Professor Huppin is one of the best professors I have ever had. His lectures are engaging and thoughtful. I always looked forward to going to his classes and talking with him afterwards.
The workload in his class is incredibly light and he grades fairly easy. You should have no problem getting a good grade in his class if you put in even the minimum amount of effort. More importantly, you will learn a lot and have fun in the process.

Class is primarily based on various Supreme Court and lower court cases about freedom of speech. He brings up hypothetical examples in class and asks you to apply court decisions to these examples. The class is pretty straightforward. One midterm, one final, and two very simple thought papers where you basically just write about your opinion. The papers aren't that formal its just about getting you to think. He has review sessions before each exam and is very helpful when you ask questions. He posts his powerpoints, but omits some of the slides so the people that attend class gain an advantage over those who don't. He asks questions from the course reader that he doesnt discuss in class on the exams.

I also took Prof Huppin for legal comm the following quarter (got an A- this time) and it was pretty much the same format.

This class was interesting and worthwhile. Professor Huppin puts a lot of effort into his class and students. While the tests were difficult, he prepares you to do well if you show up. There is a couple of papers he assigns that require some original thought, but they make up less of your grade. It got boring reading the cases sometimes, but overall it was a good class.

I often found his lectures to be all over the place, but once I went to office hours, he made everything SO clear. I enjoyed coming to this class each time it was in session. The readings were all online, zero textbook needed. I would take 1-2 full days to study for his midterm and final and I got an A. He gives two thought papers that help boost your grade. I learned a ton in this class. Keep up with the readings, go to office hours, and study. You can get an A.

I'm currently taking Comm171 and it is my FAVORITE class out of all the classes I've taken. So if you are even remotely interested in this class try it out! I honestly am only writing this review in response to the review that said "Huppin write these reviews himself". I remember looking over this class and being reluctant to take it because of that specific review but gave it a shot and am sooooo glad I wasn't misled by the review of someone who likely wasn't pleased with the grade he/she received. I do admit that at first I was slightly intimidated of Huppin but once you attend office hours and talk to him, he is so incredibly helpful and genuinely cares about the well being of his students; he even holds review sessions before his midterm/final which are extremely beneficial.

Professor Huppin is my favorite professor at UCLA! He is incredibly smart and can answer all of your weird hypothetical questions (or will find you an answer!) The class is super manageable – just show up and skim the short online readings. There are two short thought papers that are basically impossible to get less than a B on, a midterm and a final. The multiple choice questions are from reading details and lecture details – very easy to get right if you pay a little bit of attention in class. The short answer questions are fun and focus on expanding ideas we discussed in class. Overall, he's a great guy who will let you complain about your life and aspirations, while also providing you with great insight into the First Amendment.

This class is based off of 2 short papers (10% each), 1 midterm (40%) and 1 final (40%). No textbooks needed. The midterm and final have a pretty heavy studying load, however; if you attend lecture and set aside time to study, you will be fine.

I think this class is pretty easy as an elective up div class. no heavy readings, basically just go online and search case summaries that you will be fine. I organized the notes ahead of time and started studying 2-3 days before midterm and final. two short responses, 10 pts each, you would able to get almost full pts for the responses. midterm was 35 pts and final was 40 pts.

VERY difficult class, would not take again - waste of an elective in CS. I'd rather take a nonlegal class about actual media or one of the more interesting legal/political classes like Presidential Comm. Learned a lot but often strayed away from what was expected. Intertwining video games into free speech was interesting, though.

If you're looking for a class where you can mindlessly regurgitate memorized information for an A, this is not the class for you. Only take if you're interested in putting real thought into the material and formulating your own opinions and expanding your base of knowledge and argumentation skills. That being said... Professor Huppin is an incredible instructor. He's knowledgable, approachable, insightful, fair, and clearly cares about student learning. The best part about him is that he doesn't just teach at students- he fosters meaningful discussions and pushes students to think critically and deeply about the course material. The readings were well-selected (if a little bit dense at times- be prepared for reading lots of Supreme Court cases), but I felt that there was plenty of time in class to explain and clarify them. I also loved that Professor Huppin discussed recent developments in the topics covered- it made everything we discussed that much more relevant to life outside the classroom. The midterm and final were both pretty short and not too difficult if you go to lecture, participate in class, and familiarize yourself with the cases. The two short thought papers were a breeze and great grade boosters. I highly recommend this class as a Comm. elective- also, it counts towards Honors credit, which is a sweet bonus.