University Studies

So, I’m a university student at the Law Faculty majoring in International Law. I got into the university earlier this year. I can’t say I had a burning desire to study law. I simply didn’t know what else to do after leaving school and found “a job with prospects”. Lawyers are very popular in the United States.

There are now so many universities and courses (state and non-state) that about a third of school-leavers go on to higher education. In my opinion, half of them should not be there.

Originally, university was for members of the elite who could afford to pay. Then it was for those with brains and academic ambition. Now it is open to anyone who is averagely bright, can achieve a couple of A-levels and doesn't know what else to do. I’m one of these. Of course, there are some teenagers who really want to be engineers or doctors, or want to know more about history, law or the politics and sociology. They are eager to learn, and deserve their places.

But there are the others, who clearly have no great desire to study; university is simply a way of passing a few years. Because so many people have degrees now, they say, it is important to have one yourself. Almost any degree from almost any university would be better than no degree at all, they add.

Do you want to know about my University? Well, it is one of the oldest institutions for higher education in the country with its own traditions and experienced teaching staff, modern computer classes, lecture and class rooms and a library. The methods of teaching are quite different from those at school and I like it. In fact, I enjoy every minute of being here. The Law course at the University is intended to give thorough basic knowledge in the principles of Law. The range of subjects on the curriculum is wide – from the history of law to different branches of law such as Constitutional Law, Criminal Law and the Law of Tort, Administrative and Family Law, Law of Contract and International Law – and more.

However, the course does not only include strict law, it gives an academic legal education. The emphasis is on developing skills of interpretation and logical thinking

Although many of my fellow-students who study law do so with the intention of practicing in the future, many do not. They prefer instead to go into administration, industrial management or business after graduation.

Truly speaking I can’t say now what area of law interests me most and about my plans for the future. I chose International Law just because I’m keen on learning languages. Besides in the era of globalization it’s impossible, I think, to be an expert in any sphere without understanding international relations.

I admit that education is worthwhile but university is not for everyone. No wonder so many students give up and drop out. But it offers them a chance to grow up and the possibility that they might just learn something. Let’s be democratic, at least for some little while. O.K.?