Hearsay Through the Hallway.

I'm sitting in the SBA Office, toiling away on my moot court brief, and I had to close the door to insulate myself from the sound of 1Ls talking (at an above necessary) volume in the hallway about grades. Oh to be a 1L once more - the sheer innocence of the time. If you would have told me two years ago that I would have spent the last two day-and-nights working on a brief and taking 1-3 hour naps on the office couch instead of sleeping in my bed, I likely would have laughed at you for believing I'd ever subject myself to such madness.

[sidenote]: I just heard through outside the door, "And let me know if your GPA is higher than mine. Wait, is it possible to get higher than a 4.0?"

Is it just the newness of it all that compels 1Ls to carry on with these kind of conversations? Are they still making lame law jokes? At what point did 3Ls stop making those same lame jokes?

In any event, did anyone else read the email regarding Arthur Zief's upcoming Memorial? I couldn't track it down on the site, so here's the guts of it:

USF School of Law is extending this special invitation to past and present Zief Scholars --
On Saturday, February 14, 2009, please join the University of San Francisco in celebrating
the life and contributions of our distinguished alumnus
Arthur C. Zief, Sr. B.S. '41, J.D. '47
1919 - 2008

Memorial Celebration: St. Ignatius Church 3:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Reception: Dorraine Zief Law Library 4:30 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Basketball at USF Memorial Gym: Gonzaga v. USF Dons - Tip-off at 7:00 p.m.

Two things struck me as odd:

1. Was it necessary to host a memorial on Valentine's Day, especially when the man's been dead since July? Seems like the entire Fall semester was one giant opportunity to host the same event. And I'm not pretending the "holiday" is a big deal that requires deference, but really, a memorial on the same day that Hallmark has convinced us we're supposed to be celebrating love? If single folks needed any more of a reminder of just how alone they are on that day, a memorial is probably the cherry on the sundae.

2. Does combining the memorial with a basketball game undermine the sanctity of the event for anyone else? Keenan pointed out that Zief was a huge Dons fan, so the basketball game makes sense. I can accept that, but it still strikes me as a tad garish.