I am an Eagle Scout, the highest rank attainable in the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). My experience in my troop played a significant role in defining who I became as an adult, and I must say that, largely as a part of my upbringing as a boy scout in a Christian household, I am appalled by the gross short-sightedness the BSA demonstrates with some of its policies.
Earlier today, I read an article about how a cub scout leader was - explicitly - kicked out of her pack solely for being a lesbian. This reminded me of my first run-in with BSA's treatment of homosexuality, BSA v. Dale, a case in the late '90s that dealt with a male leader expelled for being gay, where the Supreme Court (rightly, IMHO) held that the Boy Scouts' First Amendment right of expressive association allowed them to discriminate with regards to membership. (Before anyone steps up to defend BSA, I highly recommend reading their SCOTUS brief, available here; the Statement of the Case should suffice.) In protest of that fiasco, our local troops were evicted from their meeting places in public spaces, and United Way denied Scouting funding.
Now, I find myself in an interesting position. See, I am ineligible to be a scout leader for at least three reasons (yeah, I'm a few months early):
- I'm bisexual
- I'm an atheist
- I am polyamorous
The thing is, most people would never guess one, let alone all three of these. Despite these so-called character flaws, I lead a pretty mundane life. I go to work, I bring home a paycheck, and I pay my loans. My life is as boring as everyone else's.
So why doesn't BSA want me? That's a very good question.
I’ve been privileged enough in my life to graduate from three private educational institutions. (Read: I have a very expensive head.) My experiences at them varied widely, as did their impact on my life. In order, they are:
- Northfield Mount Hermon School (NMH), private high school in Gill (also formerly in Northfield), MA. (1998-2001)
- Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA. (BS Computer Science, minors in Philosophy and Mathematics; 2001-2005)
- Boston University School of Law (BU Law), Boston, MA. (JD; 2007-2010)
NMH - Simply put, NMH changed my life (for the better). I absolutely loved my time at the school, despite having a couple run-ins with the absurdity that was, and apparently still is, the school's administration. Now, I have a love-hate relationship with the school - I really want to love it, and while it seems to want to have a good relationship with me, the school can't seem to figure out even the smallest things to make that happen.
Bucknell - Looking back on it, I feel like I went to Bucknell at the wrong point in my life. Then I just wanted to learn, whereas now I'm more comfortable networking and generally using my "education" as a chance to advance myself professionally. Coming from the sticks, I'm surprised at how isolated Lewisburg felt, and the incongruities at the school wore on me. My college experience would have been much better had I gone somewhere more open-minded (which is decidedly not synonymous with "liberal") and that had a better sense of itself.
BU Law - Law school was an investment for me. That said, I had a good experience at BU. The professors were very approachable and actually cared about their students' learning.
Now, some more detail. Please note that while I use present tense, my experiences were some time in the past.
Bucknell's student body primarily consists of two groups: (i) Kids from central PA who want to go to a good school. They are often first generation college graduates, grew up very middle class (like me), and are generally content with their lot in life (unlike me). They also tend to be both Christian and social/moral conservatives. (ii) Second are kids from the New York City area who simply couldn't get into the caliber of school their parents went to (read: the Ivys). They tend to be (very) upper middle class, and more fiscally conservative. They also tend to be somewhat entitled.
Possibly as a result of this disconnect, academically the school has three distinct sections: (i) a liberal arts college, (ii) an engineering school, and (iii) a management/accounting school. They all have their own traditions and with the exception of cross-over subjects like math, can be very separated from one another.
Combine the disjointed campus atmosphere with the isolated location with the prominent Greek system, and you have a place that is very confused as to what it is, which wore on me.
My freshman year was marked by one particular day - September 11, 2001. In many ways my experience both on and off campus foreshadowed the us/them mentality that seems to have come to define conservationism in the U.S. It didn't have the same anti-intellectual feel, however the total unwillingness to discuss politics based on substance was there. To get a sense of things, campus felt like it was (although in all fairness may not have been) in agreement with the Bucknell Conservatives Club on most issues (see generally issues of The Counterweight from the early 2000s). Beyond the early Bush-era conservationism, there was an open (albeit implicit) hostility toward homosexuality and other forms of sexual nonconformity.
I gather the above has generally abated since I left, but that doesn't change the fact that it soured my experience at the school. I would have been much happier at a more intellectual institution like Carleton, which I had the privilege of effectively being a proxy student at for a year. Looking back on it, I learned and grew a lot at Bucknell, but I simply wasn't happy. I was able to distract myself with paid work - over 30 hours/week of it on average - and wouldn't go there again if I had a redo. That said, I understand it may have changed such that I'd be happier there now.
BU Law is a professional school, and I wasn't at all surprised when it offered me zero financial aid. That said, I was amazed at how utterly bizarre its choices of who to financially support were. I realize determining which student to support is hardly a science, however the school just couldn't seem to get that right. In fact, a significant percentage of people I know who were getting support are not currently lawyers - and I graduated less than two years ago. As such, it rather chafes when they call me begging for money.
As for my actual experience there, I liked BU. I should note that I found law school to be less all-consuming than other people claim it is. I went to school and put in a lot of time, but I certainly didn't slave over my studies. I found the professors to be very engaged and approachable. They actually care about their students, and the administration takes its students very seriously. As law schools go, I thought BU was quite stellar.
I will post about NMH later, and will link here when I do.
