Professor Who?

Read a story today that Harvard students are largely unhappy. And, while it's always fun to pile on the evil empire, I sympathize.

When I look back at college, I have generally favorable memories. That said, I'd never do it again. I'll never forget my first big meeting at Ezra Stiles, when my freshman advisor, legal big-shot Akhil Amar, didn't show up. I'll never forget being in huge classes with professors who never knew my name, and clearly didn't care.

That's not to say they weren't great profs, or weren't accessible if I had really tried (gone to every office hours, emailed constantly, etc). In fact, with some professors, this strategy paid off, and even got me into law school. But I was never invited to my professor's house for dinner, I never joined a professor for a drink, and no professor ever singled me out to talk about my work, to tell me I had promise, to encourage me.

Now, I'm related to a few professors myself, and I know they're busy. But college didn't have the intellectually vibrant atmosphere I was expecting, not even close. High school was far more intimate, and, in many senses, more rewarding.

After all that, I do have to thank Yale for not being hardasses about alcohol. That really loosened things up - and those people are wound tightly enough. At the end of the day, smart, realistic student policies made Yale a better place to be in my opinion (and Harvard's opinion).