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| By JOSEPH HOUSTON, Missouri-Columbia |
Our student chapter at the University of Missouri-Columbia is in its inaugural year. Although we are new and small in numbers, much has been done to establish the J. Reuben Clark Law Society as a fixture here at the law school. The means for doing so have been small and simple. We notified each of the deans as to who we are and what our purpose is, participated in 1-L Orientation, established a web page, and have made the entire student body aware of our meetings and events. A couple experiences in particular have stuck out.
Our most recent event was the William Atkin presentation on rainmaking. I had sent out a couple emails advertising the event, as well as posted a few flyers around the law school. The other day, a few minutes before one of my classes was about to begin, a fellow student with whom I had never before met seemed to have automatically identified me with the Society, and asked me some questions about the event. Initially, I had thought nothing of it, only that it gave me an opportunity to give a little plug for the presentation. A few minutes later I came to the deeper realization that people know who we are, and I was reminded of an earlier experience during 1-L Orientation.
We had set up a JRCLS table along with the other student organizations. In doing so we had the opportunity to describe the Society to a number of curious incoming law students. It was not long into the orientation before the chapter president of the Christian Legal Society was over at our table. He informed us that someone had anxiously come to his table with the news that the Mormons had organized themselves. We both found the newsflash quite humorous, and it became headway into a conversation about how the two organizations can work together on various projects throughout the year.
These two experiences may not seem like a big deal, but they have left an impression upon me. Whether we realize it or not, people know who we are. Even though there are only eight of us, I would venture to say that most of the students and faculty could identify each one of us as ?Mormons.? What a wonderful opportunity the J. Reuben Clark Law Society has offered the members of the Church at the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Law to show case who we are and what we represent. We are the Mormons, and we have organized ourselves. |
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