Tonight I saw someone with a shirt that read:
Y_U AR_ AN ID_OT
Want to buy a vowel?
My only thought was: I'm guessing you want to buy a vowel, as you obviously don't understand the mechanics of revealing letters in Wheel of Fortune.
The website's custom error pages are now working and complete with at least a small level of snark! They used to work, but apparently my .htaccess file got overwritten a while back and I didn't notice. Grr. Anyhow, if you're curious:
Other than that, I'm up in Boston for the weekend. Planning to have dinner with friends, play some board games, and generally relax.
Email today:
On 11/10/2010 14:19, [Redacted] wrote:Hello, this is [Redacted]. Before I tell you what I want to accomplish in this e-mail, let me tell you exactly what I have been up to, and who I work for. I just graduated from Bucknell University with a degree in accounting, and I’ve been working with Mass Mutual. As you may/may not know, Mass Mutual provides products like life insurance, disability income insurance, long term care insurance, retirement/401k plan services and annuities. I was wondering if I could sit down with you and introduce myself, spend about 15-20 minutes with you, get to know you, and possibly get a quick idea of what your possible interests are both now and in the future in the insurance area, investment area, pension or whatever you are thinking about. Let me know if you are willing to meet. Any advice or referrals would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you,
[Redacted]
My Reply:
[Redacted],
My insurance and financial needs are well met. I would very much appreciate it if you do not contact me with offers as below.
I should preface this by saying that I do not mean to castigate, but rather hope to help you understand that despite any likely minimal short-term benefits to trolling an alumni list for potential clients it is likely to burn bridges, which will affect you in the long run. I, presumably like most of the other Bucknellians you emailed, am happy to hear from recent alums, to share my limited wisdom and experiences, and to help you in most any way that I can. This does not, however, extend to becoming a cold-call (well, email) client. I work in the city and am proselytized constantly both during my commute and at home. I do not give them the time of day, and our shared alma mater is the other thing saving you from the same fate. Alumni are there to help you with your career, not with your job. This is potentially problematic for you in that people tend to have a long memory, and are unlikely to respond well to future requests for networking from someone who once tried to displace their highly competent and well-paid financial adviser. (For instance, Larry Breakiron - who donated the Breakiron building - lives in Greenwich. I assure you, his adviser is well entrenched.)
That said, let me tell you a little about myself in the hopes that I can be of some use along the lines of what alumni lists are for - networking. I graduated from Bucknell in 2005 with a BS in Computer Science. I moved to MN and worked for a medical imaging company for two years before going to law school. I graduated in May, recently passed both the NY and MA bars, and am now working in the city as a lawyer practicing in patent litigation. I know how bad the market is right now - the firm I was planning to start at closed down suddenly in March and I had to scramble to find a job. I got my job through networking - they weren't even looking to hire at the time. I started at one a little over a month ago and many, many of my good friends are still looking. If there is anything I can do to help your career (not your job!), please do not hesitate to get in touch. If, for instance, you are considering law school I would be happy to grab a coffee and discuss it as an option.
Finally, I should note that some good may come of this mess. I presume that I am not the only person to receive your message below, and also that I am not the only one to (respectfully) respond. Each such response is an opportunity - don't squander it. Rather than spamming an apology to everyone on the original list, reply to anyone whose email looks like mine and see what they do and if you are interested in it. Who knows, you might land an analyst position out of a few easy conversations. If all else fails, you're out the cost of a few cups of coffee and have people who might be able to help your career down the line.
Wishing you the best,
Matt Berntsen '05
Continuing from the last post, new things:
- I passed both the MA and NY bars. I have posted a copy of my bar crib notes here.
- My website is back up. I had taken it down for a little while to retool some things. Notably, I've updated the photo gallery system to the current version, created a navbar across the top and done a few other cosmetic/backend tweaks.
Much has happened since I last posted. This is in part because things have moved very quickly and in part because I don't post with any frequency whatsoever. So, to summarize:
1. I have employ. I'm working at a small IP firm in NYC called Ward & Olivo and focusing on patent litigation. It's a very small office, and I enjoy both the work and my coworkers.
2. I passed the MA bar. NY comes out at some point in November.
3. I (perhaps obviously) moved to the NY suburbs, and will soon be making a move into the city. The commute is doable but brutal.
4. My website is currently down for repairs. I've actually been making progress recently - I just have one more thing to tweak and then it'll be back up. Woohoo!
The bar exam is over. Those five simple words can't really mean much unless one has observed the misery that is the bar.
Fortunately for me, it's done. And, hopefully, I never have to take it again. (I find out in November.)
Until then, back to being human once again.
I was driving home today on the motorcycle and had the 'pleasure' of finding out firsthand the you can actually do a reverse wheelie at 20MPH, and without too much effort.
I was heading toward a stoplight where traffic splits into two lanes. As the second lane started to open I pulled in and started slowing. Then a woman in a car in front of me cut right and rolled up to the stop light. I slammed on the brake and pulled in the clutch, and, everything being rather sudden, hopped the rear wheel. Twice. When I looked up, the woman was completely oblivious to me and still fiddling with her radio.
The moral of the story: USE YOUR MIRRORS.
A few things have happened in recent history. Bitsy finished her last qualifying exam today (keep fingers crossed; results in ~2 weeks), and I've gotten some bites on the job side. In fact, I'm waiting on a response after a full day of interviews earlier this week. I think it went well, and I'm quite hopeful. Time will tell.