Recent Happenings (and Prepping for the Big Push)

I apologize for the lack of posting as of late. Things have gotten pretty busy in the last couple of days. Everyone's set for a big final push before the mid-semester break. LegWri memo #2 is due by the end of next week, and my fellow 1Ls and I will be taking practice exams this Thursday.

Highlights from the past week:

Advice from the 2Ls. On two occasions I got to listen to 2Ls espouse wisdom about surviving law school. First I met with my SBA-appointed 2L mentor who invited me and the other 1L advisee to his place for dinner. A few days later, Professor Seckinger (Depositions) invited the Depositions witnesses to join his advisees for pizza and discussion. He and his 2L advisees offered their suggestions on getting through 1L. To summarize: work hard, but not too hard. Grades aren't everything. You need balance in your life. Don't stress out. Easier said then done.

Presidential debate #2. Fun stuff. I watched the debate in the Fischer Community Center with a small group of pro-Kerry types. Some of the more interesting moments: Bush refusing to yield to moderator Charles Gibson and responding to Kerry anyway; Bush claiming to know about rumors on the "Internets"; Kerry making a direct promise not to raise taxes for families that earn less than $200K; Bush declaring himself to be a "steward of the environment"; Kerry calling Bush out on the Orwellian labels of various legislation.

The graveyard. A pro-life group at ND filled the quad outside the law school with hundreds of white crosses in a demonstration against abortion. This raised some issues among the pro-choicers, especially since ND refuses to recognize any official pro-choice student groups here. In an act of defiance, many of the crosses were uprooted/displaced/trampled the next day; but they were fixed and remained in place for a third day. The display is gone, but some tension still remains.

Study group. Yep, I joined one. I wasn't originally planning on joining a study group, but two of my fellow classmates invited me along on Friday. I found it really useful, and despite the large size of the group (7 or 8 people, I think) we seemed to get quite a bit accomplished. One member did storm out part way through the meeting, though. After debating with the group (and meeting en masse with our professor) I think I now understand CivPro much better.

That's what's been happening here in South Bend. Updates may be light this week as I mount the final drive before break. Speaking of which: I'll be back in Ohio from October 15-25. I'll be staying with the 'rents down in Chillicothe, but will probably be making trips to Columbus, Cinci, and perhaps even Cleveland. If you'd like to hang out, do something, get a beer, etc., let me know. I promise not to bore you to death with stories about law school. Too much.