I AM DRACO MALFOY

Graduating students assembled on the cross-campus lawn in the morning for a procession to the Old Campus quad. Over a thousand students in robes lined up according to school affiliation behind flag bearers and mace carriers. Someone commented that he felt like an extra in Lord of the Rings. Another said “No, it’s more like Harry Potter and the Law School is Slytherin.” Guido – who has at least 30 honorary degrees – deserved the award for most extravagant costume. I guess he has so many degrees that he can pick and choose the perfect outfit. Some of the ceremonial maces were pretty cool; at one point Ray spontaneously remarked “Oh, I want that scepter!” The procession to Old Campus was accompanied by fanfare (literally). The ceremony itself was basic – Yale doesn’t have a graduation speaker – and mercifully short.

Tom Wolfe and Willie Mays were the most famous recipients of honorary degrees. A creepy bald guy was placing hoods on all of the recipients. Willie Mays started to walk away before he got his hood so one of the marshals stepped in front of him to stop him leaving the stage while the creepy bald guy chased behind with the hood. A student behind me noted that it was like a run-down.*

The law school ceremony was held in our courtyard. Dean Kronman gave an ok speech with the “soaring eloquence” that we’ve come to “accept” (as Koh put it). Koh gave an annoying speech about how “great” the law school is. The school’s most irascible professor, John Langbein, was the main speaker. His topic was how much it sucks to be a lawyer these days. It was an excellent speech (seriously).

. . .

My Mum’s in town for graduation. I think she’s been finding it quite bemusing. Last week we had a good trip up to Vermont where I did some apartment hunting. I start a 2 month bar review course tomorrow and I am not expecting to enjoy it.

* For the Australians: A “rundown” occurs when a runner gets caught in no-man’s land between bases. Two fielders throw the ball to each other over the runner’s head while narrowing the gap until one of them is close enough to tag the runner out. (And Willie Mays is a super-famous baseball player.)