By Dean Aynechi, 3L SBA Senator
Life is a series of infinite loops. This realization came to me like a surreal dream as I, Dean Aynechi, California native, SBA senator, former SBA Presidential Candidate and Section 15 SBA representative (Class of …
By Collin Smith
Throughout my three years at The George Washington University Law School, I have often heard this trying time referred to as a “journey” from peers and faculty alike. Some people may think that three years is merely a footnote in the journey that we all call life. The last two and a half years that I knew John Hroncich, however, were anything but a footnote.
A little over two years ago, in August 2010, I started my three-year “tour of duty” here at GW Law. Fresh off of a brief tour to Iraq, the list of academic-related stressors was quite short compared to some of the deployment-related stressors I was still struggling to decompress, but still strong nonetheless. I struggled to focus in classes, I struggled with the 1L midterm, and I struggled (mightily) with LRW. In short, law school was chewing me up and spitting me out. In September, angry with myself for not feeling “smart enough” and being stressed out with the competitive atmosphere, I met a guy from Hazlet, New Jersey who greeted me with a huge smile, a vice-grip of a handshake, and an emphatic “hey, what’s up!”
Despite all of the pressure and the stress, “Jersey Johnny” was the first person to take a time out from the blistering pace of law school to say hello, ask me how I was doing, and offer a few words of encouragement. Sometimes his encouragement was direct, and sometimes it wasn’t. There are countless times where I would listen to him tackle a question in class or listen to him ask a question in class and the down-to-earth way he approached everything about law school helped to bring me back to my own sense of balance and “recenter” my focus.
John made law school fun — even though it isn’t supposed to be. After spending a handful of months preparing for my deployment, then being deployed, and then barreling straight into law school, I was stuck going 100 miles per hour in one direction without taking any time to stop and enjoy the journey.
Over the remainder of that first year, and all the way through December 20th of last year, I enjoyed my law school journey alongside John. It absolutely has not been the same since his passing. John was a genuine and kind-hearted friend. I miss his smile, his bone-crushing handshake, and his always genuine “hey, what’s up!” and I am sure everyone who knew him also misses the same. Still, I know that John would want all of us to continue to enjoy the journey, and to live our lives to the fullest even during the most stressful and trying times.
Last but certainly not least, although I am in the Army, my brothers and sisters in the Navy have a saying that I feel is appropriate as we continue our journey through life. With John in our hearts, thoughts, and prayers, and through all of the good times to come and the more difficult to overcome, I want to leave you all with this:
Fair Winds and Following Seas, John.
You might be gone, but you will never be forgotten.
John Hroncich: 1988-2012
Collin Smith is a member of the GW Law Class of 2013 and a Captain in the United States Army.
By Dean Aynechi, 3L SBA Senator
Life is a series of infinite loops. This realization came to me like a surreal dream as I, Dean Aynechi, California native, SBA senator, former SBA Presidential Candidate and Section 15 SBA representative (Class of …
By Jessica Kamish
GW Law’s strong faculty are the backbone of our law school experience. We know which professors we love, which make us laugh, which intimidate us nearly to tears, and which fascinate us with their stories. Certain professors will …
By Arthur Saakian
Professor Bill Kovacic is a busy man. After requesting the opportunity to interview the Professor, his response came quick and professional: he’d be flying to China in two days for a conference. There would be no time to …
By Robert Jordan
Leaving GW this spring are over 400 graduating full-time students (three years at GW), about 40 graduating part-time students (four years at GW), and one retiring constitutional law professor (54 years at GW).
