Good Grief! The Great Pumpkin Fundraiser

I feel ripped off. I finally got close to the infamous fundraising pumpkin only to discover it isn't a pumpkin! It is really made of Styrofoam. Now any appreciation I had for the technique and the artistry are gone. Styrofoam is a far easier material to deal with than a mushy pumpkin.

Does anyone have any idea how much money has been raised so far? Instead of carving someone else's head into a fake pumpkin why not have another idea to raise money? I know many students who would be will to pay the dollar that could go to a pumpkin and ask to see the fourth floor of Inlow Hall. You did know there was a fourth floor didn't you? My point exactly! What's up there. Some say a conference room that has lots of overstuffed boxes. Others say it is Dr. Evil's secret liar. I'm willing to lay my fundraiser dollar down by the table and find out.

Who's with me?

Report For Jury Duty Or Else!

So many people try to get out of jury duty, but it looks like the judicial system is tired of it.

Oh, just because you're a law student, or will be a lawyer in the future, don't think you'll get out of jury duty. After having discussions with practicing attorneys many like having other lawyers and judges on a jury as we are already familiar with many issues.

Breaking news
The law school is now a den of sin. Question: can only professors be voted to be on a pumpkin, or may students as well? If so, I nominate myself to be on a pumpkin.

Gubernatorial candidates ignore 'brain drain'...

I watched the Indiana gubernatorial debate tonight, and one thing jumped out at me. Don't worry, I'll spare you any political diatribe. You see, what jumped out at me was what the candidates did not mention: the alarming rate of exodus of college students from Indiana upon their graduation, otherwise known as 'brain drain.'

While it is true none of the questions specifically focuses on this phenomenon, several did deal with economic issues; highly relevant to Indiana's economic woes is, of course, retention of our intellectual talent. They should have at least mentioned it.

Most stats focus on our undergraduate institutions. What I'm curious to know is how Indiana's retention rate of professional graduates, lawyers and doctors, compares. Anybody have any information to this regard?

Under God
Taking advantage of its power under Article III, section 2, clause 2 of the Constitution, the House of Representatives recently passed this resolution:

"No court created by Act of Congress shall have any jurisdiction, and the Supreme Court shall have no appellate jurisdiction, to hear or decide any question pertaining to the interpretation of, or the validity under the Constitution of, the Pledge of Allegiance . . . or its recitation."

However, Prof. Eugene Volokh writes "the proposed law might have the perverse effect of jeopardizing the 'under God' rather than preserving it."

Friday Celebration
Phi Delta Phi - the school's LARGEST legal fraternity - will host its annual membership kickoff this Friday at 8pm at Rock Lobster in Broadripple. The back porch will be reserved exclusively for the law school from 8-9:30pm. All law students and friends, whether they're a PDP member or not, are welcome to attend. However, all paid and renewed PDP members will receive free admission and their first beer free. What better way to celebrate the completion of that lengthy LARC or moot court assignment? Email me for more info.

Always Remember Networking

The Office of Professional Development is always stressing the need for networking. The point of networking is to get to know people that can help you out in a particular moment. That moment can be for anything: hiring you for a job, finding an expert on a particular point of law, looking for a mentor, getting good Colts tickets. The purpose of networking is to create a social web of contacts that know you and be willing to assist you. Here are a few points to keep in mind.

Lesson the first: remember that any situation can be a networking opportunity.
Last night I went to the Hobnob that I told you about on Tuesday. For a socio-politico junkie like myself I consider such events to be fun. My only purpose was to see what the Hobnob was about and to get dinner. I casually chatted with the lady next to me on the steps as we ate dinner. What is the point you ask? She discovered I was a third year law student and I discovered she was a staff attorney in a state court. Though the courts are not planning on hiring anyone she asked me to send her my resume just to have it on file in case an opening suddenly appears. The Hobnob was not meant to be a formal networking event, yet it was one by sheer happenstance. Always keep in mind that any opportunity is a potential chance to network.

Lesson the second: remember that networks spread out from a single point.
You, peon law student, meet A. A knows B. B knows C and so on and so forth. Many in the legal profession are more than willing to introduce you to people they know. My dinner mate on the stairs saw a friend who was an IU-Indy classmate with her. She introduced him to me. In less than 10 minutes I knew two practicing attorneys in the state of Indiana. Remember I was not even trying to network.

