Today at lunch, the boys and I had margaritas and shared law school stories. This was mine.
It was in Civil Procedure during my second week of law school. Class had just started and I lifted the tab to open my Diet Coke. It sounded like a cannon shot in the otherwise quiet classroom. The professor glared at me but continued his lecture.
Then came time for recitation. In recitation, a student is called on to state the facts, the procedural history, the issue before the court, and the reasoning behind the court's holding on one of the cases assigned for class. This is sometimes known as "leading the helpless lamb to slaughter". At some point, the professor will begin pummeling the student with questions in an effort to bring out the more important aspects of the case.
This particular professor randomly called on students to stand and recite. It was the second week of law school. No one was comfortable reciting and we all tried to blend into the scenery when he was deciding on whom to call upon to recite.
For the first case, he called on the person sitting to my right.
For the second case, he called on the person sitting to my left.
For the third case, he called on the person sitting in front of me.
For the fourth and final case, he called on the person sitting behind me.
Then he called my name. I stood up on shaking legs, not knowing what to expect because there were no cases left. All he said was “Ms. Addict, I’d like to see you after class.”
After class, the professor just told me that he would appreciate it if I opened my soda before he began his lecture. The four people who were called on to recite because of my "Diet Coke incident" never let me forget about it. I was teased about it whenever I was spotted with a beverage in my hand, in class or out.
I didn’t realize it at the time but I got off very lucky. The professor could have thrown me out of his class. Or made me stand and recite during the entire class. Or he could have called on me to recite and then embarrassed and humiliated me to the point of wanting the ground to open up and swallow me. All of the above would happen to me at various times during my law school career. But I never again took a canned drink into the classroom.
It was in Civil Procedure during my second week of law school. Class had just started and I lifted the tab to open my Diet Coke. It sounded like a cannon shot in the otherwise quiet classroom. The professor glared at me but continued his lecture.
Then came time for recitation. In recitation, a student is called on to state the facts, the procedural history, the issue before the court, and the reasoning behind the court's holding on one of the cases assigned for class. This is sometimes known as "leading the helpless lamb to slaughter". At some point, the professor will begin pummeling the student with questions in an effort to bring out the more important aspects of the case.
This particular professor randomly called on students to stand and recite. It was the second week of law school. No one was comfortable reciting and we all tried to blend into the scenery when he was deciding on whom to call upon to recite.
For the first case, he called on the person sitting to my right.
For the second case, he called on the person sitting to my left.
For the third case, he called on the person sitting in front of me.
For the fourth and final case, he called on the person sitting behind me.
Then he called my name. I stood up on shaking legs, not knowing what to expect because there were no cases left. All he said was “Ms. Addict, I’d like to see you after class.”
After class, the professor just told me that he would appreciate it if I opened my soda before he began his lecture. The four people who were called on to recite because of my "Diet Coke incident" never let me forget about it. I was teased about it whenever I was spotted with a beverage in my hand, in class or out.
I didn’t realize it at the time but I got off very lucky. The professor could have thrown me out of his class. Or made me stand and recite during the entire class. Or he could have called on me to recite and then embarrassed and humiliated me to the point of wanting the ground to open up and swallow me. All of the above would happen to me at various times during my law school career. But I never again took a canned drink into the classroom.