I sat down with Professor Jerome …
By Andy Hasty
The market for newly-minted Juris Doctorates is not what it used to be. Although the quarterly growth rate of U.S. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) hasn’t been in the red since 2009, the recession appears to be far from …
By Roberta O. Roberts, 1L, Louis Brandeis Inn (Section 15)
According to a 2009 survey, 52% of George Washington University Law School students showed signs of being clinically depressed. The top stress-inducing forces included: competition for grades, the Socratic Method, and …
By Patrick Fortune
Starting next fall, the Law School will be expanding into two new facilities. The new Law Learning Center (LLC) and the Clinic Town Houses (CTH) provide almost 32,000 sq/ft of badly needed space for clinics, journals and other …
By Patrick Fortune
The driving force behind the law school’s hiring process is the Appointments Committee. The Committee guides faculty hiring from initial recruitment up until final appointment, at which point the entire tenured faculty votes to confirm or reject new …
By Michael Perez
Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary defines “diversity” as “the condition of having or being composed of differing elements.” Currently, the mainstream application of the term diversity is a bit of a misnomer. That is because diversity if often pigeonholed to describe …
By Alex Giannattasio
The number of students enrolled at the law school dropped precipitously in 2012. After falling from 523 students in 2010 to 474 in 2011, the size of the entering class again fell this academic year to 398, a …
By Griffin Foster
I considered attending law school for a decade before finally taking the plunge. Like many of you, I was worried by increasingly poor job statistics for new law graduates. A number of our would-be classmates may have been …
By Tommy Renkes
Imagine, if you a will, that in the upcoming presidential election, 269 electoral votes are added at the last minute. Let’s continue this hypothetical and assume that the 269 electoral votes are purportedly added to better represent the …
By Andrew Beyda
As any recent GW Law graduate will tell you, your membership in our community does not end on commencement day. The issues that were important to you as a 1L, 2L, and 3L are just as important to …
By Andrew Huber
Although graduating 3Ls and 4LEs are ineligible to run for SBA positions in the spring election by virtue of the fact that they will no longer be students at GW Law in the following year, graduating students are …
By Jerry Stenquist
The George Washington University (GW) is home to one of the largest law school student bodies in the country. Unfortunately, while we’re told more space is on the way, GW is not home to a large law school …
By Joe Cramer
If you could get a shot that would prevent you from aging, would you? DC local and sports blogging funnyman Drew Magary tackles this question in his entertaining and futuristic novel The Postmortal.
In the year 2050, scientists discover …
Because both Dean Berman and Prof. Tuttle have publicly commented on my legal actions regarding Catholic University, I thought I would share with you my brief response (in the form of a letter to the editor) to an article quoting …
It has been a joy representing evening students in the SBA Senate over these past two years– and we’ve accomplished a great deal! Since last Spring I helped re-launch the Evening Law Student Association (ELSA), which is a great resource …
In this economy GW Law students need to be optimistic, driven, and passionate about a few choice areas of the law. While the same could be said of anyone interested in a job in the field of law even during …
By Todd Watson
With Umar Akbar Ahmed Esq. – GW LL.M. Class of ‘07
DC is, without a doubt, one of the best places in the world to pursue an international law career. Many GW Law students seem to have come here …
August 24, 2011, DC: A magnitude 5.8 earthquake hit the East Coast on Tuesday, making it the largest in DC recorded history. Lasting for more than 30 seconds, the tremor extended up and down the East Coast, and was felt …
“Our community has tough times ahead of us” declared the local imam in a small mosque in a quiet Indianapolis suburb. It was the first Friday prayer after the September 11 attacks. As I looked around the hall, I could …
As many of you know, I went to Occupy Wall Street two weekends ago and I was arrested for crossing a police barricade, sitting down, and refusing to leave. I slept outside in the park on Friday night, and on …
by Joe Cramer
The loan doctor will see you now.
Sit down. We need to talk about your condition. Let’s start with the bad news – your condition is serious and it’ll take several years before you’re completely cured. The good news …
By Mark Aaron Cox
GWSBA Correspondent
The SBA Senate convened at 8:30pm on January 31, 2012 for its second full session of the spring semester. Only eleven of the twenty-two elected representatives were actually present for the meeting. Even counting appointed proxies, …
On Wednesday, February 22, we will have the opportunity to vote on a ballot initiative that will amend the SBA Constitution to create a Transfer Student Senate seat, elected in the fall by the 2L transfer class. As members of …
