Bar Review Review
It is a truth universally acknowledged that a law student in possession of increasing stress must be in want of a good Bar Review. (Jane Austen, lightly paraphrased). As we count down the rapidly dwindling days before recruiting starts and the anxiety-filled miasma of the Law School library begins to thicken, Bar Review has quickly become a highly anticipated chance to forget about your Mix and Mingle table assignments in a haze inspired by $2 jello shots. At least, that was the vision of Friday night forecasted by the ever-ambitious Bar Czars in their weekly email.
This week’s Bar Review was boldly Baywatch themed, a theme that seemed to bring every Lifeguard whistle, Hawaiian shirt, and red tank top in the tri-state area into one bar in downtown C’ville. Held at the Brightside Beach Pub on the Downtown Mall, one may well wonder if the location was chosen to force proximity and encourage the DFMO-ing that is apparently in such high demand. With little room to talk and even less to dance, it remains a mystery exactly how the elusive DFMO is meant to occur—but we do not pretend to have the answers to all of life’s many mysteries. With music that was just loud enough to necessitate shouting at your neighbor but quiet enough to serve purely as background noise, Jell-o shots (a deal that seemed to be abused), and a chronic table shortage, the night started strong with all the nostalgic markings of a classic college night out.
Despite the many appealing attributes of the bar, the night was brief for many, with entire sections down for the count. Reportedly, many dedicated students pulled all-nighters in an attempt to get a slightly-smoother rough draft of their inaugural memo to their writing fellows earlier in the day on Friday. Those lucky 1Ls who have not yet been required to submit memos were reminded of the looming deadline in their near futures, and, inspired by the harrowing tales of late nights and civ-pro hallucinations, opted for an earlier night and a (hopefully) more productive Saturday morning. (Check back next week to see if their strategy worked.) The headcount of faithful revelers who left the inevitable pre-game at someone’s Pav apartment was diminished significantly by the time the Ubers arrived downtown, a tragedy of truly Shakespearean proportions.
It would be unfair, however, to blame the brevity of the night for many on Legal Research and Writing alone; a not insignificant portion of the Bar Reviewers simply abandoned the venue for the magnetic pull of Whiskey Jar, a mere staircase away. In fact, by just 11 pm, if one were to arrive at Bar Review, it would be difficult for the average townie to know which location was meant to be the venue for the night. While no law student will—or should—turn down the chance to have a drink at Whiskey Jar, the divide nonetheless diminished the chance to get to know other sections or upperclassmen, as groups split off and scattered across the downtown mall.
We can only hope that the early night for many led to huge crowds at the LSL Rodeo the following day—although the repeated reminders in GroupMe about the presence of a mechanical bull and free drinks did not seem promising, and we have it from reputable sources that 1L attendance at the event was slim at best. For anyone left disappointed by this weekend, fear not. Word on the street is that the next Bar Review will be huge among 1Ls, as it’s the last Bar Review before firms begin to descend on North Grounds and our lives transition to cover letters, stalking recruiters on LinkedIn, and pretending like all we have ever wanted is to work eighty-hour weeks. I only hope the bar of choice that our omniscient bar czars choose for this momentous night is built to handle the revelries that are predicted. Until next time, XOXO
Author: Elizabeth Miller (qzd4rw)