Category Archives: To All Students

Snow and School

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As I’m sure you know by now, current weather forecasts predict substantial snowfall and severe weather conditions in the Boston/Cambridge area beginning tomorrow afternoon and continuing through Saturday.  The storm is expected to be particularly forceful tomorrow evening.

In light of all of this, the Law School plans the following:

  • ·      Classes will be held on Friday until noon.
  • ·      Friday afternoon and Saturday events are cancelled (with the exception of the WLA Conference).
  • ·      The Hark Cafe will close at 1 p.m. on Friday and will have limited service on Saturday (12p.m. -3 p.m.).  Bag meals will be available on Friday and Saturday for students who wish to purchase dinner during the Hark Cafe hours.  The Hark Cafe will resume normal hours on Sunday.
  • ·      Law School staff will leave at noon on Friday.
  • ·      The Law Library will close at noon on Friday and will not reopen until Sunday at 9 a.m.  Please note: during this closure, the library will not be accessible via the 24 hour swipe card mechanism.
  • ·      The athletic facilities will be closed.
  • ·      The WCC will remain accessible via swipe card throughout this closure.
  • ·      UHS will be staffed 24/7 in Holyoke Center.
  • ·      Cambridge parking ban goes into effect at 10 a.m. tomorrow.  The parking garage at 52 Oxford St. will be open tomorrow to anyone with a valid Harvard I.D.
  • Stay safe and warm!

Information about the Holiday Break

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Hi-

 

Congrats on finishing the fall semester.  No vacation is as sweet as a vacation following final exams.

 

I want to be sure you know what is happening (or, more accurately, not happening) here in the next few weeks.

 

The University is closed for Holiday Break from the afternoon of December 21st until Wednesday, January 2.

 

Some services will have limited operation during that time.  For those of you who will be around campus during the holidays, we have compiled a list of holiday hours for various services:

 

DINING

 

The Harkness Commons will close at 2pm today. It will be closed for the winter break and will re-open on January 2nd at 8:00am-2:00pm.  Dinner service reopens at 5:00pm on January 7th.

 

Further information can be found here

 

 

LIBRARY

 

The library holds regular hours today.  It will be closed at 5pm on December 22nd and reopen after the break at 8am on January 2nd. During this time, students will have no access to the library building, so please plan ahead! If you will need to check out any books for use over the break or scan any materials that you keep at your carrel or on a journal¹s shelf (or if you want to check out any DVDs to watch over the break), please allow plenty of time to do so prior to 5pm on December 22nd.

 

Further information can be found here

 

UHS

 

Should you need health care during the holiday break, Urgent Care / Medical Care and the Stillman Infirmary will be available at Holyoke Center 24 hours per day during the Holiday Break. These services are available as needed through After Hours Urgent Care, which is located on the 5th floor of HUHS in Holyoke Center at 75 Mt. Auburn Street. The entrance during this period is at the garage level between Dunster and Holyoke Streets. Normal hours will resume January 3rd. If you have any difficulties, please call 617-495-5711 or 617-495-2010.  More info is here.

 

 

COOP

 

The Law School Coop will be open until 6pm today and reopens in the WCC at 9am on Wednesday, January 2.  More info is here.

 

 

HEMENWAY

 

The Hemenway Gymnasium will be open until 2pm today.  It will be closed between December 22nd and January 1st reopening Wednesday, January 2nd from 6am-8pm.

 

Further information can be found here.

 

COPY CENTER

 

The Law School Copy Center will reopen on Wednesday, January 2 at 9am.

 

WCC shutdown

 

All electric power will be shut down for one night during the winter break, from 8PM ­ 6AM. The purpose of this power shutdown is to complete necessary work related to the Pound Hall renovation within WCC¹s electrical substation. The project team has scheduled this for Thursday Dec 27th and into Friday Dec 28th for this shutdown.  During the power outage there will be no occupancy or access to the building.