Lesson the third: always have a card handy.
On this one I failed. I simply have not bothered to get business cards yet, much less carry them around. As students we can get business cards that state the important information: name, school, year we intend to get our degree, a phone number/email address. Four to five simple bits of information on a little piece of paper is so critical to us. Though the old standby of pen and cocktail napkin did work to get an email address, it is not the best impression. I will drop by Kinkos later to place an order for some real cards.

Lesson the fourth: always make a good first impression to everyone. EVERYONE!
I have seen some lawyers and students treat other lawyers and judges with great respect and treat lower level employees like three day old trash. Do not do that! That implies you respect only those with power. That is very selfish thinking. It is also very dangerous thinking. Why? How do you know the person you are dealing with right now is not someone who can help you later on? Networks can work in two ways, for you and against you. If you treat someone like trash, the word will get around. This lesson also ties into the first lesson. My dinner mate and I did not have our first impressions with each other on the steps of the Hobnob. Our first impressions were on the dance floor of a Broad Ripple club Wednesday night! Wednesday night I was dancing with a nice woman who was a complete stranger. Thursday night the stranger was a lawyer requesting my resume. When was I truly networking: Thursday night or Wednesday? Always make that good first impression as you will never know when it will help you out down the road.

So ends the lessons.

July Bar Exam Results

Congratulations to all IU-Indy alum who just found out they passed the July bar exams. If you want to see the results go here. Special congratulations to former Sapere aude contributor Lawren Mills on passing. We're sorry to see you leave here, but are very happy for your success. Time to move on to bigger and better things LKM!

Would John Marshall be an activist justice today? Well, does this quote shed any light on the matter?

"I do not think that the law ought to be separated from justice, where it is at most doubtful."

-Hoffman v. Porter

A Horse Is A Horse

Judges have to make tough decisions, but sometimes you have to truly giggle at the subject matter. Pennsylvania Supreme Court justices have ruled that a horse is not a motor vehicle under their drunk driving laws! I'm curious if anyone decided to look in a dictionary before even attempting to prosecute this case.

The dissenting opinion gets a lot of style points in my opinion!

Supreme Court activism and people's attitudes toward the court

Yesterday evening, the Federalist Society hosted a panel discussion on the topic of the judicial nomination process. One of the arguments set forth as to why the nomination process has been overwhelmed by politics is that the Supreme Court has created the expectation in the populace that it rule based on their positions on issues, rather than a strict textual adjudication of the law.

But does that argument make sense?

Well, let's look at the words of the justices themselves on the matter. Specifically I will quote Sandra Day O'Connor and Antonin Scalia. Their two styles and attitudes, as elucidated in their comments here, are striking.

Justice O'Connor:

There are more recent Supreme Court decisions on which dynamic dialogue between the Court and the America public continues. Since the Court struck down as unconstitutional limitations by states on abortions in the first three months of pregnancy, large numbers of people have taken regularly to the streets to demonstrate either their support or their opposition to the decision. Abortion is still hotly debated in all political arenas. No one, it seems, considers the Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade to have settled the issue for all time. Such intense debate by citizens is as it should be. A nation that docilely and unthinkingly approved every Supreme Court decision as infallible and immutable would, I believe, have severely disappointed our founders.

- The Majest of the Law, Chapter 6, "The Constitution":


Justice Scalia:

In truth, I am as distressed as the Court is--and expressed my distress several years ago, see Webster , 492 U. S., at 535--about the "political pressure" directed to the Court: the marches, the mail, the protests aimed at inducing us to change our opinions. How upsetting it is, that so many of our citizens (good people, not lawless ones, on both sides of this abortion issue, and on various sides of other issues as well) think that we Justices should properly take into account their views, as though we were engaged not in ascertaining an objective law but in determining some kind of social consensus. The Court would profit, I think, from giving less attention to the fact of this distressing phenomenon, and more attention to the cause of it. That cause permeates today's opinion: a new mode of constitutional adjudication that relies not upon text and traditional practice to determine the law, but upon what the Court calls "reasoned judgment," ... which turns out to be nothing but philosophical predilection and moral intuition.

- Planned Parenthood v. Casey, dissenting

Hobnob

Last week much of the student body was involved with Rock The Vote in which many of us listened to, or protested, the local and state candidates for this upcoming election. The free music, ice cream, and carbonated citrus products were nice as well. Did you know that this Thursday night across the street at the Indiana Historical Society will be the Hobnob?

