KU Law: MADD about making a difference!

Waking up at 8am on a Saturday isn’t usually the first thing students want to do. However, on October 2nd, 44 students and 13 alumni woke up bright and early to volunteer for the 3rd Make a Difference Day. KU Law students, alumni, and professors all gathered in Green Hall at 9am for breakfast and to receive their assignments for the day.

After eating some donuts and getting their fill of coffee and orange juice, volunteers headed off to projects which included: treating wood playground equipment at Hilltop Childcare Center, painting indoors at Independence Inc., weeding at Woodlawn Elementary, helping care for animals at the Humane Society, gift wrapping presents for the annual Children’s Holiday Shop at the Lawrence Arts Center, and a lot of grueling yard-work at Hidden Valley Girl Scout Camp (special thanks to ILS for volunteering for that!). While the volunteers only made a dent in the amount of help needed in the Lawrence community due to the time constraints, their participation was greatly appreciated. The tasks were done quickly and thoroughly due to the number of volunteers that signed up. An employee at the Lawrence Arts Center expressed how surprised she was at the amount of work the volunteers were able to accomplish in the few hours they were there.

SBA helped plan the event with Noelle Uhler, Director of External Relations. It is wonderful to see people, who are normally too busy to really take care of themselves, volunteering to wake up early and go help others. In this area of concentration it is easy to lose sight of the big picture. Through Make a Difference Day, KU Law was able to reach out and prove to others, and ourselves, that we have the dedication and commitment to make a change in the lives of others, no matter how big or small.

Natasha Das, 3L

The power of positive psychology: part two

In our last Career Services blog posting, we introduced the field of positive psychology and its potential impact on law students and lawyers. To review, positive psychology is the science of exceptional human performance. Researchers in the field consider a number of questions, and one of the most important and fundamental is – what makes us happy?

Is it money? Prestige in the form of good grades? Status from wealth or material possessions? Education level? Youth?

Positive psychology research would answer in the negative to each of these.

Research by positive psychology pioneers Dr. Edward Diener—aka Dr. Happiness—and Dr. Martin Seligman has shown that once your basic needs are met, additional income does little to raise your sense of satisfaction with life. Neither education nor a high IQ is consistently linked by research to happiness.

According to research by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, older people tend to be more satisfied with life than the young and less likely to fall into dark moods.

In an oft-cited study of law students, there was no significant correlation between a lack of distress and age, undergraduate GPA or law school GPA.

So what makes the average law student happy?

Professor Lawrence Kreiger of the Florida State University College of Law and Professor Ken Sheldon of the Department of Psychology of the University of Missouri concluded in their research that law students thrive when the things they value most relate to (1) understanding or improving oneself; (2) being closely connected to other people; (3) helping others; and (4) building community.

Kreiger and Sheldon identified a shift in law students away from activities and behaviors that are inherently enjoyable, meaningful or important and towards extrinsic motivations. As students progress through law school they increasingly report pursing goals to please others. Examples may include impressing others through wealth accumulation, status or prestige, or doing things out of guilt, fear or compulsion. Students who emphasize extrinsic motivation or values tend to experience persistent stress and anxiety and are unlikely to experience sustainable happiness.

Based on positive psychology research, what then are some practical steps law students can take that fit into the intrinsic motivation model that has been shown to reduce stress and anxiety and to promote sustainable happiness?

Here are a few suggestions that consistently pop up in the research:

Practice gratitude

  • Write in a gratitude journal, a diary in which you express what you are grateful for every day or week.
  • Write a letter to or visit with someone who has made a difference in your life.

Perform acts of kindness

  • Studies have shown that people receive a greater happiness “boost” by doing good things for others rather than themselves.
  • The acts should be both random (holding a door open for a stranger with an armful of packages) and systematic (participating in a Big Brothers Big Sisters program once a week).
  • These acts make you feel generous and capable and help build connections with others. They also tend to result in reciprocated kindness.

