Weekend Update 10/19/08

As anticipated, last weekend was crazy. I still got to play soccer (we lost our game) but barely made the deadline for handing in my legal memo. This weekend was a little less crazy.

Friday night I went to a Chicago-wide Black Law Students Association (BLSA) bowling event. I had the opportunity to meet future counsels from University of Chicago Law School, and DePaul University College of Law. DePaul easily has some of the coolest law students I’ve ever met. The vibe was right, everyone was uber friendly, the conversations were intelligent (assuming that one can have an intelligent conversation about bowling after a few drinks), but the event lacked the air of competition that law school events have become known for.

I spent the better part of Saturday morning searching for and adding as many of the new people I met the night before to my Facebook. The under representation of people of color in the legal profession strengthens the need to build as large a network as possible. Plus they were way too cool to lose contact with.

The rest of Saturday was spent at home preparing for school. I decided to stay in Saturday night, and read for my Monday classes. When I got around to check the time, it was already minutes after three am. This morning (Sunday) I slept in late. Didn’t get up until 12:30, and (true to form) I’ve been surfing the net and catching up on the news since then. After my soccer game, I have a meeting with a research group, then hopefully I’ll get a chance to put some work in.

At our debate watch party last week, the atmosphere was incredible. It is difficult to get an accurate feel of the pulse of America from a law school political event. If the general election was a law school affair, Obama would have very little need to campaign. However, lucky for most of us who believe in the process, the election battlefield is much larger, and no interest group (except perhaps the Supreme Court) has the authority, nor ability to hyjack it. This election is certainly the most important for my generation (so far). Please do not sit at home tentatively while history is being written. Call a family member, a friend, an old schoolmate, a new schoolmate; TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR ENSURING SOMEONE GOES TO THE POLLS ON NOVEMBER FOURTH – you’ll feel good about it.

Please tell someone about this blog. I have great plans for the website (omarnewell.com) and will update you in due time.