 

EVERYTHING ELSE

 

The Dean of Students Office (along with all other administrative offices) will be closed during this time.  If you need to speak with someone from our office during the break, HUPD (617-495-1212) will be able to contact us in an emergency.

 

Best wishes for a happy and relaxing break.  We look forward to seeing you in 2013!

Exams: Study Breaks and Important Information

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Hi-

This time of year is very stressful, so be good to yourself.  Remember to sleep, eat actual food (that doesn’t come from vending machines), exercise (unless you’re like me and exercise isn’t part of your routine in which case this is probably a bad time to start), and use caffeine and energy drinks and in moderation.

Exam Study Breaks:

Midnight Pancake Breakfast
The Dean of Students Office staff has a tradition of serving up carbs and greasy food during Reading Period (and yes we get the inconsistency with the statement above).  Join us at the Midnight Pancake Breakfast upstairs in the Hark on Tuesday, December 11th from 10:30pm – 12:30am.

Law School is Ruff
The Dean of Students Office and the Student Animal Legal Defense Fund will once again co-sponsor a study break for students who love dogs and dogs who love students.  We have ten dogs signed up to visit so far.  Studies show that interacting with pets decreases stress and increases endorphins.  Join us on December 12, 11:30-1:30 on Jarvis Field.

De-Stress Chair Massage Breaks
Chair massages will take place on the first floor of the Hark (Fireside Lounge) from 11:30am-2:30pm on the following days:

·         December 11th
·         December 13th
·         December 18th
·         December 19th

Show up early to sign up for a free ten-minute massage from massage therapists from Harvard’s Center for Wellness.
We will have snacks and blank holiday cards so you can send holiday cards to members of the military.

Exam Instructions:

Exams at HLS are anonymous. Please do not contact your professor about an exam for any reason.

·   If you have a question about exam logistics or exam software:
contact Sandy Parker, Assistant Registrar for Curriculum, Enrollment and Examinations 617-384-7778 (backup – Registrar’s Office email or general number 617-405-4612  (WCC4007).

·   If you have an exam concern related to an illness, disability, personal, family or medical emergency:
contact Stephanie Russo, Disabilities Services Associate, Dean of Students Office 617-495-8733 (backup – Dean of Students’ Office email or general number 617-495-1880 (WCC 3039).

In case of illness before an exam:
·         If you are sick on an exam day, you should go directly to UHS (Holyoke Center 5th Floor )(75 Mt Auburn St) (617-495-4414) and have the doctor contact Stephanie Russo as soon as possible.
·         If you get sick after hours or on a weekend, go to UHS.  The urgent care number (24/7) is 617-495-5711. Please have your doctor contact Stephanie as soon as possible.
·         If you are sick and cannot get to Holyoke Center by yourself, call the Harvard University Police Department for a medical transport. Their number is 617-495-1212 (emergency) 617-495-1215 (non-emergency).

In case of illness during an exam:
·         If you become ill in the middle of an in-class exam, please tell a proctor immediately so s/he can stop the clock.  Then go to UHS and have the doctor call Stephanie. If you have seen the exam, barring exceptional circumstances, you must finish it that day, so you will see a doctor, stabilize, and finish later.
·         If you get sick during a take-home exam, please contact Stephanie and go to UHS.

Please note:
·   We cannot make any adjustments to an exam after the fact, so please stop the exam if necessary.
·   If there is an emergency (either personal or involving a family member), or any other issue that might affect your ability to take your exam contact Stephanie as soon as possible.
·   Please note: exams cannot be deferred because of computer theft or malfunction so please be sure to back-up all of your notes and outlines.  In the event of a malfunction, the Computer Lab has a limited number of laptops available for exam taking.

Security:
Just a reminder:  please don’t leave your computers and other personal items unattended.    There have been thefts in the library and elsewhere on campus and these often get worse as exams approach.

Registrar’s Exam website:
http://www.law.harvard.edu/academics/registrar/exams/index.html

Academic Support website:
http://www.law.harvard.edu/current/student-services/academic-support-services.html

University Health Services website:
http://www.uhs.harvard.edu/Home.aspx

Please be in touch with any concerns or questions.  Good luck!

