Rivalry?
So I don't normally put things on here about law school, but something odd happened the other day that got me so riled up I just had to vent about it to you, my two or three readers. Wednesday, in everyone's favorite class, a rivalry surfaced that I wasn't aware even existed. The summer entrants, some of them anyways, showed themselves to be at odds with the fall entrants.
Now first I will concede that the entire issue would not have come up had the professor not made a comment about how there seemed to be a disproportionate number of summer starters who hadn't passed his midterm yet (for those not in this class, the midterm doesnt really count for anything, he just wants to make sure we have some terminology down). This was one of those comments that you really just let slide, but retorts were made that uncovered something I was beforehand unaware of. No sooner had the professor uttered the comment then a girl threw her hand in the air like her pants were on fire and informed us all that 16 of them had passed the first time. Well I had to ask myself...why on earth did she know that? I mean, to have that knowledge means she sat there and counted the people on the list to see how many were summer entrants. Let me tell ya what a waste of time that seems to be to me, unless there is some sort of rivalry that I wasn't aware of. I mean, she wasn't a lone case either. Another guy also made a similar assertion.
So I've been puzzling over this for a day now, and I still can't come up with a reason why anyone would really care. I have some friends who are summer starters and they have never acted like they were trying to compete with me or prove they are better than me, so my only guess is that it's a small faction that somehow sees themselves as the underdog or something and is seeking to prove they are better than the fall starters. Which is stupid to me cause the only difference between the two groups is that one checked the box for fall and the other for spring. We were all in the same admissions class so I really just don't get it.
So here is my suggestion. How about we all just try to get along? It sounds cheesy, but let's take the fall entrants as a whole. There are something like 9 sections. And sure there is a little section rivalry, but it's all in good fun. Call it a healthy rivalry with good sportsmanlike conduct. So I see no reason why it shouldn't be the same with the summer starters. Although there is one thing I must say about that same class - how about if you want lunch you get it before class instead of leaving in the middle to go get it. Im just waiting for the day someone comes back with McDonalds or something. Alright, so that's enough from me...I shall remove myself from the soapbox. So everyone remember, it's just one class that isnt worth stressing over so how about we all be civil and friendly.
posted by Scott @ 12:03 AM
1 Comments:
Ah, the realization that something isn't right with summer starters. I know generalizations are a bad thing, but it seems that summer starters always have a chip on their shoulder. You can't really blame them, it is an institutional problem. First, by rule summer starters must not have just finished undergrad. This results in a grouping of people removed from academics, hardened by actual work experience, and more than likely a little older and maybe a little more mature than the average fall starter (that is a huge maybe). Second, if you put a group of 30 people into an intense situation they will develop bonds and a sense of comradery. As a second year, the people that I know best are people in my first year section. But fortunately there were other sections to meet and branch out to. The summer starters don't have the luxury of meeting anyone else for the first 4 months of school. The result is a tight knit group of people reluctant to let anyone else in. It is the creation of an Us against the World in the summer starter mind. Finally, by the time fall starters hit the building, a sense of experience and arrogance has been instilled towards the newbies in the fall class. The summer starters are stuck between being 2nd years and the fresh meat of the 1st years. The individuals in the summer program are nice people (or as nice as anyone else in law school) but as a group they are the red-headed step children of the college. They are isolated and removed from most everyone else, and that is the source of the obnoxious behavior that is often exhibited. As a general rule, Summer Starters Suck.
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