Hello! It’s been six weeks since I moved from Philadelphia to Lawrence to begin my new position as Assistant Dean of Admissions here at the KU School of Law. Now there’s an old adage that a visitor can only really understand a place if they’ve been there two weeks or 20 years. I’m going to stretch that a bit and give you a few thoughts on my new home and my new law school after having spent six weeks here.
First, the rumors about the Midwest are true. People here are really friendly, even when they don’t have to be. It is such a nice feeling to walk into a Massachusetts Street store or a law classroom and to have people just smile at you. I think my first real taste of this was at a football tailgate party hosted by the KU Law Student Bar Association. It was my first real chance to meet with our students, and it was just a really nice introduction to how closely knit the students were and how welcoming they were to someone new. I can’t wait until basketball season starts.
Second, the food here is really good, and I haven’t even been to Oklahoma Joe’s yet. Yep, Kansas is definitely famous for its barbecue, and I’m looking forward to entering the great “best barbecue joint” debate. But Lawrence has a really nice food scene with a mix of very foodie-friendly spots like 715 and Pachamamas, and great student spots like Esquina for tacos and Dempsey’s for burgers. And just about every restaurant here is on the locavore bandwagon, so you can feel good chowing down on a burger knowing that burger came from just outside of town.
Third and finally, our students have a great sense of pride in their law school. Our students know they are joining a law school with a long, rich history, and they look forward to adding to the success stories that our school has been generating for more than a century. And that makes me feel good, because one reason I moved here was the opportunity to be part of the Jayhawk story.
Rock chalk!
Steven Freedman, Assistant Dean for Admissions