What do New Yorkers do when it is a beautifully warm day outside? They stay inside and talk about the weather outside. The Natives reminisce about the coming summer months when the warmth is daily. Today, New Yorkers stopped staring at me with those “googly-eyes” I have become accustomed to attracting, for people retrieved their sandals from the back of their closets.
On this amazingly nice day, the only weather-based enjoyment in which I was able to partake was the opening of my sunroof. I was stuck in classes, like people workin' on the railroad: all the live-long day. Putting the unused over-head window to use is going to be short-lived. The word in the hall is that a storm is a-comin’. Welcome to the East Coast: sunshine and happiness one day, storms and depression the next.
Thursday is the terrible, no good, very bad (long) day.
The morning was quite the spectacle. While contracts class is relatively boring, and whereas the professor is lack-luster on a regular basis, at best, today’s class left a “blip” on the radar. Then it left.
Right in the middle of the class in which I do not learn a thing, a horde of staff, faculty and administrators barged in. The man who led the charge was carrying a cake with far-too-few candles lit to represent the age of my professor. A rendition of the “Happy Birthday” song was excitedly sung by the crowd of students and other persons to whose paycheck I contribute. Students sang because we did not have to listen to the endless pontification of the Birthday-Boy. The staff, faculty and administrators sang because they cared.
My professor turned 80 today. Class was still boring.
Outside of Academics, things were brewin’.
There once was a professor who was the head adviser for the Moot Court Association. This is the adviser who, for no reason at all, refused to meet with the competition organization I am attempting to organize.
I, however, am relentless.
I let the professor know that I would not stop asking her for a meeting anytime soon, and that this group of students is goal-oriented and serious about the creation of the competitive teams.
She granted us a meeting after a handful of emails. She made sure that she included how very against the idea she is in that email, as can be seen below:
-----
Subject: Meeting
------------------------
From: H
Date: Wed, Apr 9, 2008 at 4:53 PM
To: Professor B
Professor B,
I am following up on my previous emails requesting a meeting with you. I will work with your schedule to find a time that is convenient for you. All the students involved are very serious in seeing that our goals are achieved.
I sincerely hope we can take some time to discuss the benefits the proposed group intends to bring to the Law School, and the sacrifices we are willing to make to ensure success.
Any time you will give to discuss our proposed organization is very much appreciated.
-H
--
From: Professor B
Date: Thu, Apr 10, 2008 at 9:15 AM
To: H
H:
I can meet with you next week - either 12:30pm on Tuesday or 10:30am or
1pm on Wednesday.
I appreciate your interest and enthusiasm in participating in
intermural competitions. However, we have an intermural trial and moot
court competition program that I believe will encompass the goals you
wish to achieve.
Professor B
--
From: H
Date: Thu, Apr 10, 2008 at 10:16 AM
To: Professor B
Professor B,
I am excited to have the opportunity to discuss our ideas and goals with you. We would like to meet during the Tuesday slot, at 12:30.
Thank you again - and in advance - for your time.
Very respectfully,
H
--
From: Professor B
Date: Thu, Apr 10, 2008 at 10:21 AM
To: H
ok
-----
Welcome to my world. The professor has not before been educated regarding who we are or what we wish to do. Everything she “thinks” (yes, I threw a pair of scare-quotes in for good measure) she knows is based on preconceived, baseless notions and third-party rumor. The meeting should be interesting. We are going to pack her office with as many students as possible so that she understands that this is not just a one student effort – there are many of us leading the way.
Hopefully we can talk her past her unfounded jealousy and territorialism. However, I really do not expect any reason to be applied to this situation. This school has shown that they utilize the opposite.
I have also had a problem with apathy from among the students I recruited. Most of them have been sitting idle. While some have attempted to accomplish their goals, there is one who was only sticking around because he never quits anything he started. He is the proverbial “dead weight.” I wanted to reiterate the need for action and give people an easy way to back out of the leadership responsibilities to which they had previously agreed.
I sent the following message to all the recruits:
-----
From: H
To: Proposed Organization Leaders
Subject: Organization
If you all plan to eat the bread, I need to know now. Time is wasting.
http://www.bres.boothbay.k12.me.us/wq/nnash/WebQuest/little_red_hen.htm
This will not come easy. Nothing novel ever does. Steve Jobs, who we
all know as one of the most successful inventors of present day, who
has transformed our worlds, said that "innovation distinguishes
between leaders and followers." You were recruited to be a leader.
Let me know.
- H
-----
The email has seemingly achieved its intended results. The dead weight has released himself from my shoulders and the others are taking some levels of action. I think the message delivered a very powerful message to some very smart people. It also allowed them to read anything into the message as they wished, making it even more potent. Plus, when has “The Little Red Hen” ever let me down? It is one of the first (if not THE first) books that we were read in Kindergarten. Mrs. Hiatt would be proud.
Thursday afternoon was also very revealing for the Law School’s policies. I will not be on the East Coast this summer, and I want to enroll in summer school classes. In order to take classes at other Law Schools, a student must enroll in that school as a “Visiting Student.” To enroll as a visiting student, the student must, in some cases, gain permission to apply for visiting student status from his or her law school. So, before I wasted my time I wanted to make sure that my law school will allow me to take courses as a “visiting student.” I went into the process thinking that there is no reason why a school would not let their students take classes at another law school for a short period of time.
Once again, I was wrong about the ease of process.
My law school does not allow students to enroll in other schools as a “visiting student” unless that student can show exceptional circumstances. So, when I email the Dean of Student Affairs to inquire about the status of being a visitor over the summer, she requested that I meet with her in person. I was upset that I had to take extra time to meet with her, but walked into her office, anyhow.
She told me that she did not think the policy makes any sense, but wanted to “know why [I] wanted to apply as a visiting student.” I told her that “I will not be on the East Coast over the summer, but wanted to take summer classes. I would take classes from this law school on the West Coast, but they come at a premium.”
She laughed and said, “OK. That makes sense.” I told her that I tend to make sense every once-in-a-while. She then told me that the law school does not usually let their students enroll in other schools as a visiting student (meaning that they never let it happen). Then she seemed to shift to the side and winked at me, saying “but, if you are planning on transferring, these policies will not matter anyway.”
I did not respond, because even I do not know if I am going to attempt to transfer. She also told me that her boss, the next dean up, is a very workable and reasonable person. She told me, basically, that she could be persuaded, especially since I will not be on the same coast over the summer.
She gave me the form that exists to rubber-stamp-deny students who apply to gain permission to apply for admission to another law school as a visiting student. I was directed to plead my case to the higher dean, and was told that “knowing your background, you should be successful in your appeal.”
This law school is something else.
No comments:
Post a Comment