ask a speaker a question (he doesn’t tell the students this), but the class is graded accordingly. Going to class alone will get you about 1% OF 33.3 and the rest is based on questions – regardless of their content. The final project is a combination of 40 page paper and visual advocacy campaign that involves a “killer tactic” – if there is one thing I can promise you about this course, it is that you will not ever understand what a killer tactic is. Even without all of this, I can without question state that despite the papers, final project, and perfect attendance, I can not state a single thing I learned in the class. At all. Worst law class I’ve ever taken. Worst class I’ve ever taken, including 3rd grade (which taught me how to write in cursive, an equally useless skill).
Here to leave a contrasting review to the other one posted. I loved Andy’s water wars class. I agree that the class was organized in a confusing way, but I enjoyed the format because it was a break from all of my other law school classes. He puts you in groups at the beginning of the semester, according to one of the great lakes, and you spend the whole semester identifying an issue with the lake and coming up with a solution, including campaign tactics and real-life application. It isn’t the most useful class, but if you’re interested in environmental issues generally, and not just the legal work involved, it’s a super interesting way to gain perspective. I also found Andy to be upfront with his grading techniques and told us at the beginning of the class what he was looking for. He also gives you the chance to make up one of the assignments for a higher grade. Only complaint is that the class can be a bit of a time suck, especially during the rush to finals.
MLaw Prof Reviews
Water Wars (Fall 2011): One of the most worthless time vacuums I’ve ever taken part in on any academic level. The grading is incredibly arbitrary, expectations for any assignment (1/3 of your grade is response papers, 1/3 is final project, 1/3 class participation) are constantly evolving, changing, or simply not relayed to the students. As for class participation, he writes your name down every time you make a comment in class or ask a speaker a question (he doesn’t tell the students this), but the class is graded accordingly. Going to class alone will get you about 1% OF 33.3 and the rest is based on questions – regardless of their content. The final project is a combination of 40 page paper and visual advocacy campaign that involves a “killer tactic” – if there is one thing I can promise you about this course, it is that you will not ever understand what a killer tactic is. Even without all of this, I can without question state that despite the papers, final project, and perfect attendance, I can not state a single thing I learned in the class. At all. Worst law class I’ve ever taken. Worst class I’ve ever taken, including 3rd grade (which taught me how to write in cursive, an equally useless skill).
Here to leave a contrasting review to the other one posted. I loved Andy’s water wars class. I agree that the class was organized in a confusing way, but I enjoyed the format because it was a break from all of my other law school classes. He puts you in groups at the beginning of the semester, according to one of the great lakes, and you spend the whole semester identifying an issue with the lake and coming up with a solution, including campaign tactics and real-life application. It isn’t the most useful class, but if you’re interested in environmental issues generally, and not just the legal work involved, it’s a super interesting way to gain perspective. I also found Andy to be upfront with his grading techniques and told us at the beginning of the class what he was looking for. He also gives you the chance to make up one of the assignments for a higher grade. Only complaint is that the class can be a bit of a time suck, especially during the rush to finals.