Law School in a Nutshell

So i'm sitting in the "interaction area", which is effectively like "the pit" of the U of R in the the law building... i should probably start on the paper I have due tomorrow, but since i can't quite work up the motivation do it yet, i'll write to u guys in the mean time.

If it weren't for the horror stories of how dilapidated the engineer building is, i probably would not be able to appreciate the few amenities at the UBC law building. Its a bit of an eye sore, definitely not as pretty as the new buidlings that U of R seems to erecting these days. I think the UBC law building won some award for the most creative use of concrete (did i mention that in my other blog? I can't remember). No joke, i think its in a brochure somewhere. For most political science student this building is an upgrade but, for me at least, its definitely a downgrade from what i've been used too. Business school spoiled me. I forget sometimes that the business is by far the most highly funded faculty at least at the U of R. Lectures without powerpoint in a "smart" classroom was almost unheard of in classes. At law school, there's a podium, desk, and chairs, and maybe four power outlets for 40-50 students who all have laptops. Thank god I have a new Mac with a fresh battery.

There are some great features about the law building, its got a great library, and if you ever need a dead silent place to work, that's the place to be. They also have a "candidas" which i guess is our food court which is nice. They have a panini press, microwaves, fridges that everyone can use and free hot water... which is great for me... since i have a french press cup from starbucks.

Law school as a program is definitelys structured differently from any program i've ever heard of or participated in. Its pretty crazy. They take 200 first year law students and divide them into "small groups" of twenty. They pretty much stated, very eloquently, to all of us that these people are our new friends, get to know them... cuz they will be the only people u will ever see for the rest of the year.

For the most part, that's been holding true. i see the same 20 or so people, some in my small group, some not, in all my classes. Our schedules are exactly the same... right down to the breaks. Crazy, huh. It pretty much forces you to get to know these people. These will be the people that will share notes and save your ass when you happen to forget some important detail... so you'd better buy into the spirit of cooperation b/c the people that go it alone are the ones that are left behind.

The grading scheme is pretty messed too, but everyone expected it; however, its still hard for me to choke down sometimes. Basically, you are not graded on how "right" you are, you could construct a picture perfect case brief, that is absolutely rock solid, but if everyone does a picture perfect case, you'll only get a 70... at best. You are marked in comparison to the class, not to how "right" you are. At least in undergrad there was a distribution that the profs had make all student fall under... so there was the chance someone could get a ninety, but not everyone could get one. In law school, there is a range of marks and no distribution. The basic range of marks is generally 68-75, if you are absolutely steller u'll get a 72-73, if your avg u'll get a 70. Oh, if you want to do a masters in law, the minimum requirement is a 80% to be considered... brutal gabe.

I spend about 15.5 hours in class a and a about 26.5 hours in the law building a week. that's gotta be at least double what i did in my undergrad.

Its hard to imagine, after just reading what i just wrote, how or why anyone would subject themselves to this kind of punishment. I can honestly tell you, that i love it here. I can't say the last month hasn't been difficult because it has been a huge adjustment and it definitely did not go smoothly. I guess, its finally nice to be finally doing what i wanted to do since I graduated high school. Feels like it took me forever to get here... but I finally feel like i'm in the right place.