M. Eleanor Schmalzl ’20
Deposed Newspaper Tyrant
Editor-in-Chief Emeritus
February of my 1L year, Jenna Goldman ’18 published her farewell article as she finished her tenure as Editor-in-Chief of the Law Weekly. Last February, Jansen VanderMeulen ’19 did the same. At those times, I had no idea how it must have felt to pass along a job that you invested so much time, thought, and energy into. But as I write this article, the feeling is all too real.
I’m not here to exaggerate the importance of the paper––I know lots of people pick it up for the ANGs and the Professor Quotes––but I do believe that what we do really is something special. Every year the Law Weekly manages to entice a handful of first-year law students to wander to the depths of Slaughter Hall, normally in search of dinner as their weary souls trudge through the days of 1L, and somehow get them to keep coming back. Liberals, conservatives, softball players, SBA representatives, students who “only do the paper,” people from all different backgrounds come, eat pizza, and consistently put together a paper documenting what life at the Law School looks like on a weekly basis. 1Ls take hours out of their week to write articles, and checked-out upperclassmen still come back every week despite not having class on Monday (the night we produce the paper) at all. And while week-to-week it may not seem like a big deal, over time these weeks have become years, and these years of documentation are something that you just can’t create any other way. After three years of Mondays, I can’t identify a common thread between the group of people that edit this paper except that we all are there, having a good time, and producing a paper-copy time capsule of UVA Law. And that’s a really cool thing.
I feel honored to have been part of such a special group in my three years at this Law School and I am so thankful to everyone who takes an active role with the Law Weekly. To all the consistent readers, thank you for picking up our papers––you’re the reason we exist, and it wouldn’t be much fun to publish if people didn’t bother to peruse our pages and get in on all the jokes we sprinkle in throughout every week. And to the professors who put up with us quoting (and, let’s be real, likely sometimes misquoting) them on a weekly basis, thank you for going along with the fun and giving us such good material to work with.[1] Finally, thanks to all the editors who come every week to SL 279. From the 1Ls who I was a PA for and encouraged[2] to attend, to the 2Ls and 3Ls who made me feel so welcome when I was a 1L, to the new crop of 1Ls who show up every week, you all are nothing short of incredible. It may not always feel like we’re writing about the most hard-hitting topics,[3] but every week I think we manage to engage people, make them laugh,[4] and contribute to making this school more than just a place to study. I hope others get half the joy out of reading this thing as we do making it every week, and I can’t wait to see where the new board takes the paper next.
My charge as I finish my tenure is the same as the charge I had the first week of the school year: No matter what you do at this Law School, do something. Despite how busy class and studying get, you are missing out on so much more if you don’t dive into all that this place has to offer. Most of my best memories from this school come from late Monday nights, hours on the softball field, and time hanging out with 1Ls I mentor.[5] The Law Weekly is a special organization, and I (in my biased opinion) think it is one of the best groups at this school. But find your fit, whether Law Weekly or otherwise, and lean into it––the paper can’t wait to document all that’s to come.
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mes5hf@virginia.edu
[1] We know some of you do it just to humor us, and we eat it up. @Professor Doran and @Professor Mitchell, please join your faculty peers!
[2] Read: arguably forced.
[3] See https://www.lawweekly.org/features/2020/2/12/tweedledee-and-tweedledum-high-school-musical from our February 12, 2020 edition.
[4] Even if it is just ourselves, see all the titles this year that end with “The results will literally shock you!”
[5] And, of course, every class and interaction I ever had with Michael Collins, but that doesn’t fit the theme of “out of class memories/don’t be a gunner” so I am dropping it in a footnote.