Showing posts with label undergrad. Show all posts
Showing posts with label undergrad. Show all posts
Hi, everyone! I have several updates to make while I eat my delicious breakfast of buttered toast with cream cheese, salmon, and various meats, and a strawberry-mango smoothie! As you must know by now, I haven't made a post in a while, but I intend to. In fact, I am able to say exactly what sorts of posts I'll be making... likely in the next two weeks or so.

First of all, I want to reveal my process, how I write my articles. Despite blogging online and all the technology of the current generation, I am an old school writer. I don't like typing out anything I write, with the exception of school essays. I write poetry in journals, I write articles in journals, and then I type them up. Sure, it's pretty tedious, but it is also what I am used to and prefer. Sometimes I hate that it takes double the time to do this, but it also means I can write on the subway or at a cafe without a heavy load. 


This is the journal I currently use for this blog:


Isn't it the cutest?! I bought it a while ago and didn't know what to do with it. Then, when I started this law blog, I felt it fit to proclaim my feminism and also overcome the challenges of being a minority in the legal field. 

Anyway, I've been super busy and, admittedly, procrastinating on my articles for this blog, so my posts have become all backed up. From January 25th on, I'm trying for one per day until I finish all the topics I want to cover, then I'll readjust to whatever blogging schedule works for me.

Here are my current article ideas in no particular order:

- A long blog post about my first (pre)law class, The American Legal System
- A medium length blog post about my first (pre)law class final
- Legality in Chess: Who Owns the Right to Chess Games and Moves?
- Lessons Learned: Reading a Law Blog Every Day
- Lessons Learned: Reading the New York Times Every Day
- A Potential Law Suit at My School?!
- Reviews of 
       - One L by Scott Turow
       - May It Please the Court edited by Peter Irons and Stephanie Guitton
       - The Courage of Their Convictions by Peter Irons
       - Notorious RBG by Irin Carmon and Shana Knizhnik
       - Proceed with Caution by William R. Keates
- Moot Court Class: The Hardest One Credit I'll Ever Earn! (This will be a collection of posts)
        - First Impressions of My Moot Court Workload Pre First Class
        - Final Impressions of My Moot Court Class
        - Preparing for Final Argument
        - The Final Argument
- Goals for the Next Semester

I'm excited to finally get this show on the road and (hopefully) stop procrastinating! Make sure to look for updates daily of those articles!


You may have heard about a recent event in which a man, Dan Goldstein, reportedly yelled at Ivanka Trump on a JetBlue flight which resulted in him being kicked off the plane, along with his husband and child. This garnered more attention when it was discovered that the husband (of the man that allegedly gave Ivanka a hard time) apparently tweeted about the event, saying that his husband was chasing down Ivanka to harass her.

The scene escalated further when the news started reporting the identity of the tweeter- a man named Matt Lasner. He was later connected to my college, Hunter College, as he is a professor there.

Following this news reveal, random people with no affiliation with Hunter College decided to review Hunter College on Facebook, giving it bad reviews. Citing this recent incident with Ivanka, many people unfairly attacked the school, degrading the institution to a 2.8 star rated school. This rating may now affect anyone who decides to look up Hunter College. It may affect the school's reputation. This rating is not an accurate portrayal of the quality of the school.

This morning I saw a petition asking for him to be fired from his job at Hunter College. The petitioner argued in the description of the petition that Lasner's "conduct is a direct representation of Hunter College" and that someone "who would harass a mother and her child simply trying to go about their day, does not deserve the honor of teaching."

I feel that this proposal is interesting- getting someone fired for something he tweeted. It is necessary to point out that the creator of the petition must have had a little bit of misinformation when he created the petition. Lasner was not the one who supposedly "harassed" Ivanka. Lasner's husband's actions do not transfer to Lasner's responsibility. Lasner was not reported to be saying anything controversial at the time when his husband raised the conflict of sitting on the same flight as Ivanka.

In fact, I question if a ruckus was even made about Ivanka's appearance on the plane. TMZ reported that Goldstein was "an out-of-control passenger" who "began verbally berating her and 'jeering' at her 3 kids." A supposed witness on the plane made a Facebook post claiming it was a relatively calm scene and he did not hear any screaming at all. TMZ may have exaggerated the story quite a bit.

I think this news sheds light on important ideas in our legal system, such as the Freedom of Speech, which many Facebook commentators seem to mention. I will have to return to this event later in time once I start learning more about the First Amendment in my Bill of Rights class next semester. Only then will I feel adequate enough to talk about the coverage the First Amendment offers. This situation also brings up the question on an employer's right to fire an employee based on off duty events. New York has certain protections for off duty conduct (some policies highlighted in the New York Labor Law, Section 201-d - Discrimination Against The Engagement In Certain Activities), however it is still complicated to determine whether or not Lasner can be fired.

I have also seen the reverse petition to NOT fire Matthew Lasner from Hunter College. I look forward to seeing what my college will say about this situation, if they will comment at all.
This October, my college offered me the opportunity to attend a seminar in Washington DC with a nonprofit called PLEN (Public Leadership Education Network).

But first: how did I get to have this amazing experience?

I sucked it up and in a brief moment of courage, I jumped at the opportunity when it presented itself. My school's pre law program has an advisor. Let's call her Melanie for now. At my college's convocation, there was a panel for several advisors in different pre-professional tracks to speak about their work such as the pre law track, the business track/program, pre med, etc. After the panel, I nervously approached Melanie and told her I was interested in the pre law program. I was so eager that I set up an appointment for the next day! She was quite approachable, patient, and easy to talk to (and still remains this way). When I went to her office, I found more clarity in my professional path but also confusion. The world just seemed too big for a freshman undergraduate student to fathom. Nevertheless, halfway through the meeting, Melanie brought up a seminar she had been meaning to send 2 interested women to. 

"Do you think you would be interested?"

I gave an enthusiastic yes.

Three weeks later, I was on my way to DC with a fellow schoolmate who I came to admire in the next few days.

So I learned a pre-seminar lesson: go out and find opportunities, talk to people and they might surprisingly appear.

The seminar featured panels of women who did all different sorts of legal work and advocacy. There were women who worked for nonprofits, the DOJ, different congresspeople, firms, IBM, and much more. In that weekend, I was inspired, empowered, and challenged. I learned a lot, many lessons that I will condense and impart on anyone reading my blog!

#1. Everyone has his/her own definition of success. 
I am personally aiming to find a job I'll love and not be starving at the same time. So many people seem to hate their job. When I find a job that will sustain me as well as be enjoyable and engage me, I will achieve my personal definition of success (which may change).

#2. There are so many paths to Capitol Hill.
If that's where you want to be, don't just think you have to get there the same way as someone else. Find the way that works for you

#3. You can do policy with a law degree, but you can't practice law with a policy degree.

#4. Walk into that courtroom, classroom, conference with CONFIDENCE! Give yourself a little mental prep and remember to BREATH!

#5. Learn to coexist with people with different political views.
You will be eating dinners, going out for drinks, and generally socializing with people who might not see that one topic you're so passionate about in the same way you do. It doesn't mean you have to shun them. Put the differences aside, just like you would for other aspects of people's backgrounds.
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About

I'm an undergrad pre-law student, writing my way through college and hopefully law school. I'll be writing about random topics that interest me.

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