Student Life

Student Life: the APALSA Lunar Dinner

/ Elizabeth Blass / 1 Comment

This weekend, the Asian and Pacific American Law Student Association (known as APALSA) hosted its annual dinner to celebrate the lunar new year. I didn’t get a chance to attend as a 1L, but heard amazing things, so I made it a priority to buy a ticket this year.

The dinner is held in Chinatown, which is in downtown Boston near a neighborhood called Back Bay, and let me tell you, I was not disappointed. BC Law students pay $8 for an 8-course meal. Let me say that again: Eight dollars. Eight courses.  Continue reading →

Things I Wish I Knew, Vol. 2: Your story matters

/ Charlene Ochogo / 1 Comment

What the frack am I going to write my personal statement about?

A thought that has probably haunted many a person reading this for the past few months. And even after you’re done writing it, you have to read it, which is a lot like hearing your own voice on camera – i.e., “Gross. Do I really sound like that?” Even worse, you have to get someone else to read it to catch the typos and confusing tangents. And most people fall into one of two categories: the ones who tell you it’s perfect and not to change a thing (thanks, Mom!) and the ones who basically tell you to rewrite the whole thing.

To say that I was nervous about submitting my personal statement to BC is kind of like saying Boston got a few snow showers this past month. Race is such a sensitive topic of discussion, and I felt like I was really throwing caution to the wind in dedicating my entire admissions essay to the subject, but I couldn’t help it – it didn’t make sense to me to write about anything else. Then when I got the request to publish it in BC Law Magazine, I was even more anxious. I typed the confirmation email quickly and hit “send” before I could change my mind.

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Life Behind the Firewall

/ DQuattrochi / Leave a comment

“Welcome to the Firewall,” Yaxin said with a grin as she tapped her card to the clear, glass door of the fifth floor’s southwest corridor. I couldn’t help but grin too. Two clicks sounded as she reached out, grabbed the door handle and pulled it towards her. “Are you ready?” she asked, looking back at me. I was still in awe. I nodded and walked forward, calm and poised on the outside, but bursting with excitement on the inside.

stairs

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Law Revue Is Coming

/ Rob Rossi / Leave a comment

Happy Friday the 13th!  Given the unbelievable amount of snow we’ve had recently, I’m celebrating mine with a pair of make-up classes to kick off the weekend.

In lieu of a really in-depth post about career paths, social justice, or anything really heavy, I thought I’d lighten the mood a bit by reminding everyone – law revue is not far away!

I don’t have an exact date for when the new video(s) will drop (I hear it’s soon), but since last year’s hasn’t been posted on this blog yet, now seems like the perfect time to embed it. Enjoy!

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Ski Trip: A Snowy Retreat

/ rwmakawa / Leave a comment

This weekend was the annual BC Law Ski Trip organized by the Law Student Association.  It’s a fun break from Boston and gives students a great chance to relax and unwind in the mountains of Vermont.  As a 3L, this was my third and final Ski Trip, and I definitely enjoyed it:

One of the highlights of the weekend was going to a local bar to enjoy some live music:

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It’s All About Perspective

/ rwmakawa / Leave a comment

So…I’m not a Patriots fan.  Sorry!  That being said, I really really enjoyed Rob’s recent post about persistence and motivation.  I think it’s great advice and generally reminds us all that we need things in our lives to help us maintain perspective and keep us grounded.  It’s easy to lose yourself in studying and legal textbooks, but being well-rounded is about more than trying to get an A at the end of the semester.  I’d like to highlight some advice from the BC Law Impact group about perspective:

[The Spring Break Service Trip] was my first opportunity to do legal work since entering law school, and it was so rewarding to be able to help people! – Lucia

I realized that the ‘racial justice’ that was an ‘area of interest’ for me was a matter of life or death, of resisting daily disrespect, for other people. Real people, standing in front of me.  – Amelia

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Life at BC Law: Spring Break Service Trips

/ Luciabc / 2 Comments

During my spring break 1L year I spent an amazing week in Miami with four of my classmates. When you hear spring break and Miami in the same sentence your mind might jump to Ultra or Miami Beach, but we were actually in Miami to spend the week working at VIDA (http://www.vidalaw.org), a legal assistance center which primarily aids immigrant women and families who have lived through domestic abuse.

