events

Black Lives Don’t Matter

/ rwmakawa / Leave a comment

They don’t. That’s the message that plays on a loop against a seemingly never-ending backdrop of killings of unarmed minorities at the hands of those who are sworn to serve and protect society. That’s the message that’s forced a movement around the idea that #BlackLivesMatter. That’s the message that made me wake up in a sweat early this morning.

Silhouettes

The only light came from the eerie glow of the crescent moon as I stood in the middle of a wheat field. It was slightly windy, and there was a dilapidated farmhouse about 100 yards in front of me. Around the field and the house were dark, uninviting woods. For no reason, I noticed I was wearing a white t-shirt and black pants. As I walked towards the house, I suddenly realized there were figures approaching me on either side from out of the wooded areas. They were just black silhouettes lit against this breezy field, but I could tell they were wondering what I was doing there, and I, of course, would have no explanation. Continue reading →

America, for a minute

/ DQuattrochi / Leave a comment

Think it sounds a bit ridiculous? That’s because you’re not an Eagle (yet). Being a member of the BC Law community has been an amazing adventure with tremendous opportunities for growth, kinship, and self-discovery. As difficult as it was to leave that community and come to London, I imagined it would be even more difficult to not return for two of my favorite, spring BC Law events: Admitted Students Day; and, of course, LAW PROM!

For anyone other than a 1L (they’re a bit bitter about how much energy you pre-Ls have, and that you smile when talking about studying law) Admitted Students Day is absolutely awesome. For me, personally, Admitted Students Day is about bringing everything full circle, and giving back to a community that has time and again given so much to its students.

While I was back on campus this past weekend I was able to welcome many of you, sit in on a live Civil Procedure class with Prof. Spiegel, field some of your questions during a delicious lunch, give a tour of the law school, AND serve on a career services panel.

Continue reading →

Life at BC Law: Special Events!

/ Luciabc / Leave a comment

As many of us have mentioned in our posts, part of what makes BC such a great place to go to law school is the strong sense of community here.  When I moved to Boston for law school I only knew two people in the city. It is hard to believe that that was almost three years ago now. During my time at BC I’ve met an amazing group of friends and future colleagues who have made these past few years fly by. While my friends and I have a lot of good times on our own, part of what makes BC so great are the events planned by student government. In addition to our elected Law Students Association representatives, committees like the Special Events Committee and the Sports Committee do a lot to plan the trips and nights out that we all look forward to throughout the year! Here are some of the different events that are traditions at BC Law.

550148_10151379438698670_1119924791_n

My friends and I take a break from skiing Killington on the annual ski trip.

Continue reading →

Tinker Bell or Prison Time? (Paradigms of Criminal Law Part One)

/ Amelia M. Wirts, Esq. / 2 Comments
2015-02-21 17.17.10 copy

sujatha baliga, Restorative Justice Project and Associate Director, NCCD, speaking at the Rebellious Lawyering Conference at Yale Law School, Feb. 21, 2015 (photo taken by me)

“What do crime victims actually want?”

That is a question that sujatha baliga is asked quite frequently as a facilitator in restorative justice programs that focus on making a victim whole after a crime rather than punishing the person who committed the crime. “You can never really predict what will make a victim whole. Sometimes, it’s Tinker Bell,” balinga said. Continue reading →

Seachanges and Drag Queens

/ mptierney / Leave a comment

With the current state of the world, Environmental Law is only going to get bigger. At BC Law, there’s no question that we’re at the tip of the spear on a number of pressing environmental legal initiatives. Our environmental law review, Environmental Affairs, is the second oldest and most subscribed such journal in the country. Our professors of environmental law are luminaries in their field. And our student run Environmental Law Society boasts a proud, longstanding tradition of meaningful social and academic engagement. This January, the Environmental Law Society made a trip down to Provincetown as part of its annual Winter Weekend excursion.

Winter Weekend is tough to capture. It’s part lecture series, part bonding adventure, and recently, part drag karaoke jam fest. Let me explain. For the last three years, the Environmental Law Society has journeyed down to P-Town, famous for that old Cape magic, not to mention the town’s established LGBT community.  Law students come to learn from great speakers, enjoy the best seafood, and croon a Journey song or two with the locally famous Dana Danzel II.

Continue reading →

[Mock] Trials & [Real] Tribulations

/ rwmakawa / Leave a comment
The Mock Trial Team @ Regionals

The Mock Trial Team @ Regionals (not pictured: Jen Henricks, who was sick)

This past weekend BC Law hosted the Regional Mock Trial Competition in downtown Boston — specifically at the Suffolk Superior Court and at Suffolk Law School.  The competition lasted from Thursday – Sunday, and featured trials everyday.  BC Law took two teams, and I was on one of them.  The experience was nothing short of grueling and fantastic — it’s amazing to stand up in a courtroom like a trial attorney and match wits with law students from other schools.  At the same time, it’s incredibly nerve-racking to go against people who typically have extensive experience with mock trial (high school, college, etc.), and to really focus on all the dynamic changes that go on during a trial.

A Model of the Trial

A model of what the trial is about! (Yes, it happened in a trailer park)

Continue reading →

Racial Justice, Law, and Doing More

/ Amelia M. Wirts, Esq. / 2 Comments
Die In

Photo of the student organized BLACK LIVES MATTER – A Demonstration of Solidarity @ BC Law Event. Photo by Laura Partamian

Her voice was quivering, but she was still shouting. That’s what I remember most about the young woman in front of me. I could almost feel the sting of disrespect as she described her face being shoved against a brick wall by a police officer. I couldn’t help but relate to her — a graduate student in her 20s, pulling off the hipster look much better than I can. The difference between us was that she is black and I am not. That difference meant that she had spent her life in fear of law enforcement, treated like a criminal when she wasn’t one.

Continue reading →