Sandy Efforts

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Following up on Dean Minow’s email, we have been fielding suggestions from many students and student organizations about potential Sandy relief efforts.

Some student organizations have already gotten started.  To date, we are aware of the following:

·   WLA is coordinating a collection of clothing, blanket, toiletries, etc in the donation bins in the Hark
·   Law School Republicans are coordinating a Blood Drive on November 29th

Additional details will be posted on the calendar and on posters around the Law School.

In an effort to coordinate the activities and interests, we’ll hold a meeting of students interested in suggesting/organizing/collaborating initiatives to aid in Sandy relief.

The meeting will be held on Friday, November 9 at 12:00 in Milstein East C (lunch served).

If you can’t attend but wish to be added to the list for future emails, please email dos@law.

Election Info

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Hi-

Just a reminder – students voting in MA for the first time: if you registered to vote by mail, you will be required to show identification when you vote.

Acceptable identification must include your name and the address at which you are registered to vote, for example: a current and valid driver’s license, photo identification, current utility bill, bank statement, paycheck, government check, or other government document showing your name and address.

If you do not provide such identification, the Help America Vote Act of 2002 requires that you may only cast a provisional ballot which will be counted later, but only after your eligibility to vote has been determined.

After you vote and volunteer, please join us for an election night party at the Pub & Haas Lounge starting at 7pm.  Cool giveaways for the first 50 people, 2 drink tickets for all HLS students (bring your ID), heavy hors d’oeuvres and kosher food available.

Come celebrate democracy and root for your favorite Harvard Law School alumnus!

Election Related Announcements

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We have several election related announcements:

1.      Students volunteering on election day, may request to have classes recorded with the following caveats:  classes only (not seminars or reading groups), faculty permission is required (the registrar will handle those permissions).  There is always a chance that something can go wrong (technical glitch etc) so please also plan to get notes from a classmate as backup.  If you wish to request a class taping, please email the registrar by Thursday, November 1 at 3pm.  In the email, you should include your name, the classes for which you are registered (names of course and faculty name)

2.      You are invited to an election night party at the Law School starting at 7pm in the Pub and Haas Lounge (and other areas of the first floor of WCC).  We’ll have several broadcasts (different channels in different locations) and will have food and drink (2 drink tickets to each student then a cash bar).  I learned after 2000 not to say “the election party ends after the winner is announced” so the expectation is that we will end after the winner is announced but we may set a cut-off time if it doesn’t look like we’ll have a winner that night.

3.      From The Crimson:
The Crimson has taken presidential election polls since at least 1884, when James Blaine beat out Grover Cleveland by just 20 votes among Harvard men. Harvard picked Alfred Landon and Wendell Wilkie over FDR in the 1936 and 1940 polls. At Harvard, Dewey really did defeat Truman, by a margin of more than 2:1.

Now it’s your turn to be a part of history.

Click here to vote in The Crimson’s 2012 presidential election poll. We’ll find out whether Law School students or Grad School of Design students like Obama more, whether science or humanities concentrators are more likely to pick Romney, and how many Harvard students want to legalize medical marijuana in Massachusetts.

Please cast your ballots by 5 p.m. today so that we can analyze the results and announce them before Election Day. You need not be a registered voter to participate.  Contact managingeditor@thecrimson.com with any questions. Happy voting!

Classes resume tomorrow

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Hi again (with what I hope is the final storm announcement):

The Law School will resume normal operations on Tuesday morning. Classes will be held as scheduled.

Students who typically rely on public transportation should check the MBTA website for updates.  At present, MBTA services are expected to be restored in the early morning.  If you are unsure about your transportation options, you will be able to park for free tomorrow with a Harvard ID at 10 Everett Street (the WCC lot) and 52 Oxford Street (on the corner of Everett and Oxford).

Any additional updates will be posted to www.harvard.edu, the law school home page and/or Message Me.