Date: February 7th, 2007 1:28 AM Author: Out-of-control people who are hurt trailer park
My response:
Sorry, but this sort of stuff shouldn't be kept hidden, precisely *because* it influences the school's reputation. Prospective law students considering multiple T14s absolutely should know about this whole situation so they can take it into account in their decision making process.
Also, I don't see the problem with putting some sunshine on the whole thing -- for one thing, having the story "out there" will reduce the sort of misinformation that's apparently spread through word of mouth in Chicago's legal community. Furthermore, both sides shouldn't have a problem with people knowing about this dispute -- if the NU administration acted correctly, there is nothing to fear by making this thing known, and if the administration did not act correctly, outside pressure should help them reverse course and do the right thing here.
Original email:
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My dear classmates,
I don't like spamming the listserv, but I'm making a small request pretty please-- kindly refrain from publishing information onto the xoxohth.com messageboard. Not only are those messages going to be archived (like forever) that could potentially upset individuals' careers but it looks like "certain" students are being targeted and humiliated in this messageboard and this is appalling, psychologically disruptive, and not to mention, perhaps defamatory.
Believe it or not, the recent NU Law events as of late are already spreading to law firms...I'm serious. I've heard "interesting and twisted versions" of the story coming from California and it sounds like Chicago has already gotten serious wind of it. This is OUR school-- whether you are a 1L, 2L, or 3L, or LLM student, the way in which WE portray our school and ourselves now ultimately affects your future and the respect and dignity you seek from your employer or potential employer. Perhaps a law firm will second-guess whether to come to our school for OCIs; or maybe a judge will be hesitant to seek out NU Law students based on our behavior as a community. After all, their reputation to the legal community is on the line as well.
Continuing to belittle a classmate's intelligence or slam an individual's character is a bit unprofessional, no? It does not matter if you are doing it anonymously or not. I thought most of us "worked" for some time before we came to GRADUATE school. So before you send a sarcastic email or make fun of someone's intelligence or humiliate them in a messageboard...ask yourself: if i were in a business or working environment, would it be acceptable and would i feel comfortable sending out this email to my ENTIRE copmany or posting this message on the Company's cafeteria fridge? Hopefully you would consider using the same discretion over these "airwaves" as well. After all, just like Peter's emails came to haunt him, your comments on the listserve or in a messageboard like xoxohth could as well...whether it is anonymous (seriously anything can be traced back to the sender) or not.
We are a community and this is our school and we are classmates, colleagues, and friends. I respect how everyone feels-- no doubt, we are all going through a rough patch right now. But fueling this fire by inviting other individuals to comment on hearsay about SPECIFIC individuals is unwarranted and frankly, disrespectful. You can help stop this by practicing self-control (ie, not posting Peter's emails on this messageboard to making false character assessments about specific classmates) or finding other activities (like running or discussing over coffee w/ friends) to let out your concerns/frustration. It's YOUR RIGHT to be frustrated. Absolutely YES. But it's not fair to slam one another without 100% of the facts and with utter disrespect. How would you feel if this were happening to you? And it's only going to hurt you back in the end when the school you pay $40,000 in tuition to a year is looked down upon by your future colleagues and potential employers.
At this point, I feel that we, students, need to UNITE as a community and WORK WITH THE ADMINISTRATION to solve this recent bout of events. So please, let's practice building from this situation and not destructing each other. I love NU Law and I have had such an AMAZING experience here...I hope you have too or that you have the chance to also. Let's work with this administration and learn from these recent events and re-build our community once again.
Respect is the best way to get the message across and the safest way to get a respectful message back. Have a wonderful evening and I hope you do not make fun of my email... :-)
Date: February 7th, 2007 1:38 AM Author: Out-of-control people who are hurt trailer park
Well it was supposedly sent to the NU listserv so if it's flame we'll likely know soon enough. However given the source and given the length of the email I'd be amazed if it was flame.
Date: February 7th, 2007 1:47 AM Author: Out-of-control people who are hurt trailer park
Yeah, that was my reaction too, especially to the "At this point, I feel that we, students, need to UNITE as a community and WORK WITH THE ADMINISTRATION to solve this recent bout of events."
Given that the NU administration apparently caused this whole problem in the first place and hasn't really shown any signs of remedying the situation in a positive way, it's pretty weird for this guy to just want everyone to shut up and "unite" to "work with the administration."
Furthermore you'd think that the fact that this story is being widely disseminated and makes NU look bad would be a sign to everyone involved that the administration screwed up royally and needs to change its position on this issue.
Date: February 7th, 2007 1:51 AM Author: trip zippy corner
EXACTLY. this is exactly the sort of shit people considering NU Law should know. the moral of the story is that if you don't want people to know about the idiotic shit you do, then don't do idiotic shit. i think you hit the nail on the head: the administration and students have absolutely nothing to worry about if they acted appropriately here. like i said below, you did good.
Date: February 7th, 2007 1:53 AM Author: histrionic pozpig business firm
This guy is just fanning the flames. Everyone already knows about this controversy, it was on the WSJ blog. The best thing to do know is shut up about it and let it die.
Date: February 7th, 2007 1:58 AM Author: olive crotch
dude give it a fucking rest. We get it, you're a conservative. This isn't about that. The guy was a fucking retard; even George Allen would be embarrassed at his lack of discretion.
It's not the administration's fault. The guy fucked up in his official capacity as the SBA president. If they did nothing, what right do they have to take part in any student affairs at all? You're losing it pal.
Date: February 7th, 2007 4:40 AM Author: Titillating keepsake machete locale
Wow... whatdawegothere?
Some appealing to self-interest, arguing that everyone will be better off with a coverup.
Some not too subtle threats against those who post and are outed.
A few irrelevant attempts at 'well, what if YOU'D seriously screwed the pooch--would YOU want to have to face totally legitimate consequences for that?!'
Some fucking insulting and Big Brotheresque attempts to tell fellow students about their feelings and what they should do with them...
Yeeeaaaah... so glad I shitcanned Northwestern's offer to apply. Sounds like a hole.
Date: February 7th, 2007 8:31 AM Author: Talking Crimson Idea He Suggested Mood
We've got a future George Luce on our hands. Also, how cheesed off does this SOB have to be seeing his email posted here now. Someone post his name, email, future firm, facebook picture, cellphone number, girlfriend's cup size and his genetic markers for predisposition to testicular cancer please.