Over at Prawfs, Emily Gold Waldman asks Do you go to the Barristers' Ball?:
Every March at around this time, our Dean sends an e-mail encouraging us to attend our students' annual Barristers' Ball. And every time, I cringe.
It's not that I don't like our students. Getting to know them is one of my favorite parts of this job. I really enjoy talking with them, whether in response to specific academic questions or just in casual conversation. I've stayed in touch with many of them after they've graduated, and always love hearing what they are up to.
But I don't want to put on a little black dress and, with my husband in tow, spend a Saturday night with them at a formal dance. Maybe because I'm still in my 30s and am not that much older than many of them (I'm still sometimes mistaken for a student here), I feel the need to maintain a certain separation. I'm curious, though: do others have the same reaction? And on the flip side, do students really want us there?
I like my students, don't like dancing, but neither drives my answer to the question, which is a strong NO. If I've learned one thing over the years, it is that faculty, students, and alcohol are a highly combustible mixture. So even though I like a refreshing adult beverage as much as the next guy, I try to avoid law school social events where there tends to be a lot of drinking.
