Pirates on the Law School Horizon

I'm so psyched to be contributing to this Blog for STU.  As I said in my bio, law school is what you make of it!  Once I realized that I could use the classes and resources available to me here to study the things that interest me, law school became an entirely different ballgame.  This semester, I'm writing 4 different papers on a topic that, although relatively unknown or unconsidered in the daily lives of the general population, is relevant and important in the maritime realm.  I'm focusing my research on the environmental causes of East and West African piracy (yes, piracy, as in "Arr").  As the focus of four of my courses, I have the chance to tailor my law school career as it focuses on a topic that is one of great concern to me.  Modern day piracy causes more than 3000 deaths on the high seas each year, and contributes to more than $50 billion dollars in losses to the maritime and shipping industry.  That's a long way from the popular conception of pirates as salty but good-natured scalawags!  My coursework here at St. Thomas has allowed me to guide my own research, and view it through 4 different lenses.  My seminar in Jurisprudence has lead me to consider the role of justice in this turn to piracy.  My law review paper has lead me to consider the problem from an intercultural human rights standpoint.  My Earth Jurisprudence seminar has lead me to reconsider the approach to remedying the pirate problem, and envision changes that would have to take place on the local, state, and international level to effect change.  My Admiralty and Maritime Law advisor has helped me to shape my research trail and focus my work on certain issues pertaining to maritime law and policy.  Overall, my work this semester has been fascinating, exhausting, enjoyable, and diverse.  In the context of my law school "career," I've been given the opportunity to explore, research, and cultivate an opinion on a topic that is important to me, and relevant to the safety of the global community.