Law in Contemporary Society

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SamanthaWishmanFirstPaper 4 - 19 Apr 2012 - Main.AbbyCoster
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After class yesterday, standing under the stormcloud of pending final exams, I started thinking a lot about J.D. Rule 3.1.2. I think Sam raises a good point about how opting out of the curve could be a sign of bravery, removing us from inclusion in the meaningless “pecking order” championed through the grading system. However, a rule cannot remove us from reality unless we are willing to change the way we think-like Sam muses, I think the only escape is through imagination. As such, I see no benefits, for anyone, of opting out.

Certainly, those who “beat the curve”-to use the trite law school lexicon- would not see any benefits to opting out of grading. (Except for maybe avoiding any deflation of their A averages, and thereby egos.) But for those of us, myself included, who did not achieve the highest grades, who fell into the amorphous average to below-average range, I see no benefit of opting out of the curve either.

It appears on the surface as though opting out may remove us from the hierarchy, and, as Sam says, make us more “happy and liberated” law students. However, professors and classmates may look down on us if they know we have removed ourselves from being subject to the grading system. Employers, too. I agree with Sam’s sentiment in that I would not want to work for an employer who measures my potential success and worth by looking at my grades. I think Eben’s method of emphasizing interviewing and ignoring transcripts altogether is a much more effective hiring practice. However, if we don’t receive grades, others will undoubtedly still subject us to a ranking in a hegemonic pecking order.

Other parties will look at someone who opts out from grades as weak, and rank that person accordingly. Even more paramount, if a person opts out, his/her conscience will be cognizant of that choice. To me, it seems a cowardly choice to remove ourselves from a system we may seem trapped by. By choosing not to have grades, we would be submitting to the system.

However, we can escape damnation to this arbitrary, meaningless hierarchy. We can free ourselves from it, but only through our own motives and outlook, not from exercising our rights under JD Rule 3.1.2. The only escape is through our own creative power.

By telling myself a B makes me no more inferior, no dumber, no less capable than my peers, I have been able to instrumentally mollify the negative effects of the hierarchy on my life. Granted, I have not been able to completely remove the impact the system has on me, but I have made progress. I could make the material choice of not receiving grades, but, without focusing on my own learning and development, that choice would weigh on me and have no real affect.

In essence, by exercising our rights under Rule 3.1.2, we can remove ourselves from the possibility of a “Scarlet B.” But if that grade doesn’t mean anything to us anyway-as it shouldn’t-then why does it matter if it’s on our transcript? The rule can’t free us. Only we can do that ourselves.


Revision 4r4 - 19 Apr 2012 - 00:31:14 - AbbyCoster
Revision 3r3 - 14 Apr 2012 - 18:37:55 - EbenMoglen
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