I’m a little confused by the parent thread. Am I supposed to add my name to the list if I am interested in improving law school? Of course I am, who isn’t? The challenge is agreeing on what would be an improvement. It would seem to be far more productive to start with a specific thing you would like to change about law school as opposed to this method: starting with a “hey, let’s change something, I just have no idea what.”

Let me make a suggestion. Why don't we start small. Maybe get some practice effecting real change before we step up to the big time. Let’s start with our Law in Contemporary Society class. Here’s what I envision:

Eben walks into class (probably not today since this is last minute, but let’s say Tuesday after spring break) and he finds two rows of students facing each other providing a path toward the front of the room. As Eben rounds the bend perhaps he chuckles to himself and says “boy, you guys are really a bunch of a-holes!” He gets to the front of the room and one student presents him with a piece of paper with three bullet points on it.

• Guest Speakers

• Field Trips

• Shave your beard

The paper says nothing more than those three things.

For our purposes here I’ll provide my reasoning as to why I believe these are three points we should insist upon. This is my attempt to convince you to join my cause. Please don’t respond with arguments about these points or suggesting new ones. It’s not that I don’t value your opinions; it’s just that if 75 students all argue about what they think the bullet points should be we won’t get anywhere. I’ve made what I consider to be very neutral demands that should hopefully be agreeable to most. If you don’t like them then don’t stand with us in the lines.

1) Guest Speakers - It's not that I don’t enjoy listening to Eben speak, I actually find him to be one of the most entertaining speakers I’ve had the pleasure of listening to (boy do I sound like a suck up), but I think he may know some very interesting characters who would be great to hear from.

Eben also frequently takes up the tactic of debating with first year law students. Eben’s been having these debates for longer than the law students have been alive. It’s no wonder Eben always wins. Eben also happens to be both the moderator and in some ways the judge, so naturally the odds are stacked in his favor. I would love to see Eben debate another law professor who differs with his views or perhaps even Dean Schizer. A more even match would be very entertaining and perhaps even a little educational.

2) Field Trips - Eben strikes me as the type who knows the great places and great events in New York to go visit. Whether it’s a trip to a prison, a little known spot in Chinatown, or to examine the varying prices of goods; I have a feeling Eben could come up with exciting trips for us to go on. I would enjoy the opportunity even if it were on the weekends.

3) Shave Your Beard - It would be great to see Eben clean-shaven. Need I say more?

-- JoshLerner - 11 Mar 2010