American legal history and culture distinguishes itself both by its respect for the Constitution and its eagerness to heatedly debate its interpretation. There are those who believe in a “living Constitution,” constructed by the Framers to be flexible and changing with the mores and demands of the progressing society it serves. Others are “textualists,” prominent among them the late Justice Antonin Scalia, who believe that the Framers designed the Constitution to be a stable bedrock of fundamental law with specific avenues for amendment, to serve as a foundation upon which legislative action can build a legal edifice. They see the Constitution as concrete in what it says, and wish to leave anything it does not say to the legislative authority of the Congress and States, rather than the courts.
Intellectual Life
Meet the Ambassador: Nicholas Baker
Name: Nicholas Baker
Year: 1L (Class of 2018)
Undergraduate institution: University of Florida, Class of 2015, graduated cum laude; Florida Blue Key
Activities at BC Law (besides being an Ambassador): Christian Legal Society
Favorite class: Civil Procedure with Professor Webber. He’s always cracking jokes and consistently keeps the class laughing.
Meet the Ambassador: Justin Beegle
Name: Justin Beegle
Year: 2L (Class of 2017)
Undergraduate institution: Emory University, Class of 2013; NCAA Postgraduate Scholar for Varsity Swimming
Experiences between college and law school: I was a paralegal at a criminal defense law firm in Atlanta, GA for a year. For the summer immediately preceding law school, I worked at a colonial-themed restaurant in Gettysburg, PA. I still have the knickers.
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Meet the Ambassador: Kurtis Brown
Name: Kurtis Brown
Year: 1L (Class of 2018)
Undergraduate institution: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Class of 2015
Activities at BC Law (besides being an Ambassador):
- 1L Section Representative, Environmental Law Society
- 1L Gulf Coast Recovery Project Spring Break Service Trip
Meet the Ambassador: Ross Weimer
Name: Ross Weimer 
Year: 3L (Class of 2016)
Undergraduate institution: University of Pittsburgh, Class of 2011, graduated summa cum laude
Favorite class: Land Use Law
Activities at BC Law (besides being an Ambassador):
- Teaching Assistant, Legal Reasoning, Research and Writing
- Civil Litigation Clinic
- Admissions Committee
- Moot Court Competition
Meet the Ambassador: Justin Maloney
Name: Justin Maloney
Year: 1L (Class of 2018)
Undergraduate institution: Providence College, Class of 2015, graduated summa cum laude; Highest GPA in the Philosophy Major; Highest GPA in the Business Studies Minor
Activities at BC Law (besides being an Ambassador):
- Law Students Association (1L Section Rep)
- Business Law Society
Meet the Ambassador: Rob Rossi
Name: Rob Rossi
Year: 3L (Class of 2016)
Undergraduate institution: Boston College, B.S. in Management with concentrations in Finance & Marketing, Class of 2013, graduated magna cum laude
Activities at BC Law (besides being an Ambassador):
- Executive Articles Editor, Boston College Law Review
- BC Law Impact
- 3L Glass Gift Committee
- Beantown Shootout & Intramural Basketball Teams
- BC Law Softball League
- Chair of the Law Students Association Social Media & Communications Committee (as a 2L)
- Gulf Coast Recovery Trip to New Orleans, LA (as a 1L)
The Best Class I’ve Taken in Law School
Coming into law school, I had no intention of ever stepping into a court room. I thought I wanted to do education policy work for a non-profit or government agency, hanging out behind a desk, engaging with complex issues at the highest levels, and generally avoiding an adversarial setting at all costs. But then I actually came to law school and what I thought I wanted shifted dramatically — which, spoiler alert, happens a lot!
My 2L year, my dear friend and current Law Student Association Vice President Andrea Clavijo lovingly coerced me into participating in the intra-school Moot Court competition. More on that later (and you can read about it on the BC Law web site here), but the tl;dr version is that Moot Court is basically fake appellate advocacy. Instead of making an argument to a jury, Law & Order style, you and a partner argue in front of a (fake) Supreme Court, focusing on the legal issues and advocating for what the law should be.
The experience was absolutely terrifying, and I. Absolutely. Loved It. Which is what brings me to the actual topic of the post: the best class I’ve taken in law school.
Meet the Ambassador: Cusaj Thomas
Name: Cusaj Thomas
Year: 1L (Class of 2018)
Undergraduate institution: Boston College, Class of 2015; Henry J. McMahon Award recipient; Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship finalist
Activities at BC Law (besides being an Ambassador): Historian, Black Law Students Association
Meet the Ambassador: Charlene Ochogo
Name: Charlene Ochogo
Year: 2L (Class of 2017)
Undergraduate institution: University of Florida, Class of 2014
Experiences between college and law school: The most relaxed summer ever (i.e., I went straight through).
