Gee, "...we have rights to FEED OUR CHILDREN ANYWHERE WE ARE!!!!". I haven't heard such a self centered, ME, ME, ME statement in a long time! You position is that you can do whatever you want anywhere you want. How would you feel if I took the same position in other "natural" human functions? Where is the line drawn? If a person watching your "natural" function performed an equally "natural" function in front of you, would you be offended, or stage a sit in for that too? Or would you be offended and complain about how it "hurts" you child to watch such an action? Those who are demanding the right to whip it out anywhere they want deserve to be forced to watch others do the same for any "natural" human function. Perhaps then they may have a different opinion, but I doubt it. They are too self centered to see anything beyond their own selfish interests.

Will, What you are advocating as an acceptable hiring criteria is wrong, as it discriminates based on what "club" you belonged to. It is the same thing as hiring only people from a favored church, country club, or any other organization that selectively accepts membership. It is okay to discriminate on G.P.A., test scores or some other achivement based criteria, but not simply because of the reputation of a school. With that said, a private company might be able to hire with that discriminator. I do know that the Federal government cannot use that information as a discriminator where a person graduated during the hiring process. I know that because I have been a part of the hiring process as a Union chapter president in the past. As you said, academic achievement is meritorious, but that is on an individual basis. If I were to say that simply because a person graduated from University A that he or she was "better" than a person who graduated from University B, then I am generalizing the same as saying everyone in one economic group is better than another economic group. That is because the main reason people get into some of the elite schools is money or where ones parents went to school. And do we REALLY want to say that a graduate from a more expensive and exclusive university is "better" than someone who did not have the resources to pay for that school or parents did not go to that school? That no different than saying rich people are better than middle class or poor people. I just don't buy that, and no amount of rationalization will make such a belief anything other than elitism. And no, I do not think that graduates from elite schools are bad, but to exclude anyone who does not come from an elite school is simply a form of class discrimination.

Will, I understand your viewpoint on how the school might factor in to the hiring process, but the big question is this; should it? Does the printing at the top of my diploma matter more than the matter between my ears or the fire in my heart? Does a test taken before I even begin my legal education matter more than what I do while learning and how I apply that knowledge? Eliteism is about where you came from, which leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I see merit as a much better system, but a much more difficult thing to measure. Do we choose the easier or the harder, knowing that the easier is patently unfair and discriminatory, or do we strive for fair, reasonable and merit based hiring processes? Snail, Has it ever occured to you that law schools to not go out and abduct people to sit in their classrooms? The reason that fewer blacks enter and graduate is that less apply for admission or less are qualified to be admitted. It is not the schools fault for that, it is the individuals. Schools also do not admit a "race", they admit individuals. If you want more black lawyers, go into the K-12 system and mentor some bright young black men and women in that direction. To blame anyone besides those who discourage academic achievement for blacks such as rappers, "community organizers" or the leadership of that group is misplaced and mistaken. By the way, I work for a very smart and saavy black woman, who earned her position through scholarship and hard work. to me, that is evidence that they system works for those who work for it. If you want the easy way, you will end up short of the mark. Being an attorney is a high achievement, so perhaps it is an indictment of the black community itself that few blacks are at that level more so than the fault of the law schools.

Notsurprised, Thank you for your comment! I agree with weighing family, work and opportunities with an emphasis on family is wise, particularly with young children. I did not have that to worry about, but turned down acceptance at a fairly well respected university for my PhD program to attend an online university so that I would not put too much stress on my wife. Were I a young single with no responsibilities, I would go for the biggest bang I could afford or be accepted into. Each of us has his or her own parameters to consider when making such a decision. And in my opinion, what one does with an education matters more than where one received it. Granted, there is always the good ole boy network for Harvard grads. With that said, there are many successful law grads from state universities who did not earn a trip to prison with the Harvard grads who worked at Arthur Anderson and Enron.

Will, The snobbery of schools does not stop at UF or FSU, it extends up to GWU in DC all the way up to the lofty peaks of snobbery in New England and California. If you look down from UF, just remember that there are others from the Ivy League schools that are looking down on that school as "sub-par" as well. If you look at the Supremes, you will see 6 Harvard grads, 1 Northwestern, 1 Yale and 1 Stanford. Only 1 Justice does not say, probably because poor Alito went to some state U, rather than snooty U. Personally, I am very happy to see the FAMU law school doing well, as I intend to pursue a law degree once I complete my doctorate in business management. I could care less where, so long as it is accredited, because I have already earned a well paying job with the government and do not need a snooty law firm to keep my family under a roof.