KO Student Visits UConn Law after Law Fellow’s Discusson

With a deep affinity for human rights and the law, Arthur Tittman ‘26 was a natural to moderate a question and answer period earlier this year when Shae Heitz, a fellow from the UConn School of Law human rights clinic, spoke to the Form 4 students. The students read The Displaced, a collection of first-hand accounts of refugees for their history class and the novel Exit West by Mohsin Hamid for their English class. As a culminating experience, the students heard from Heitz, who shared her experience advocating for an Afghan asylum seeker. Heitz offered the students to follow up with her if they had any questions or were interested in visiting the law school.

Heitz’s story inspired Tittman to take her up on the offer. Initially, Tittman thought that perhaps Heitz was just being polite; however, he said she was extraordinarily generous with her time and attention. While other students took off for parent-teacher conferences last Thursday, Tittman traveled to Hartford to tour the law school and sit in on an hour-plus first-year criminal law class with 60 UConn students taught by a humorous professor who Tittman said resembled Wallace Shawn.  The class topic was accomplice liability – a person who aids and abets in a crime. “It is very complicated, and there are exceptions,” Tittman said.  “It was really interesting, and sometimes I was a little lost because I didn’t know what the vocabulary meant.”  As he sat in the back of the class with his paper and pen, Tittman acknowledged that he felt a bit out of place, although the law students didn’t pay him any mind.

“I am interested in law because it affects everything and everybody and everything that everybody does,” Tittman said. 

Tittman finds being a politician unappealing, but he does recognize its value in setting policy. He also possibly sees a future as a lawyer or defense attorney. “If you’re a good person and you go in with the right attitude, you can help many people,” he said. He also said he has learned that you can make a difference and impact people and policy without being a politician.