Grand Rapids Enjoying The Thomas Cooley Bubble

Did you know that:

• Law school is merely a "supplementary" education?
• There are people who fly in from San Francisco to attend Thomas Cooley on the weekends because it's that gosh-darned good of a school with its flexible schedule and other amenities?
• Downtown Grand Rapids "sort-of looks like Brooklyn" and would be familiar and cozy to students from Los Angeles and New York City?
  

Well, in case you didn't, you should watch Cooley Dean Nelson Miller's recent appearance on WOOD TV-8 and be enlightened.

You see, even though Grand Rapids is a dying city, Cooley Law School is proving to be an amazing source of prosperity:

Cooley Law School's campus in downtown Grand Rapids . . . started six years ago with just 18 students. Today, nearly 750 people study for their law degree on the school's campus.

Some people even fly in for weekend classes, then fly home, spending money on hotels and downtown restaurants while in town.

If you watch the video, it's explicitly stated that the Dean is using the segment to recruit; there's not even a pretense of journalism. They actually say that they want the graduates to stick around (Grand Rapids needs 200 new lawyers every year? Really?), and the interviewer makes no effort to ask any questions of substance.

I hope the people of Grand Rapids enjoy their minor economic boom. They'll probably wind up paying for it later in one way or another.

And yes, Dean Miller really did say downtown Grand Rapids looks like Brooklyn.