Take care of your body

  • Sleep—7 to 8 hours a night.
  • Exercise—Take a look at KU psychology professor Steve Ilardi’s groundbreaking research about depression, which has shown that of the six factors tracked by Ilardi, exercise has the biggest effect on treating depression.
  • Stretch
  • Smile and Laugh (really)

Law schools are increasing warming to the tenants of positive psychology. In addition to the work of Prof. Lawrence Kreiger at FSU Law, important research into the potential for positive psychology to improve the lives of law students has been completed by Prof. Todd Peterson at the George Washington Law School, and Dan Bowling at Duke University School of Law School has recently begun teaching a for-credit elective called Well-Being and the Practice of Law.

In our final posting in the series, we’ll tackle some additional, more theoretical ways to combat depression and improve the potential for happiness.

Todd Rogers, Assistant Dean for Career Services

My (fun) first-year experiences

Rather than whine about how challenging and difficult the first year of law school is (I do that enough on Facebook), I’m choosing to write about something you never hear from a first year student: law school can be fun. Yes, there is an endless amount of reading, and yes, it is all very challenging. I expected that when I applied to law school. It’s the nature of the beast. What I didn’t expect was the fun experiences that I have had already.

Wednesday Night Sand Volleyball

Since the start of the semester, a number of first year students have gotten together every Wednesday night to relax by playing some sand volleyball. It has turned the middle of the week into a night that everybody looks forward to. Starting as something fun to do for ten people, Wednesday Night Volleyball has turned into a tradition that includes around 30 people every week. We choose new teams every week because we are consistently getting new people involved. It’s proven to be not only a fun way to relax on Wednesday nights, but also a great way to make friends with classmates I haven’t had the chance to meet yet.

Exploring Lawrence

There is always something cool going on in Lawrence. Comedian Aziz Ansari performed at KU’s Lied Center and students only had to pay $10 to see him. A couple of weeks ago I went to this free sidewalk performer festival called the Busker Festival. I saw the American Strong Woman, a magician, a couple of bands, and even a puppet show. In addition to going to the various shows and festivals, Lawrence has a lot of trendy restaurants and bars. Whether I’m going to dinner for a friend’s birthday or going to a bar to watch Monday Night Football, exploring Lawrence with friends is always a lot of fun.

Saturday Game Days

Graduating undergrad from Marquette University, I never had a college football team. I had been to KU football games before, but never as an actual KU student. Even though the team has had its ups and downs, I have always had going to the games and tailgating. KU Law’s Student Bar Association (SBA) organizes a free tailgate before each home game, which is a great place to hang out and meet other classmates, upperclassmen, and faculty. My favorite experience as a KU student came when KU beat #15 Georgia Tech and we rushed the field. It not only was a huge upset, but it was a really exciting game in itself.

Don’t be like me and only expect the worst. Don’t get me wrong, I did find out that the reading is endless, the material is difficult, and the professors are challenging. But I also realized that my classmates are going through the same motions that I am, and that there are plenty of opportunities for us to have a good time.

Henry Thomas, 1L

Researching Native American Law

Native American law covers the body of law concerning American Indian tribes and their interactions with federal and state authorities, as well as among themselves. Historically, Native American law has been chiefly influenced and shaped by federal Indian policy. Tribes are generally considered self-governing, independent entities. However, this independence is subject to the power of Congress to regulate the status of tribes.

A distinction worth noting is the fact that tribal law deals specifically with the internal law which governs the affairs of each tribe and its members. Sources of tribal law include oral tradition, tribal constitutions and codes, as well as codes borrowed from other sources.

We do have a Legal Research Subject Guide available on the topic of Tribal Law. I will admit that it does need some updating so you might want to search through our catalog as well. The following search terms are useful when using the library catalog, databases and other online sources: American Indian law, federal Indian law, Indian law, Native American law, tribal law.

For research out of the law library, I have found the Native American Rights Fund’s National Indian Law Library to be a wonderful resource. From their website:

The National Indian Law Library (NILL) is a public law library devoted to federal Indian and tribal law. Our mission is to develop and make accessible a unique and valuable collection of Indian law resources and other information relating to Native Americans. NILL places special emphasis on fulfilling the information needs of Indian law advocates and others working on behalf of Native Americans.

They have a listing of resources by topic which I have found to be very useful.

Just browsing this database gives you an incredible perspective on the issues that face Native Americans.

I encourage you to take a look at this site and if you have any questions with regards to researching Native American Law, feel free to contact me!

