Benny, 2L

Happy New Year! We were experiencing some technical difficulties with my blog, which meant that I wasn't able to post since finals. Finals seem like they happened eons ago. Taking 3 four hour exams is exhausting, particularly at the end of what was already a long semester, and as a consequence I think I enjoyed this break more than any other break I've ever had.

Technically we were back this past Monday, although our classes don't start until tomorrow. The first three days of the semester are spent doing intensive research for our LSSC project. However, I had jury duty this week, and actually found myself seated for a two-day criminal trial that ended up taking three days because of our deliberations. This was the first time I've been seated on a jury, and the experience was really interesting, and made me excited to start my second semester in law school. Going in I was convinced that, as a law student, I wasn't going to be selected to sit on a jury. So being seated ended up being a pleasant surprise.

Co-op is also on a lot of 1Ls' minds right now. Many of us are still in the midst of applying, with the next round of deadlines this coming Monday. I expect to turn in roughly a dozen applications to co-ops in Boston, New York, Washington DC, and possibly the Bay Area and Wisconsin.

Law school is a funny place, with its own rules and habits, and yes, even conflicts. Most students (I would say 80%+) use computers to take notes in class (including myself during the first semester, although I elected to make the switch to paper notes over winter break).

Some professors, however, believe that computers in the classroom interfere with the pedagogical approach, and have recently banned computers in their classrooms, and this has caused some controversy on campus. Those who believe that computers can be harmful in the classroom argue that students spend too much time transcribing the classroom discussion instead of actively engaging with the material. Furthermore, some students allow the computers (Internet, etc.) to distract (and those sitting next to them) them from important classroom discussions and/or lectures. On the other hand, students who support computer use argue that they have made a significant investment (both in the form of money, and study habits), and that they should not be punished for the unfortunate irresponsibility of a few students.

I don't see an easy answer to this conundrum, and I think that this is an issue that professors, administrators, and students are going to struggle with for the foreseeable future. As for me, I'm actually quite happy taking paper notes thus far this semester, and have seen a definite up-tick in my ability to absorb difficult material. We'll see how that goes as the semester progresses....

On another note, I'm off to DC later this weekend to see history in person at the inauguration (or at least stand in a crowd while people with much better connections than me witness history). I'm heading down with a few law school classmates who were part of a group that volunteered for Obama in New Hampshire over Election Day weekend. It will be nice to get to (slightly) warmer weather in DC, as it's been hovering around 0 degrees for most of this week. I'll try to post some pictures if I get any good ones.

As I mentioned last week, a few of us went down to the DC for Barack Obama's inauguration. It was an amazing event. After spending the night in DC, we got to the mall a little past 4 a.m., getting as close as we could (about half a mile by our calculations). It was an incredible experience -- not just being there to witness the historic event, but to also "see" the transfer of power between two administrations. Unfortunately on the way back we got stuck in several hours of non-inauguration related traffic, but the experience of being in DC was worth every second of time we may have lost on the New Jersey Turnpike.

Back here on campus, I'm continuing to interview for co-ops, and am really enjoying my classes this semester. Our LSSC project is really moving into high gear, with our Law Office splitting up into various sub-committees to deal what is turning out to be an enormous amount of work.

Off to continue my con law reading.

It took well over a month, but we finally got our first round of evaluations in for our December exams. Instead of getting a letter grade, professor's write evaluations that range from 3 to 5 sentences. Although many of the evaluations use boilerplate language, I definitely found it helpful to receive written feedback that talks more in depth about my writing, analytical and argumentation skills, and classroom participation. From what I can gather, we don't get a hard copy of the exam back with the professor's notes and comments unless we specifically request it.

Folks generally seemed pretty satisfied with their evaluations, although for most of us it's an adjustment not getting a letter grade telling us "how we did." Still, it definitely takes a lot of the pressure off, and creates a much less competitive atmosphere.

This week we have memo due in support of a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim for which relief can be granted (lawyer talk for a defendant challenging the legal sufficiency of a plaintiff's claim). If you're interested in finding out what the heck I'm talking about, this Wikipedia entry is actually pretty helpful, and explains the concept in plain English.

One of the difficulties with public interest co-ops at NUSL is that many of them are, unfortunately, unpaid. The Cooperative Income Sharing Program (CISP) raises money by selling NUSL merchandise, coffee and snacks, and hosting an annual No Talent Show. Proceeds are distributed to students taking public interest co-ops. The show is this coming Wednesday, and in it members of the NUSL community, including students and faculty, perform to raise money for CISP. There's actually quite a bit of publicity for the event around campus, including this YouTube video that recently surfaced of Professor Hackney. All of us 1Ls who had Professor Hackney first semester got a real kick out of it (although perhaps it's not quite as entertaining if you haven't met him).