A Sense of Justice :: Law College Admissions Essays

A Sense of Justice   Its midnight, and Im ariseing in the yard after a powerful actors line at Memorial Church just a few hours ago. The night is chilly, and I unravel the sweater from around my waist and place it upon my shoulders. As I stand freezing in the yard, a steady stream of friends and associates pass by me offering congratulations. A unforesightful time before, I had delivered the introductory speech for our Black History Month campus guest speaker, Johnny Cochran. As I stood freezing in the yard, I was humbled. Cochrans message that night was that vigilant and systemic refuse has profound power and can help deliver social justice. His message rang as true as Malcolm Xs call to social action from the same ambo more than thirty years before. And, now, as the stars lit the yard electric, Cochrans words took me back to the frontmost time I understood what protest meant to me and my sense of justice.   It was my first year at the most venerable institution in the world, and my high-school dreams had been achieved. Yet, that fall, I was feeling empty inside. As I drowned my sorrows in a latte at Au Bon Pain near the T entrance, I noticed a large crowd gathering outside. I later learned that a short time before, an undergraduate running to the co-op had carelessly knocked a stateless man to the ground. As I looked up from my latte, I saw a homeless man crawling around the sidewalk, yelling something about being   unable to see and cursing profusely. Nearby, I saw a fair sex I recognise as a senior, crawling around on the ground with him. Finally, she stood up, with a pair of broken glasses in hand. You bastard she screamed at the retreating undergraduate. I didnt grapple what to think. I had never seen a white homeless person before, and certainly not one being helped by a black woman.   I approached the woman and told her my name. She was still clearly flustered and angry, her brown eyes flashing amid an expanse of curly hair. Th ey just dont get it she grumbled angrily. I silently looked atomic pile. Suddenly, she turned to me. Sometimes, weve got to sit down and stand up for the dignity of human kind. Sometimes, weve got to do whats right. Silently, I nodded my head.