W. Blake Wilson
Instructional Librarian

KU Public Interest Law Society off to a busy start

The year is off to a good start for the KU Public Interest Law Society (KUPILS). Our hallmark event, Casino Night, is shaping up to be a hit, in no small part, because of the generous donation by Alvamar Country Club of the use of its banquet hall. The money raised supports the Public Interest stipends, which help students afford to work in volunteer public interest jobs in the summer.

In addition to Casino Night, PILSians are once again active in the Guardianship Assistance Program (GAP). This program assists low-income families in Sedgwick County in obtaining guardianship papers for dependent family members. One particularly encouraging sign is the amount of interest shown by this year’s 1Ls — the GAP training session recently had nearly ten 1L members participate. The student volunteer work saves these families about $2,000 each in legal bills every year.

KUPILS is also proud to again be participating in the Human Rights Symposium in the spring semester. We are cooperating with the International Law Society and the Islamic Law Students Association. KUPILS has invited Angela Ferguson, a noted immigration attorney from Kansas City, to speak on immigration issues and human rights.

It’s an exciting year to participate in PILS and we’re looking forward to all of the public interest supporting events throughout the year.

Jon Ruhlen, 2L

Lawrence abounds with activities even for the budget-conscious

My name is Juliette Nguyen and I am a 1L at KU Law. I have had many recent conversations with my classmates who did not attend KU for their undergraduate degree. It appears that there are students not familiar with the Lawrence area that would like to know more about what this town has to offer outside of the law school.

Many KU students will tell you a major reason they enjoy going to KU is because of Lawrence itself. The American Institute for Economic Research ranks Lawrence ninth on its list of the 75 best college towns. Simply knowing that Lawrence is a great college town is not enough for you to be able to find things to do, especially if you are trying to stick to a budget. To solve this problem, I will give you a few tips on what things Lawrence has to offer for people on a budget.

Student Union Activities (SUA)

SUA is a student organization that is known for planning events for the entire KU community. On certain weekends, students can attend free cosmic bowling courtesy of SUA. People can watch movies at the Union for $2 with a KU ID. It is only $3 for the general public. Their website has a list of movie times and dates. A few upcoming movies for this semester are: Sex and the City 2, Toy Story 3, Predators, Dinner for Schmucks, Inception, and Eat Pray Love.

SUA also hosts celebrities to come and perform at affordable prices. Recently many students attended a sold out show of the comedian Aziz Ansari at the Lied Center. Another celebrity that will be coming to KU is the famous Hip Hop Artist B.o.B. on October 7. If you like slam poetry, SUA is bringing the “Dynamic Duo” to campus on October 4 for free.
www.suaevents.com

Movies

I have had students ask me if there is a movie theatre in Lawrence. The answer is yes. Southwind 12, located on south Iowa Street, offers many movie choices. Since it is not a very big movie theater, people often drive about 30 minutes to Olathe for dinner and movie. Liberty Hall on Mass. Street also offers movies, but they tend to offer more Independent Films.

Massachusetts Street

You will come to know it as Mass for short. I assume by now that many of you have already experienced what great things Mass has to offer. If you have not, then I highly recommend you do so as soon as you get a chance. Among the numerous local bars, Mass also has great local restaurants and shops. These stores often have specials on certain days or discounts, so just do a little research before hand. Mass is also a great place to get coffee or ice cream on a nice day and just walk down the street. You will always see interesting people sitting around Mass.

KU Recreation Services

It is popularly know as the Rec. If you have not had a chance to go to the Rec, then you may not know it has a lot to offer outside of workout machines. There are basketball courts and racquetball courts. Don’t have a basketball or racquet? You can rent basketballs and other equipment at the Rec for free. When you enter, you will immediately notice the rock climbing wall which is open from 4:30 p.m.-10:30 p.m. You simply sign up; the Rec has shoes and harnesses for you to rent for free. If you would like to take a break from your homework, then you should attend a KU Fit class. Individual classes cost $3 or you can purchase semester long pass for $50. The Rec also has a variety of intramural sports available. These activities can help you relax for a bit from the stress or give you something to do during any free time.
www.recreation.ku.edu

Juliette Nguyen, 1L