In the past candidates and voters were get together for a picnic so issues of the day could be discussed. This fine tradition was brought back a few years ago. Many candidates will be there ranging from those running for U.S. Senate and House, the govenorship, various Indiana state senate and house seats, various Marion County offices, and others.

Show your student ID and pay only $5 to get in. Your $5 does not go to support any candidate. Free food and drink is provided. It runs from 5 to 8pm, but many candidates stay later than that. It is a rare chance to actually talk with the people running for office instead of listening to a boring blah blah blah speech or soundbites that we often get.

Local firm Ice Miller is one of the Hobnob sponsors.

Sometimes It Is The Little Things That Matter

Quality of life is a nebulous concept, but one that we all appreciate. Imagine my surprise when I noticed an extra refrigerator in our locker room in which we can store out meals. The Dean's Student Advisory Board just announced that in addition to the new refrigerator there is also a third microwave to heat up those students' lunches. To the DSAB and everyone else who worked on this project I give a big "THANK YOU!" Less time spent waiting in line to grab food and heating it up will be greatly appreciated by the entire student body.

I do hope the new microwave oven has enough power to actually heat up food placed in it. If so that would be perfect.

Jury Duty: A Wild Party?

Intrigued by the story Lucas links to below, I did a quick search for the Supreme Court decision that permitted drunken jurors. The case is Tanner v. United States, 483 U.S. 107 (1987). In that case the defendants were convicted of conspiring to defraud the United States and committing various acts of mail fraud. The defendants attorneys became concerned over the number of times they noticed jurors falling asleep. One juror explained that he "felt like ... the jury was on one big party." Seven of the jurors drank alcohol during the noon recess. Think that's bad? One juror stated that he and three other jurors smoked marijuana quite regularly during the trial. Moreover, this same juror stated that during the trial he observed one juror ingest cocaine five times and another juror ingest cocaine two or three times. One juror sold a quarter pound of marijuana to another juror during the trial, and took marijuana, cocaine, and drug paraphernalia into the courthouse.

The Court's decision? Such testimony is barred by Rule 606(b), which embodies the long-accepted common-law and federal rule on the subject, and which prohibits the impeachment of a verdict with a juror's testimony "as to ... the effect of anything upon his or any juror's mind or emotions ..., except that [such testimony is admissible on the question] whether any outside influence was improperly brought to bear on any juror." According to the Court, the petitioners' argument that substance abuse constitutes an improper "outside influence" about which jurors may testify under the Rule is without merit in light of contrary judicial interpretation of the common-law rule, as well as Rule 606(b)'s plain language and legislative history.

NY Judge: 'It's alright to be drunk or stoned on a jury'

. . . Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Ellen Coin cited a 1987 Supreme Court decision which rejected the argument that jurors consuming alcohol, smoking marijuana, snorting cocaine and falling asleep constituted an "outside influence" on jurors.

Coin said being drunk on jury duty was "reprehensible," but that there was little she could do about it given the Supreme Court ruling.

"However severe their effect and improper their use, drugs or alcohol voluntarily ingested by a juror seem no more an 'outside influence' than a virus, poorly prepared food, or lack of sleep," the Supreme Court said in its decision.

So our triers of fact can be so drunk or stoned they can't even tell fact from fiction? Something doesn't seem right.

[thanks to this post by Chris Letkewicz for the story]

Just what is an "assault weapon"? Prof. Eugene Volokh explores.

Time is on our side
Here's a recent email sent to the student body:

The Indiana Court of Appeals will hear argument oral argument for Michael Armstrong v. State.
When: Monday, September 20, 2004
Where: Moot Court Courtroom.
Time: Moot Court Courtroom

The law school's moot court courtroom is apparently more than just a room, it occupies a special place in the space-time continuum. Yet another reason to attend IU-Indy.

Seeing the world in a different light...

Countless lawyers, law students, and law professors all said the same thing about law school: 'It will change the way you think about and see the world.'

Kindof scary-- in that kindof cool anxious way. Anyways, I scoffed at the idea that law school could have this type of effect. And I'm sure this sounds cheesy for a 1L to say, but I already find myself breaking down questions and conflicts around me into matters of property, contract, and tort.

This includes serious and humorous moments alike. For the latter witness the following exchange between my nephew (8 years old) and I:

-I took a rubber band that my nephew was playing with
-he said, "give it back! it's mine!"
-and I said, "Why?"
[note: I bet you can see where this is going...]
-he said "cuz I had it first"
-and I was like, "yes, but i have possession now"
-and he was like, "luuukkkkeee, give it back!!"
-and I said, "you see nick, this is not your house.. I am a resident, and therefore I have a partial title to the rubber band."
-confused, he then resorted to violence (grabbing and shoving) to attempt to get it back
-and I thought to myself, 'is his offensive action here privileged?'

