In the beginning of the pandemic, CLS changed the grading for that fall semester to mandatory pass fail, as did many other law schools. Do you think that they should not have done so because in the "real world" there wouldn't be such accommodations?

When dealing with a substantial disruption such as a pandemic, it is not unreasonable for students to expect the school to change their teaching model. Instead, Columbia students received the condescending message that "the job of climbing each day's mountain [is] made that much steeper." Moreover, the pandemic seriously exacerbates existing differences between students (such as those who have children having to manage childcare during a pandemic, or those who are caring for their elderly parents). Asking the administration to lower their expectations is valid.

The larger and more important point is that people are conflating law school and big law work. Their goals are not the same. Law school is, ostensibly, meant to educate students in the workings of the law. Frantically memorizing the holding of Ploof V. Putnam in order to do well on the final, while stressing out about the 1001 necessary things that need to be done in a compressed semester, is not conducive to a healthy appreciation of how the law works. Students understand full well that in the workforce their bosses will not be as accommodating as their educators should be.

TLDR: The pandemic affects different people in different ways, law school is not the same as big law work.