It’s been months since we last walked through the hallowed halls of our law school. When the Philippines had (finally) decided that proper measures must be taken to prevent the further spread of COVID-19, all classes had to be held online.

It was a week before midterms when this news about staying at home was announced. And to be honest, it was like a breath of fresh air, considering that I was far from ready to take my midterm exams.

While we continued seeing the number of positive cases rise up, more and more law schools were announcing that they would give their students a passing mark for the semester. Meanwhile, students from my school are clamoring to put together petitions, asking the school administrators to do the same.

It’s more than a month since the supposed end of the semester, and we’re still having classes and exams. USC thought it best not to give us an easy way out. Say whatever you want about this decision, but I can feel that our teachers have our best interest in mind when they made it. Sure, we will end the semester about two months longer than usual, but at least we had something to do during the quarantine.

However, despite the conduct of online classes and exams, there is still a huge difference in our study schedule when left on our own. Gone is the pressure of preparing for class. You can just join the meeting and do whatever you want. I had attended classes while washing the dishes, cleaning my room, and doing the laundry. Ideally, I would be on my desk, taking copious notes about the class I haven’t prepared for, but knowing that the lectures would be recorded to accommodate those whose internet connections are not that stable, it’s easy to brush it off for later.

We’ve had more time in our hands since the lockdown. This should have been used to catch up on readings or to even study in advance. However, the restrictions that come with the quarantine made it hard to do this. Even people who used to be very productive had succumbed to the mental anguish brought about by not being able to go out.

I personally found myself getting more and more depressed every day. I am generally a homebody, but being in the same small room for too long can take its toll on a person. I had a lot to do and a lot of time to do them, but I found myself procrastinating for weeks on most tasks.

The motivation was no longer there. My life had been a constant cycle of watching random videos online and sleeping in.

Our teachers try their best to conduct classes as much as they can. But we see the number of attendees decrease every meeting. During our last administrative law class, for example, the number of students who attended the live lecture was down by almost half.

There is an upside to the quarantine, however. More organizations have offered free online lectures. A lot of them are taught by authorities in their respective legal fields. The bar topnotcher, Atty. Azores, even shared her tips on how to prepare for the bar exams.

Legal education has evolved significantly these past few months. We may be under quarantine longer, and law schools should put up measures and systems to effectively conduct classes online to avoid face-to-face interactions.

In adjusting to our new normal, we hope that our school administrators will also consider our mental health and the availability of resources when deciding how to proceed with the next semester.