The Places to Study

At least as far as I can tell, there is no correlation between law school grades and where a person chooses to study. But it is interesting to watch the study habits of my colleagues.

Personally, I like the second floor of the library. There is an open area of nine tables where I usually sit. It is the only section of the library where talking is permitted. Many of the same faces greet me each day when I come into the library and head over to those tables. One of my friends has taken to calling our group "The 2nd Floor Library Club." Last semester, the 3L students who comprise The 2nd Floor Library Club held a potluck at the library during exams. The food was surprisingly good, with home baked cookies and cupcakes. There was also fresh fruit, pretzels, doughnuts, bagels and some nice beverages. I brought a box of "Cheez-Its," which nobody ate.

The atmosphere on the 1st and 3rd floors of the library is decidedly different. You are expected to be completely quiet here. There are far more cubicles than tables on these floors, so that you are boxed in when you sit down. Quite a few of my friends prefer this environment. They usually sit in the exact same cubicle for hours on end, and I can only see the tops of their heads when I walk past the desks.

Still another group of students avoid the library altogether as much as possible. A couple of my friends who are at the very top of my class are rarely seen in the library. I asked one of them why she did not study there. She replied that the library freaks her out. She can feel everyone's stress in there. I cannot argue with her system. She has the GPA to back it up. In truth, most of the married law school students go home to study rather than to the library. Law school takes enough of their time away from being with their spouses.

The law review house, just outside the main classroom building, is probably another popular place for some of our best and brightest to study. I've been inside a couple of times as a visitor. The law review is the most prestigious extracurricular organization at the school. Accordingly, the house is quiet, comfortably furnished, and had a nice aroma both times I was there.

Still, I prefer the space of the 2nd floor of the library. It is much larger than my apartment, for one. Also, I am trying to enjoy the freedom to study at my own pace, to move around and talk to my law school friends, while it lasts. I like being able to take a quick break by looking up from my textbook and asking a friend at the next table about the upcoming Florida State basketball game. Some of the students in law school are real characters and comedians. I appreciate listening to the jokes they make at the second floor tables, too.

In about six months, after we graduate and take the bar exam, these same students will scatter all across the state and the country. The places we study, and perhaps how we study, will become very different.

Until Next Time,

Nathan Marshburn