Demystification is empowerment. ;-)

Rock the Vote

MTV's Rock the Vote Bus Tour will be on the IUPUI campus today, from noon to 5pm on the library lawn.

The purpose of the bus tour is to serve as "an engaging podium for free expression and local participation" in politics and the upcoming election.

Last I heard, both candidates for Governor of Indiana, Mitch Daniels and Governor Joe Kernan, will be on hand for the event.

For those of us who are Mac users...

Brian mentioned the SP2 service pack for Windows XP, and it is true that we users of computing's fairer side do not need that update. But I have been told that the Secure Exam software only works on Windows, so there is one piece of software that Mac users do need: Virtual PC.

In case you didn't know it, Virtual PC can be freely downloaded via IUWare using your student login. A copy of Windows XP can be purchased for around $10 I think. Any copy of Windows will install on Virtual PC, so you need not worry about getting a special version or anything.

Update: As Grant and Professor Cooper helpfully pointed out, Secure Exam does not work under VirtualPC. So scratch that from what I wrote. Sorry for the confusion.

Windows XP Service Pack 2 and your laptop

Mac users feel free to ignore this one. Some of you are discovering that our network is finally letting you download Service Pack 2 for Windows XP. Downloading the latest updates from Microsoft helps prevent your laptop from being infected with viruses, worms, and other nasties.

However, don't start the download unless you have a large gap in your schedule and don't need to access your laptop for a few hours. Admittedly my laptop likely has one of the slowest microprocessors in the building, but it still took around two and a half hours to download and install Service Pack 2. If you insist on multitasking with your laptop as it is installing SP2 it will slow down the update process even more. If you're using a wireless connection that time will likely increase. Though wireless connection speeds are far better than what they used to be several years ago, a wireless connection is still slower than a wired connection. One last thing, please try not to download and install SP2 at the same time as all your other classmates. No need to bring the network down to a crawl.

Good luck in keeping your laptop in tip-top shape.

More OCI/Interviewing Tips

(Grain of salt highly recommended!)

On The Lighter Side ...

After reading this, if all the first years want to abandon ship for business school I'll understand. I think if you quit now you get at least 80% of your tuition back. For the third years I think we're stuck, but maybe we can get in on the lawsuit.

Go Colts!!

Not relevant to the law, I admit [though I did brief Hackbart v. Cincinnati Bengals for Torts today]. But relevant to Indianapolis to be sure.

Useful ideas for topic research

I just received an email from a classmate on tips for how to find a good topic for research papers. I have not personally checked it out, but let me know if it is useful to you.

1996 Utah L. Rev. 917
"Stalking the Golden Topic: A Guide to Locating and Selecting Topics for Legal Research Papers" by Heather Meeker

Jog for Justice
There is less than one month left to register for Equal Justice Work's first annual Jog for Justice. This is your chance to show support for our school's Summer Scholars program, which supports students working in public interest internships, and the Loan Repayment Assistance Program, which supports dedicated public interest students after graduation.

Thankfully you can register online here. Sign up today and look forward to joining your family and friends in the legal community for this 2mi fun walk and run on October 10th. The first 1,000 participants will receive a commerative T-shirt.

Blakely Fallout
From brief discussions with criminal attorneys and judges, and reading various legal news articles, I continually hear that the Supreme Court's recent Blakely v. Washington (pdf) decision on June 24 of this year was one of the most significant to come from the Court in quite some time. As one federal judge told me, "it's thrown everything into chaos." The Blakely ruling struck down a Washington state sentencing system -- similar to sentencing in more than a dozen states and at the federal level -- and requires that juries, not judges, determine any facts ("aggravating factors") that increase a defendant's sentence. As Loyola Law School Professor Laurie Levenson said, "These are revolutionary cases. They turned a bit of the criminal justice system upside down."

The effects of the Blakely decision are still being hammered out, but as the Evansville Courier & Press reports today, Walter H. Martin Jr. III was able to reap the benefits for the time being.

U.S. District Judge Richard Young sentenced him to 15 years in prison.

Martin, found guilty of stuffing $140,000 worth of crack cocaine down his baby's diaper before a routine traffic stop last year, could have been sentenced to 30 years to life behind bars.

