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Alumni
and current students routinely use the word "community"
when describing their Notre Dame law
school experience. This sense of community is the product
of traditions that have evolved since the School's founding,
admission policies that emphasize the importance of
qualitative factors (such as service to
others) in the selection process, the School's mission
and Catholic heritage that invites students to discuss
legal issues from a faith perspective, and the value
that
the administration and faculty place on maintaining
a learning environment that fosters discourse and interchange
between and among students and faculty.
The
sense of community that exists among Notre Dame law
students also is fostered by a culture that
encourages students to do their personal best, while
supporting classmates in their development as professionals.
This collegiality is reinforced by the absence of class
ranks and an Honor Code that is predicated on trust
and a core of common values among students.
The
social life of Notre Dame law students revolves around
friendships made through study groups, participation
in extracurricular activities, time spent together in
the Law School student lounge or in graduate student
housing, or participation in intramural sports or attendance
at one of ND's varsity games.
The
three years that students spend at the Law School routinely
form the basis of life-long friendships and professional
relationships. Graduates of the Law School form a tight
network that is, almost without exception, ready to
lend a hand to current students and fellow graduates.
Graduates eagerly return to campus as recruiters for
their firms, as speakers invited by student organizations,
or simply to watch a football game and reconnect with
classmates.
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