A sense of excitement was in the air as Fordham Law faculty, staff, and students arrived at Lincoln Center for the first day of classes on Aug. 25.
The Law School’s student body, including more than 455 first-year J.D. students and 177 new LL.M., M.S.L., and S.J.D. students, became acclimated to the health and safety protocols for the return to fully in-person learning, including requirements for vaccinations against COVID-19, wearing masks indoors, and answering daily health questionnaires.
“Attending class in person allows us the opportunity to not feel as anxious since everyone is masked and vaccinated,” said evening student Audrey Wainwright ’25. “And it’s been nice to be around like-minded people and get away from the computer while we’re still working from home.”
Students also picked up their casebooks and had the chance to tour the Maloney Library through an interactive program with library staff members. “The halls have been empty for so long,” said Kimathi Gordon-Somers, assistant dean of student affairs and diversity. “This has been a long-awaited day and we are ready to go.”
“I have the sense that we will have a healthy, invigorating, fun semester ahead of us as we already have student leaders and student organizations contacting us to plan events,” Dean Gordon-Somers added. “Community building is an important aspect of law school and our hope and expectation is that we will eventually return to hosting events, as we did prior to the pandemic, that achieve this goal.”
Optimism for In-Person Learning
Stein Scholar Susu Zhao ’22 echoed Dean Gordon-Somers’ sentiments, saying, “We weren’t really able to do much community-building last semester, so one advantage to being back is that we now get to know people more.”
Deborah Denno, Arthur A. McGivney Professor of Law, was also glad to see the campus bustling compared to this time last year. “It was an entirely different experience because of the greater numbers of students,” she said. “Also, now we’re mask-wearing veterans. We’ve got this part down.”
After attending her first property class, first-generation law student Alex Israel ’24 expressed how comfortable she felt at Fordham Law, especially after seeing more faculty and students in the building.
“Going to a law school in my neighborhood was really important to me, and I felt that decision justified over orientation,” Israel said. “Today, it especially feels like I made the right choice; I feel at home here.”
Gabriel de Courcy LL.M. ’22 and Maximilian Pailhes LL.M. ’22, students in the banking, corporate, and finance law and international business and trade law LL.M. programs respectively, were impressed by Fordham Law’s campus—which they will be calling “home” for the fall semester. “The architectural design is very modern and nothing like what we’re used to in France,” Pailhes said.
“It’s amazing to have in-person classes in the heart of New York City, especially after spending a year learning remotely in France,” de Courcy added. “Fordham Law has been so welcoming, which is important to me.”
After finally returning to campus in nearly 17 months, Julia Gordon ’22 said her last first day felt surreal and a bit bittersweet. “I’m going to try and enjoy every minute of my last year of law school and really soak up being a student here,” she explained, “including taking classes in areas that I’m passionate about like labor and employment law.”
