-By Sheila Grady
On Sept. 2, members of USC Law’s chapter of the Federalist Society flipped burgers and handed out sodas in the hopes of enticing new students to learn about their organization. Despite the heat, a steady stream of 1Ls (and more than a few current members) lined up for lunch and introductions to the society.
“The Federalist society is a non-partisan organization. It’s founded on conservative and libertarian legal principles. What we emphasize most of all is open debate -- a free exchange of ideas,” said President Andrew Quinio ’12. He explained the society has “the unique burden of bringing the balance to campus. So, we make sure to have as many events as we can handle and the students can handle to have a full, well-rounded experience.”
As a 1L, Vice President Nick Le Du was impressed with the society’s commitment to debating constitutional issues and joined with the goal of “exposing people to the fact that there is a different perspective, and hopefully that will lead to a more sophisticated discussion of constitutional interpretation within the future population of lawyers.”
Thursday’s BBQ kicked off a busy schedule of events for the group. In the coming semester they will sponsor events such as a preview of the upcoming Supreme Court term with former Chapman Law School Dean John Eastman,and a discussion of Arizona’s controversial immigration law. As Quinio commented, “We do our best to get speakers who will present these ideas and take questions from students and make sure that everyone has that healthy, rich debate.”
Member Doug Clark, however, hopes the society will be repeating one of last year’s events. “Last year the Federalist Society had an event where they went to a shooting range. That was awesome.”
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