I never thought I’d see the day when I enjoyed taking an exam. Assistant Professor of Politics John Petrakis’s spring Civil Rights class proved me wrong.
On the exam, Petrakis provides a scenario for a court case, the facts of the case, and the relevant statute. It’s up to the student to determine how the court would most likely rule. Essentially, the student becomes the judge, handing down a verdict and providing a justification based on precedent.
As an aspiring lawyer, I was in my element.
I decided to take a class on civil rights with Petrakis for one of my politics major electives because I wanted to study more modern political topics. My Hillsdale education has prepared me to read, write, and think like a lawyer, but aside from Professor of Philosophy and Religion Nathan Schlueter’s phenomenal “Law and Society” class, I had not done any in-depth analysis of American court cases. Sure, I knew from my Constitution 101 class that Marbury v. Madison established judicial precedent, but I had yet to take a class solely focused on understanding America through court cases.
Petrakis is from Montreal, Canada, and recently started teaching at Hillsdale. He’s energetic, engaging, and loves bunnies.
From free speech to property rights and affirmative action lawsuits, the class analyzes the precedent prior to each case, the court’s ruling, and whether the Court came to the right conclusion. The readings for this class are primarily Supreme Court cases.
I recommend taking this class with friends, especially if you have some with differing political views. Petrakis gives you the ability to discuss and debate these legal issues, and my favorite class discussions involve my peers hashing out their opposing views.
For example, we covered Texas v. Johnson, the infamous court case that prohibited the criminalization of flag burning. Our class talked about whether there should be consequences for burning the American flag, and whether that burden should lay in the government’s hands. The majority of the class, like true Americans, believed that flag burning should be criminalized. A few of us were convinced that it violated First Amendment rights, which made for a great debate.
We have also covered cases involving free speech laws as they relate to defamation, racial discrimination, and even abortion. Having taken this class, I can better appreciate the justice system because of the many interpretations the law could yield.
When I think about the class discussions that I enjoyed the most at Hillsdale, the ones I had in this class always come to mind. If that isn’t a reason to try a class, I don’t know what is.
Hershey Hackberry is a junior studying politics.
