This week, I have no overarching gripes, however, I have learned a lot. The usefulness of this information is perhaps debatable, but what the hell.
1.) Law students are obsessed with formal wear.
This week I was invited to a formal dance – this is a thing I have not done since high school. I’ve heard rumors that undergraduate colleges in this country have formal dances, but it is certainly not a thing where I’m from.
Looking in my closet, it turns out that I can not attend this dance, because I literally have nothing to wear. Because I am old, and anything resembling a prom dress was abandoned years ago.
But that is not the only formality going on at law school. Last week, I bitched a blue streak about the role playing element of law school, but I didn’t get to the clothing.
I’ve never seen so many suits. Combined with a fairly bizarre selection of club wear. Note to students: formal and work appropriate are not necessarily the same thing. Regardless, what I learned is that at least a quarter of my cohort has really dropped some cash on fancy clothes. And, at least half my class has less of an idea about what is appropriate than I do. Go team average!
2.) There is no rhyme or reason in torts.
No, seriously. In this state, if you get drunk and hurt yourself, you are not allowed to recover from the bar that got you drunk – even if the sale was illegal. On the other hand, if you steal beer from your over-21 roommates fridge, and then hurt yourself, it is negligence per se, and you can sue your roommate.
Because torts is not about consistency, it’s about making 1Ls cry into their casebooks.
3.) Minnesota hates repealing criminal laws.
Even when the law is stupid. Fornication is currently illegal in Minnesota. That’s right, fornication is illegal. I mean, so are sodomy, adultery and having a disorderly house. Thankfully, a disorderly house does not just mean your closets are a mess and you haven’t done the dishes, but still…. Please note: when any man and single woman have sexual intercourse with each other, each is guilty of fornication, which is a misdemeanor.
I had no interest in criminal law, but finding a way to prosecute a couple of people for fornication is now solidly on my bucket list.
4.) No matter how long you have spent in school, exams suck.
Yep. You may have done literally hundreds of exams, but the feeling of dread and terror is unavoidable. Will you suddenly forget the entirety of intentional torts? Probably. What about statutory construction? Hell, who knew what that was in the first place? No matter what way you look at it, exams just suck.
Looking for the first installment of the non-trad 1L? Find it here.