Professor Bell was well known for his kindness to students. Media often missed the fact that even conservative white male students liked him personally, because he encouraged and invited them to challenge his views and gave them space to do so in his classes. Some even became his Teaching Assistants. Professor Bell once surprised his students in a Constitutional Law Seminar by speaking in favor of a conservative white Christian male's argument for school vouchers, going so far as to criticize the tenure system which he said made professors too eager to embrace and support the status quo. Professor Bell gave his pointed opinions on many issues in class, but he did not expect anyone to accept those views uncritically. This critical engagement, combined with his goal of "humanizing the law school experience" is best characterized as Professor Bell's "radical humanism."