Semester 2, Week 14: People Are Strange

Last week was a big fundraising week for some scholarships at my law school (which hereafter I’ll refer to as Mavis Staples School of Law because (1) REASONS and (2) I’m tired of calling it “my law school.”). There was a silent auction for a couple of days; local businesses donated stuff and you could write down your bid. The highest bid got the stuff, and the money went to help fund the scholarship. There was a field day at the end of the week which sounded like it would be fun (sack races!), but it was on a Friday afternoon and as fun as sack races are (SUPER THE MOST FUN), I wanted to get home to the fam, so I didn’t go to that.

On Thursday, there was also a live auction. For the live auction, professors donated what were essentially dinner dates, but for groups of students. A professor would agree to host 4 to 6 students at a local bar, for example, and would buy all the drinks and appetizers. Stuff like that. Students typically bid in groups, so they could split the donation. There were maybe a dozen such events auctioned off, and they went for $150—$250 each. 

Also on Thursday, about 10 people were selected to sit in a dunk tank, and students could pay $5 for the chance to knock them into the tank. Tuesday, the 1L Representative for the Student Body Organization (Association? Administration? Committee? CONSORTIUM? I know it’s not consortium. But the more I think about it, the more I wish it were) asked me if I would be willing to go in the dunk tank. I don’t know. Maybe somebody backed out at the last minute? But I am constitutionally unable to say no, so I agreed.

And that’s when two sort of strange things happened. One was strange but lovely, and the other was strange and sort of mean? I think?

Strange but lovely was one of my favorite people in my class, a student I’ll call A. I think A is going to be an exceptional counselor. I can totally imagine her advising clients wisely and insightfully and building a large client base that admires her; she’s empathetic and funny and smart. She also, on a whim, and all by herself, bid I think $150 at the live auction for an outing with one of our professors. I’m not certain, but I think she even bid against herself at one point. This particular outing hadn’t been clearly defined, and maybe for that reason wasn’t getting much action, and A really likes the professor and so she evidently just decided on the spot that she would bid up his offering. She won it. She seemed stunned; like she wasn’t sure what she had just done. It was funny. I guess she’ll round up some friends to chip in and go with her (if she doesn’t, that will make it EVEN STRANGER and funnier to me), but I thought it was an odd but sweet thing to do and completely in keeping with what little I know about A.

Strange but sort of mean happened immediately after A’s spontaneous bidding. L asked me if I was ready for the dunk tank. I replied that while I had brought a change of clothes, I forgot to bring a towel (side note; not strange, but so kind: another student who was scheduled to be in the dunk tank overheard me saying this and offered to let me use her towel. And then, another student who wasn’t going in the dunk tank also heard and told me she had a towel in her car I could use. It’s a community here at Mavis Staples, is what I’m saying). L said she supposed she’d have to pay to try and dunk me, and then E, who was standing nearby, said, “No offense—“ and right there I knew for 100% certain that she was going to say something mean. I did not know why. I do not know E well, but we’ve spoken a little. I know the town she’s from, and we both like that town. To my knowledge, I’ve never done anything to hurt or offend her, so I felt taken aback by the “No offense…” beginning, since it always, without fail or exception serves as preamble to something that would cause most people offense.

“No offense,” she began, “but I don’t think anyone will pay to dunk you. I mean, I just don’t care that much.”

Now, if she hadn’t said the “no offense” part, I think I might have thought of this as kind of a compliment? Like, nobody hates me enough to pay to make me uncomfortable? But thanks to the “no offense,” I knew I was probably dealing with an insult. But I didn’t understand the cause or meaning of it. I smiled (probably rather stupidly) and said something really clever and incisive, like “Oh.”

This story lacks a punchline, I realize as I read it over. But I have no punchline to offer. That was just the end of it right there, and I don’t understand that whole exchange. I thought what she said was strange and probably sort of mean, but in a nebulous way. I mean, alternatively you could take it at face value. Maybe E is just a very literal person, and she did not want to offend me, so she led with that, and then she also does not care to make me suffer discomfort, and she wanted to make sure that I knew that about her.

Anyway, I know that’s at least possibly not a very interesting story. But, you know, the panoply of human behavior.

I’ll see myself out.

Hours for the week: Class = 10.75 / Study = 3 / Other = 3 / Total Time on Schoolwork = 16.75 / Total Time on Campus = 29

Questions? Comments? Complaints? Post them below, or shoot me an email.

Be good to one another, for we need it now more than maybe ever,

d

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