Law in Contemporary Society

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RubiRodriguezFirstEssay 5 - 25 May 2022 - Main.RubiRodriguez
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Welcome to Law School

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Walking through the doors of Columbia Law School, I mentally prepare myself for another day of information overload. While I would rather spend my time getting to know my classmates outside of student-mode, we are limited to observing each other’s behavior in a lecture hall. Students are encouraged, even if temporarily, to set aside their passions, beliefs, and values to conform to the standard of the “ideal” law student. This is the process by which law school allegedly breaks you down to build you back up. But this model of training, usually associated with military boot camp, is simply a way to justify hazing; and every year, well-intentioned aspiring lawyers legitimize the process.
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Walking through the doors of Columbia Law School, I prepare myself for another day of information overload. While I would rather spend my time getting to know my classmates outside of school, we are limited to observing each other’s behavior in a lecture hall. Students are encouraged, even if temporarily, to set aside their passions, beliefs, and values to conform to the standard of the “ideal” law student. This is the process by which law school allegedly breaks you down to build you back up. But this model of training, usually associated with military boot camp, is simply a way to justify hazing; and every year, well-intentioned aspiring lawyers legitimize the process.
 The biggest disappointment in law school is having been told to come because historically excluded students bring valuable knowledge to class discussions; but once inside, you are told to not threaten the status quo and to stop taking the law so personally. Ironically, those are the reasons why many of us came to law school in the first place. For students of historically excluded backgrounds, learning the law can be intellectually violent, which underscores how stifling traditional legal pedagogy can be.

Is this the golden ticket?

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Following the culture shock of entering a new academic environment with bizarre social norms, my purpose for coming to law school remains unchanged. I always understood the law as a tool largely for upholding injustice, and this is affirmed through the materials we have been learning from in law school. Despite the disappointments I have felt during my first year of law school, I look forward to being back in the halls of Columbia Law School this fall, finally engaging in classwork I find fulfilling because I hate injustice. The network, reputation, and experiential learning I have yet to fully take advantage of makes all the bullshit worthwhile.

The antidote to the effects resulting from the shortcomings of traditional legal pedagogy is to adjust my perspective on the importance of law school relative to the rest of my life. My greatest task for these three years is to focus is on my chosen duty of using my privilege to help families going through similar or worse adversity as that experienced by my family. I am reminded of this every morning, when I witness the obvious signs of income inequality between the two neighborhoods through which I travel. Whenever I see working class, immigrant families around Harlem, I know they do not perceive me as part of their community. But it is beautiful that by the mere switch of a language, I can convey my shared sense of solidarity, which is always understood through simple dialogue in a shared mother tongue. The resources I aim to leave with upon graduation are tools I will use methodically to equip these communities with self-advocacy strategies, like fuel slowly morphing into power to escape from the shadows of wealth to which they have been relegated.

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Following the culture shock of entering a new academic environment with bizarre social norms, my purpose for coming to law school remains unchanged. I always understood the law as a tool largely for upholding injustice, and this is affirmed through the materials we have been learning from in law school. Despite the disappointments I have felt during my first year of law school, namely by exposure to how the law works against poor people, I look forward to being back in the halls of Columbia Law School this fall because I hate injustice. What I take away from this experience to make me a better critic of the law and a better advocate makes all the bullshit worthwhile.
 
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The antidote to the effects resulting from the shortcomings of traditional legal pedagogy is to adjust my perspective on the importance of law school relative to the rest of my life. My greatest task for these three years is to understand my choice of coming to law school to help families going through similar or worse adversity as what my family experienced while also validating my continued desire to prosper financially. I am reminded of this every morning, when I witness the obvious signs of income inequality between the two neighborhoods through which I travel. Whenever I see working class, immigrant families around Harlem, I know they do not perceive me as part of their community. But it is beautiful that by the mere switch of a language, I can convey my shared sense of solidarity, which is always understood through simple dialogue in a shared mother tongue. The resources I aim to leave with upon graduation are tools I will use methodically to equip these communities with self-advocacy strategies, like fuel slowly morphing into power to escape from the shadows of wealth to which they have been relegated.
 

Conclusion

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The life I have managed to obtain since leaving Atlanta, a city notorious for being among the worst for upward economic mobility, has depended a lot on luck. But I know firsthand that, to survive, some families must sacrifice their emotional, psychological, and physical well-being while accepting low wages in the hopes of obtaining a lifestyle that many Americans, even those like me in fancy law schools, take for granted. And I understand the fervent desire to pursue prosperity, even when oppressive laws and policies stand in the way. Because of my family’s lived experience, as a law student and lawyer, I vow to defend the dignity of low-income and immigrant families, with the goal of uplifting and inspiring these communities to continue pursuing the life they deserve.
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The life I have managed to obtain since leaving Atlanta, a city notorious for being among the worst for upward economic mobility, has depended a lot on luck. But I know firsthand that, to survive, some families must sacrifice their emotional, psychological, and physical well-being while accepting low wages in the hopes of obtaining a lifestyle that many Americans take for granted. And I understand the fervent desire to pursue prosperity, even when oppressive laws and policies stand in the way. Regardless of where my career takes me, I want the freedom to counsel low-income, immigrant families to inspire them to continue pursuing the life they deserve.
 
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Revision 5r5 - 25 May 2022 - 15:56:22 - RubiRodriguez
Revision 4r4 - 10 Apr 2022 - 15:56:39 - RubiRodriguez
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