That is, if his sentencing had taken place three months ago.

Last week the federal government filed its U.S. Supreme Court opening brief on the merits in the cases presenting the question whether Blakely v. Washington invalidates the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines. Law Professor Douglas A. Berman has posted online a copy of the federal government's brief together with several amicus briefs and has linked to them in this post at his "Sentencing Law and Policy" blog.

Gem of Advice

So I' ve been catching up on e-mail (and a few blogs) before I begin my mad scramble to meet some deadlines today. Due to the unfortunate demise of my laptop, I'm relegated to the computer lab in the library. It's been a little annoying because our Lexis rep has had one appointment after another in this lab with law review candidates - helping them with online research as they embark on topic selection for their law review notes.

But he just said something that is absolutely true. So true and so crucial and so timely that I thought I'd post it (quickly) with the hope that it might hit home with someone in the midst of topic selection:

Topic selection is probably the most important part of writing a note. And unfortunately, it is often the part on which people spend the least time. I realize that most students who need to choose a law review topic are also busy with several other important tasks at the moment. Just realize that time spent selecting a timely and note-worthy topic is time well spent - you won't regret it.

With Respect About Commencement

My esteemed colleague Kelly managed to post this first, but I feel the need to bring in my own $0.02. I must admit that when I received the email from Dean Klein concerning the snafu with the commencement ceremony date my initial response was quite unprintable. I have had a few days to review the email and do some research on the issues involved. Respectfully I am still very concerned.

"During the summer, the University informed us that it was forced to move the date of commencement because of miscommunications with the Convention Center."

First, I am assuming that the dean is referring to the law school commencement, not the all IUPUI commencement that few, if any, law students attend. Second, the tone of the email makes it sound like the situation was known for at least a few weeks, possibly longer. That I have no problem with as a snap decision that affects approximately 300 students would be quite harmful.

"Our best option was to leave the calendar as it had been set, and have finals end a couple of days after graduation."

Here are what I believe the options could have been: 1) leave the final exam calendar as is and have the commencement ceremony on the earlier May 8th date with finals ending May 11th, 2) move up the entire calendar, 3) go with the original commencement ceremony date of May 15th, which is after finals, but move the ceremony to another site such as Conseco Fieldhouse, The Murat, Clowes Hall at Butler University, or a nearby high school that graduates 1,000 seniors a year and can easily handle our paltry 300 or so.

Option 1 was chosen. Option 2 I see great difficulties with, as that would involve altering the schedule of the entire student body. Plane tickets have already been purchased for travel and it is possible leases for living quarters have been signed as well. Moving the schedule of the spring semester would have a tremendous ripple effect for everyone. What of Option 3? A miscommunication did occur between Indiana University and the Convention Center. Could the University have gotten out of the contract easily? Were other sites available? Did the University even think of other sites? Would it have cost too much money? I have $10 in my wallet now and I am sure other graduating 3Ls would have willingly donated some money to the cause if that were part of the problem. I believe these to be legitimate questions, yet we will never know the answers.

Which leads to my most disconcerting feeling about the email, how was the decision made, who made it, and did any student involvement by either the Student Bar Association, the Dean’s Student Advisory Board, or some other student group occur? As law students we are supposedly among the best and the brightest of people. Also the average age of our graduating class is currently somewhere around 28 to 30 years old, implying experience, wisdom, and maturity among us. It feels as if a significant decision concerning us, the student body, was made without any consultation of the people affected. Perhaps the SBA or DSAB was involved, if so then fine. If not, then I have to question the decision making process involved.

The administration promises to "be sensitive to this issue when scheduling spring exam dates, and will make every effort to allow May graduates to complete all of their exams before May 8." Let us run the numbers. This fall the school will have 65 final exams in 11 days. Only 3 exams are scheduled on Saturdays, and no exams are scheduled on a Sunday. Last spring the school had 72 final exams in 12 days with 4 finals on Saturdays and none on a Sunday. For this upcoming spring semester there will be 12 days to take exams assuming no Sundays, and I see no reason why the number of classes offered and exams taken would be significantly different. Aside from LARC III and the first year standards, it is likely a graduating 3L will be in every other final exam, some of which would normally be the three days after May 8th. Though Inlow Hall is a fantastic resource it is a limited one. Only a finite number of classrooms exist in which we can have exams. How can this limited resource accommodate three extra days worth of exams? Here is my prediction, more final exams scheduled on Saturday and possibly some on a Sunday. Whether or not you believe that to be a good or bad thing I shall leave up to you.

