Dear students,
 
We hope you are doing OK.  We are striving to meet the challenges of the COVID-19 outbreak efficiently and with concern and compassion for you. Our current goals are to focus on the well–being of our community, support our students, and teach classes remotely for the two weeks after spring break. Obviously, things are in flux, and we will all have to be patient with each other as we face uncertainty. As individuals, we need to take care of our physical and mental well–being; as a community, we must treat each other with courtesy, respect, and concern.

As you saw from President McRobbie’s message yesterday afternoon, IU has implemented specific policies to mitigate the public health effects of the spread of COVID-19, including suspension of university-sponsored travel and a two-week suspension of face-to-face teaching after spring break. Students are also discouraged from traveling outside the state, other than to return home. The most up-to-date information on IU’s response to COVID-19 is at https://coronavirus.iu.edu/.

This email provides information about how these changes specifically affect our community at the Law School.  We will update you with new information by email and on class Canvas pages.

Five essential points for Law School Students (more details follow):
  1. Stay out of our building as much as possible starting Saturday March 13 until April 6.  The Library will be open from 10:00-3:00 Monday through Friday, and you will have access to the building during that time. All in-person meetings are canceled. CSO, OSA, and the Graduate and International Programs Office will be closed, but staff will meet with students by phone, Zoom, Skype, FaceTime, etc. Students should practice physical (but not emotional) social distancing and should not work or congregate at school.
  2. Classes will be taught remotely at their regular times via Zoom. Check your class’s Canvas page for details and announcements.
  3. One-on-one academic advising will take place over the next three weeks, again electronically.
  4. All in-person Law School scholarly and student events, activities, and face-to-face clinic work are canceled until April 6, whether or not they occur in the building.  Some externships outside IU may continue, depending on the policy of the office or judge’s chambers.
  5. Students are strongly urged not to travel abroad or to anywhere outside Indiana, other than to return home. Even travel home to a state other than Indiana is discouraged. Anyone exposed to the virus or coming from CDC level 2 or 3 travel health notice country must self-quarantine in place and may not enter campus for 14 days upon return. Given the pace of events, these rules may change and students may get stuck. We are particularly concerned for our non-citizens, who may have trouble returning to the country.  
Below are more extensive explanations regarding the most common questions we have received.
 
A.    Classes
Classes this week should proceed as normal. If you feel unsafe or unwell, please let your professors know, and you may skip class. The two-week suspension of face-to-face teaching starts after break on March 23. For the two weeks following spring break, classes will be taught by Zoom, which can accommodate student participation. If you don’t have internet webcam or your internet is slow, the Zoom class will be available by phone as well.  Many of the classes will be recorded but we strongly urge you to “attend” class at its regular time, even if you are in a different time zone, as we cannot guarantee that classes will be recorded.

B.    Logistics and Use of the Building, Including the Library
Please stay away from the Law School as much as possible, starting Saturday, March 13 until April 6.  Please avoid congregating in groups or getting too physically close to others in the building. Based on current information, Baier Hall will remain open when the Library is open (Monday-Friday 10:00-3:00). Students will have access to their lockers and student offices to drop things off and pick things up whenever the Library is open. Students may not use the building or the library to work or study, including the journal and student-organization offices.

C.    Externships, Extra and Co-curricular Activities, and Events
  • All public events and speakers have been canceled from March 13 until April 6. The Women’s Law Caucus Auction, Academy of Law Alumni Fellows, the Alumni Board, the Board of Visitors, and the Fromm Student Affairs naming ceremony have been postponed and will be rescheduled.
  • Our spring break career exploration trips to Chicago and Washington, DC have been cancelled.
  • Student projects such as TAP, ILAP, and POP should not conduct in-person meetings with other volunteers or with clients.
  • Student workers should not go to their IU employment in the library, SLS, or anywhere else on campus.
  • Students may work remotely if their positions allow it and should await specific guidance from their supervisors.
  • Faculty supervisors are working on contingency plans for externships off the IU Campus.  Please review the Coronavirus Externship Plan that will soon be posted on Canvas and CareerNet.
D.   Academic Advising & Registration
The course grid for fall 2020 and tentative course grid for spring 2021 are coming out soon. Academic advising will take place online. Advising sessions for JD students can start as early as this Saturday and will go until April 4. Before your advising session, please consult the advising worksheet that will be posted to Canvas (1L and 2L pages ). Please contact Dean Orenstein, Director Beck, or Alexis Lanham to make an appointment for advising.  If you are a dual degree student, you must check in with Alexis. Registration will be online, as always. Advising sessions for LLM, MCL and SJD students with Professor Goodwin will take place online between March 23-April 3. Graduate students may sign up for advising appointments with Prof. Goodwin on the Graduate Legal Studies Canvas page.

E.  Students Who Need Help; Maintaining Community Values
This is an anxious time for many of us.  Please let Dean Orenstein, Director Beck, or Dean Davis know if you or someone you know is experiencing trouble -- personal, academic, or logistical. Some students may choose to wear a face mask. While the Law School has no recommendation on doing so, if a student chooses to wear one, that’s a choice we will respect. Fear of contagion is real and appropriate, but in no circumstance can we treat each other unkindly or forget our shared humanity.

F.   Exams
The current restrictions are only in place through April 5.  The Law School is preparing for the possibility that there may be changes to how exams are conducted this spring.  We will let you know when we have news.

G.  Graduation
We are in communication with the ABA—as is every other law school in the United States—to make sure that our virtual classes will meet our teaching requirements. We plan to move heaven and earth to facilitate our 3L students’ graduation, even if, under the worst-case scenario, the ceremony is virtual. We will keep you posted.

With best wishes,

Dean Aviva Orenstein