My fellow volunteers pose after our everglades tour.

My fellow volunteers pose after our everglades tour.

Every spring BC Law send a number of 1L student groups to do volunteer legal work around the country. My 1L year students traveled to Arizona, Denver, New York, New Orleans, and Navajo Nation. These trips are a tradition at BC Law, and are completely student run, with 2L alumni of the trips assisting 1Ls to plan and fundraise.

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How Tom Brady Helped Get Me a Job

/ Rob Rossi / 3 Comments

Disclaimer: I am a giant huge Patriots fan. My shock, euphoria and disbelief about last night’s Super Bowl finish will probably last as long as President Obama’s after Chief Justice Roberts upheld the Affordable Care Act as constitutional. 

For my first post on this blog, I only semi-jokingly wrote that my New Year’s resolution was to make sure my schoolwork did not force me to miss a single episode of Game of Thrones. As I wrote in that post, some of the best advice you’ll get at this law school (or possibly any other – but I really hope you come to this one!) is “don’t give up the things you can’t do without.”

While law school has a reputation of being an infinite time suck that deprives students of the ability to do anything enjoyable at all, that reputation is simply untrue. Well, maybe it’s true for some people, but not for me. My time away from my classes and my assignments is what motivates me to put forth my best effort when I am doing my work. Here, let Tom Brady explain what I mean much more effectively in this Uggs ad:

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How To Be A Lawyer While You’re Still in Law School

/ Elizabeth Blass / 2 Comments

As future law students, I’m sure you’ve all heard the rumors and stereotypes about law schools. They run the gamut — from the terrifying and incorrect (“EVERYONE IS SO COMPETITIVE AND NO ONE IS FRIENDLY AND IT’S IMPOSSIBLE TO GET AN A YOUR FIRST YEAR”), to the hilariously accurate (“Law school is high school for adults”), to the tongue-in-cheek (see, for example, Thought Catalog’s take on the 19 People You Meet in Law School). But the stereotype that most stuck out to and worried me as a prospective student was what I’d like to call the Myth of the Library Lockdown. That is, by heading off to law school, you are essentially signing yourself up for three years of good ol’ book learning, tied to a library carrel, buried under 200 pounds of Supreme Court opinions and study aids.

Don’t get me wrong. As a former English major, I can get down with the heavy reading. Chaucer, Shakespeare, and I used to be great pals; I can handle my fair share of tiny print. But that’s not why I wanted to come to law school. I taught for three years after college, came to law school with a really specific focus, and knew I wanted to get right to making an impact in real people’s lives. I was really nervous that law school was going to feel like a fruitless and frustrating gesture, a means to an end I had to just get through in order to do the work I am passionate about. But that’s because I didn’t know about clinics.

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Life at BC Law: Working During the School Year

/ Luciabc / Leave a comment

Working at BC Law’s Admissions Office I often hear from prospective or accepted students who are wondering about whether they can work during the school year while attending BC Law. I remember when I was getting ready to go to law school I thought I would try to work my first year. I worked all throughout undergrad, so I expected that it would be the same in the law school. After starting 1L year, however, I realized that there were a number of reasons to hold off and wait for my second year before getting a part-time job.

Most importantly, something I didn’t know before I got to law school is that students are highly discouraged from working during their 1L year. I think there may be an ABA rule about this but I’m not completely sure. In any case, you’ll be adjusting to a new way of learning and studying and it is best to devote yourself to your classes. I know a few students who have quietly worked a few hours a week at service industry jobs they had before school, or gotten a cushy job at the library, but the general consensus is that it is wise to steer clear of working during 1L year. Your grades during this year are extremely important so it is best to hunker down with the books and use your time outside of the library to get to know your new classmates.

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