Law students, faculty celebrate milestone during first pinning ceremony

With lapel pins on the breasts of their shirts, USD law students celebrated the six-week milestone of law school during a ceremony.

At the ceremony on Oct. 8, first-year law students recieved a lapel pin of the law school’s insignia.

The law school hopes to turn the ceremony into a tradition to allow law students to reflect on what they have learned so far about the profession they are pursuing, and to recite the oath they first took at orientation.

“The law school has been trying to identify an appropriate event for several years. The relatively new seal and shield provide a symbol around which such an event can evolve,” said Thomas Geu, dean of the School of Law.

Geu led the first-ever ceremony, talking about how proud he was of the students for completing the first six weeks. He spoke about the journey the students will be taking.

“The hardest six weeks of law school are behind you, things will speed up now, but you are getting it, you are becoming a lawyer,” he said. “Lawyers aren’t created, you become a lawyer. And you will likely better understand the oath you took, to uphold and obey the law.”

The students then recited the oath again, and listened as Geu talked about how to use the brain as a tool, and how they will better understand this concept as they continue through law school.

“The pinning gives us a congratulations for entering this study,” first year-law student Jennifer Doubledee said. “And then we continue taking classes to become lawyers.”

After his short speech, he dismissed each row to go to the front and receive their pin from a line of professors at the law school. The room erupted in applause after the last shield was pinned.

“It was more official than our orientation when we first took the oath,” first-year law student Lindsay Martin said. “It’s an honor to be in the presence of our professors and Dean Geu and to experience this new tradition.”