ATENEO’S GREATNESS
When I stepped into the hallowed halls of the Ateneo School of Law in 1978, I did not know then that I will end up being actively involved not only as a student but eventually as a member of the faculty. It is therefore from the vantage point of a Law Professor that I share my reasons why I think Ateneo Law School is truly a great institution.
First, I have seen remarkable transformations from mediocrity to excellence exhibited on a semester to semester basis by my Ateneo law students. They struggle and learn to grow with the process, ratio studiorum. There is not much excitement when a brilliant student exhibits his or her expected brilliance; but when a previously shy student getting grades of 50 in the midterms transforms herself or himself to be a very good student, it is a cause for much celebration. The Ateneo Law School has time and again showed that she has the atmosphere, capability and inspirational guidance to transfigure young people by jolting them out of their complacency and awaking in them that inner energy that can propel them to excel. The Ateneo Law School provides a challenge that enables one to deeply discover his or her own dynamism and talents. This is greatness.
Second, it is expected that, in the great debates about which law school is the best, comparisons are inevitable. And in favoring one school , one can certainly be accused of subjective bias depending upon which school he or she graduated from. However, modesty aside ,from all objective standards, the Ateneo School of Law presently stands as the best. This year 2011, there are four bar topnotchers in the top 10 passers of the yearly bar examinations. They include numbers 1 and 2. This cannot be the product of subjective inclinations. For the past 10 years, the Ateneo has been ranked by the CHED as the number one law school. Also, Ateneo law students represented the Philippines in the premiere and most prestigious Philip Jessup International Moot Court Competition held in the United States participated in by law students of other countries . In gaining this privilege, the Ateneans beat students of other law schools in the country during the very competitive national rounds, winning all awards. Likewise, other law schools are now following the trailblazing lead of the Ateneo in transforming law education from a Bachelor of Laws program to a Juris Doctor program. These facts cannot be the offspring of subjective bias. This is greatness.
Third, other law schools criticize that, at the Ateneo, the professors teach students to top the bar examinations but not to become lawyers. Of course, this observation is an exaggeration and simply not true. One can never really teach in the classroom the actual experience of lawyering. Teachers can only guide students and lay the necessary foundation for them to be ready as lawyers in the future. Life is a step by step experience. Actual lawyering is learned when one is truly practicing law. Be that as it may, Ateneo law graduates have matured well in their chosen profession. I have been in constant touch with many of them and they are very successful as lawyers. But, for me, this is not where the greatness lies. It lies where a lawyer focuses his or her efforts on a “preference for the poor and the disadvantage”, as our Jesuit mentors say. In the recent years, a number of Atenean lawyers decided to immerse themselves in alternative lawyering. They service the urban poor, domestic helpers, trafficked children, the environment and other worthy causes. Although this practice does not provide a cool and comfy sinecure in a Makati law office, it nevertheless resonates with so much passion in the service of others that make our lawyers truly Lux in Domino. This is greatness.
And so, Ateneo’s greatness? It is the continuing service to others brought about by the constant unfolding of life’s various experiences, deeply inspired by St.Ignatius of Loyola when he said, “to give and not to count the cost.” There will be no trumpets or heralds as an acclamation for this greatness, but only the realization that one has resiliently endured and responded , as Ateneans should endure and respond , to the difficult challenges in life in order to excel in the most humble way in the service of God and country. “ I am the King’s good servant but GOD’s first.” ( St. Thomas More).
Prof. Sta. Maria is a member of the faculty and Bar Reviewer of the Ateneo Law School.