University is like a fair ground ride...

Highs and Lows

In fact, as any student studying for a law degree will substantiate, University is closely akin to Blackpool’s infamous “Big Dipper”, a fast paced ride full of highs and lows. Depending on your disposition, it is those long hours of toil, tears and turmoil preceding an essay submission deadline that make up the vast majority of the lows.

However, such a state of delirium is usually induced by a combination of self imposed sleep deprivation; excessive consumption of caffeine based liquids; and a realisation that having a “quiet few drinks” (which, it goes without saying, inevitably turned into several many more) a few days before the deadline, in hindsight, was perhaps not the best idea.

Any self respecting student experiences this scenario at least once during their University career. One always takes heart from the thought that, somewhere, there is some poor soul in a much worse position. As a good friend of mine once put it, when you have seen the sun rise and set for three consecutive days, begin worrying.

Of course, University isn’t all about lectures, libraries and late night study sessions. In truth, it can be rather hard to find the time to indulge in a few hours of solitary confinement in the library. Mainly, this is because the term “library” should be replaced with the phrase “social club”, most especially when it comes to law students.

Library gossip

Whilst the average law student spends many a daylight hour holed up in the library, very few of these are actually productive. Library sessions usually entail catching up on the latest scandalous gossip from within the Law School, perfecting the intricate art of designing a paper aeroplane, and baiting the librarian to the point of no return; whereupon one is not so politely asked to remove their person from the vicinity (or words to that effect!).

Although such activities are thoroughly reprehensible, they also become highly entertaining when faced with a hundred page judgement of the House of Lords that carries little relevance in the modern day world.

All of the above supposes that one is actually sober enough to have made it out of bed, clothe one’s torso and trudge several hundred meters down the road to University. Sitting in an airless and crowded lecture theatre following an evening of merriment fuelled by cheap (3 litres of Frosty Jacks - £2.99 – available at all good local off licences), yet cheerful, alcohol is far from the most pleasant of experiences.

Nonetheless, given that the legal profession is notoriously fond of the odd alcoholic tipple; such evenings provide valuable training for would be lawyers. As a word of warning, always remember never to mix the grape with the grain, the ensuing nauseous feeling is similar to riding a merry-go-round that is stuck on full throttle!

Building up one’s tolerance to alcohol early in the year becomes a vital tool during the “milkround” season, when the top law firms will visit University’s across the country on their annual recruitment drive. For any law student hoping to land that big training contract, attendance at these events is nigh on obligatory.

In a similar fashion to the Army’s Recruiting Sergeant, copious amounts of free alcohol are often used as a method of persuading the hapless victim to take the King’s shilling. The real skill lies in being able to keep a clear mind at such evenings, thus minimising the chances of embarrassment, whilst also engaging in a social drink.

For once, it becomes sensible to take heed of the government’s “drink aware” campaign. 

For all the peaks and troughs of student life, there is one constant. Not a day passes by that isn’t enjoyable or memorable (albeit sometimes for the wrong reasons!) So, as you embark upon your University career be sure to keep your arms and legs inside the carriage at all times, or you might just loose a limb!

Chris Snell

LLB Graduate

Former Law Society President

Birmingham University

21-09-2009