In my last post, I mentioned CISP. The Cooperative Income Sharing Program (CISP) is a student-run, student-funded organization that provides money to students who choose unpaid or underpaid public interest co-ops. For each semester, students write an anonymous bit about their upcoming co-ops and why they believe they should be the recipients of CISP funding. The student body then votes on how they think the money should be distributed. CISP grant recipients may receive anywhere from $200 to $800 for their co-op, welcome assistance for those headed into yet another three months of unpaid work.

The money for these grants comes from the used books CISP sells (students come in and sell their no-longer-needed books, agreeing to donate a certain amount of the profit to CISP), as well as the annual Talent Show put on by the students, faculty, and staff at NUSL (always a fun time). Last and certainly not least, CISP sells all the official NUSL clothing and merchandise – while you can get general Northeastern gear at the University bookstore, CISP is the only place to get NUSL merch….which leads me to my plug! We have great new merchandise, just in time for the holidays, so stop by and grab your NUSL sweatshirts, mugs, and keychains. We’ll even sell you a tote bag to carry them home in. http://www.slaw.neu.edu/students/cisp/merchandise.html

We even take orders online or over the phone. And if I can't convince you, I'll leave it to these three guys:

Buy CISP!

Posted by Sarah at 9:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The transition back into the life of a law student has been harder than I expected. The upside of the NUSL lifestyle, of always running to a different location, job, task, set of people, has a downside of...well, of always running to a different location, job, task, and set of people!

Just two weeks ago (!) a day in my life looked something like this: wake up around 7, walk three sunny miles to work (with a stop for coffee at my favorite bakery), spend the day in the beautiful federal courthouse working on cases at my own pace, helping clerks as needed, and joking around with my fellow externs. Come 5 or 6pm, leave, have dinner with a friend, and spend the rest of the night doing. . .whatever I wanted!

My days now look a little different. I wake up in the morning, and it’s dark and cold out. I jump out of bed (ok, drag myself out of bed) and think about everything I have planned for the day. Go to at least one, and sometimes two, fast-paced and challenging classes. Read dozens of pages of cases for each. Work in the CISP office. Run from meeting to meeting. Serve as a research assistant to a professor. Stop into Chicken Lou's for my customary dose of fried food. Try to keep up with everyone over email and the phone. And, finally, at 8 or 9, trudge home for a late dinner, a dose of trash TV, and some final bed time legal reading. Yep, life has changed.

Don't get me wrong, I know I'm very lucky that my full time job is learning. It’s pretty incredible. But it has surprised me how hard it is to get back in the swing of school. The semester seems quick too, with a holiday break in a few weeks (Florida, here I come!), and then the quick descent of finals.

So wish me luck! I hope to find some way to kick start my brain soon.

Oh, one final note: I missed it last year, but it looks like I’m going to be able to make the annual Reblaw conference this year. I’ve heard great things about it, and I’m already excited about attending this February. Check it out if you’re interested in social justice lawyers and law students: http://islandia.law.yale.edu/reblaw

Posted by Sarah at 11:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)