In an organization as large as the law school and the IUPUI campus things will go wrong from time to time. That happens in life. As we, the law school, are a part of the IUPUI campus many things will occur that affect us that we have no control over. See the parking situation as one example. Yet 2004 has been a trying time for time for the student body. A switch in software prevented anyone from having financial aid money for summer classes, and no one was told until they applied for student loans to cover summer classes. Parking permits were ordered, yet many summer students never received them and were ticketed. This semester many Indiana University students, including some here, are unable to access financial aid money for classes now, resulting in the need for emergency loans. Now we have this commencement situation to add to the list of Mickey Mouse problems and major gaffes. We have eight and a half months to go before graduation. I fear what else could occur in that great a timespan. To the administrators of the school, the university, and the I.U. Trustee Board I have to respectfully ask this question, "What are you all doing that keeps fumbling the football?"

All Work and No Play

Though I am thoroughly enjoying my law school experience, I have to admit that law school has the ability to sap the fun out of vacations, time off, and similar otherwise celebratory events.

1st year, Labor Day weekend and Fall break didn't offer much in the way of relaxation. Between adjusting to the incredible workload and working to meet LARC deadlines, there wasn't much time for play.

2nd year, Labor Day holiday was spent gearing up for OCI. Later breaks, such as Fall recess and even the holiday period between semesters, were spent working on note writing requirements and edits for law review.

Now, in my 3rd year, this. Look closely and you will see what many of you already know: Graduation is on May 8th, but the exam period doesn't end until May 11th.

The school has announced that it will "make every effort to allow May graduates to complete all of their exams before May 8." We shall see.

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Shop 'til You Drop!!!

OK, I know the title of this post doesn't sound like it's relevant to this blog, but it is - I promise. Because OCI is fast approaching. And this is the start of Labor Day weekend. What's the connection? Labor Day SALES!!!

This time last year I was worrying about my meager wardrobe and how on earth I would find something suitable (no pun intended) to wear to interviews. Lucky for me, Labor Day came before interviews began and I was able to take advantage of some great sales.

I'm not much of a shopper, but I had little-to-no professional attire to speak of, so this shopping trip was a must for me, as it may be for some of you this year. For those who already own the right pieces of clothing, great. But for those who don't, this is a great time to stock up.

Guys and gals alike will need a suit or 2, shirts to go underneath (with ties for the guys), and appropriate shoes. Don't forget you might need a nice looking portfolio or something similar in which to carry your extra resumes and writing samples.

Happy hunting and have a great weekend.

Go Relax!

We've survived the first full week of classes. By now you have a feel for how your schedule needs to be. By now you know how bad parking has become (another post for another time). By now those first big assignments have been started. By now some of those big assignments are due next week. You're in luck though as we have a 3 day weekend approaching. Don't take the entire weekend off as we all have far too much work to do that. Do take some personal time though. If you're new to Indianapolis please explore the city. It has a lot to offer that will surprise many people. If you have a family go spend some time with them. At least you should go to a movie that you've been meaning to see.

School is stressfull. It dominates our lives. Beat it back a little and go relax.

An introduction

I thank Josh for his kind welcome, and I am honored to be a contributor to Sapere aude. In the coming months, you'll get to know me better (for better or for worse) from my current positions on the law and my experiences developing these positions as I progress through law school. But for now, let me introduce myself in the usual fashion:

I have grown up, and still live in, Greenwood, a suburb to Indianapolis's south. I attended high school at Roncalli, a Catholic diocesan school located in the southside of Indy, where I played for that year's 3A football state champions. And I use the term "play" loosely, as I was a special teams junkie and not a starter on either defense or offense. Nevertheless, the Roncalli football experience is unique and has left an indelibly positive impression on my character.

From there I moved 3 hours to the north where I attended undergrad at the University of Notre Dame, where I majored in political science, shed some tears at the football team's struggles, and became involved in student activist groups such as the pro-life group, the college Republicans, and the gay-straight alliance.

I introduced myself to blogging the spring semester of my junior year, when I built the blog I still maintain today, Daily Contentions.

I'm not a big fan of labeling myself in certain groups-- especially political ones-- but if I were forced to identify my creed, it would be similar to these words by Friedrich Hayek:

"Liberty not only means that the individual has both the opportunity and the burden of choice; it also means that he must bear the consequences of his actions and will receive blame or praise for them. Liberty and responsibility are inseparable."

-lds