Back from Spring Break

Today is the first day back from Spring break for our students. As always, it is good to have them back in the building. This place is a little too quiet without them. But I think it was important for all of us to have a week to step back and breathe a little.

I had lunch with some 1L students today and have chatted in the hall with a number of others. The general theme has been: “It was a great break, though I didn’t get as much done as I had hoped!” I am not surprised. And I am glad. This time of year, a week of rest is probably more important for most than another week of high productivity. From now to the end of April, students and faculty alike are on a sprint to the finish.

The students’ report mirrors mine. Though I only took one day off, I enjoyed the more relaxed pace around the office. And the time off allowed me to catch up on some bigger projects—grading exams; planning for an ABA site visit to our Strasbourg, France summer program; and laying some groundwork for a Center for Global Justice. I didn’t get everything done I had hoped, but I accomplished a lot, and I came back today refreshed. It was a good week.

P.S. to my student readers: For anyone worried about my reference to exam grading, the Human Rights, Civil Liberties, and National Security papers were quite good. The exam results were gratifying—and another component of a successful spring break!