Rat Race - how low can people get?

It's exam session right now in Poland and depending on what you study it's more or less a tough period. Since I study law it's pretty damn tough. Anyway yesterday I had an exam from civil law. Each year there was a zero term exam (don't know what's it called in English - the idea is that you can take this exam earlier than during exam session and depending on the examinator you might even have the privilage that if you fail you don't get the Failed mark and can take this exam during exam session w/o consequences). Anyway this year there was supposed to be no zero exam from civil law since as the examinator said he wanted equal chances for all people (and in zero term this exam was oral, very easy to pass and get the best mark). As I, and a number of other people, found out yesterday, there was a zero exam after all only that there was a conspiracy about it. Basically some people convinced examinator that he should make this zero term so he spent did it and the whole thing lasted for a week. Thing is that none of these people that I know for 3 years now, none of them uttered a word about this possibility - instead they just kept it secret, passed it while we had to take it written form yeasterday (1,5h; 11 questions and a case to be solved). I must say that I think I feel more disappointed than pissed off with their behaviour. I don't even know whether I should blame rat race or perhaps some people simply are like that rat race or not.

 

Competition at its best.

 

Put sugar in their fueltanks and something horribole in their food.

 

The law students at my Uni were just the same. I lived with one of them, and she was very nice (we're still in contact), but the other people on her course used to turn my stomach. The sad truth seems to be that they need to be that competitive to get anywhere in the legal profession.

Still, your colleagues' action displays a worrying attitude to ethics for people eventually destined to contribute to your legal system.

 

As I said I feel more disappointed than pissed off and, call me stupid for still having faith in people, I still consider those people my friends - I just can't (or rather don't want to) believe that they could've done this intentionally.
Worst thing is that it's not that I just knew those people on the "hello - see ya" basis but we've been in the very same group for 3 years, gone partying together and never was there a problem with someone borrowing notes to another or some other favour. And now this.

Our legal system is pretty much fucked up anyway (I know it doesn't really sound like a law student's thourough analaysis of his country's legal system). However I heard that Ethics is one of the subjects that you have to pass while studying law in many western countries and it's quite a tough exam. In Poland unfortunately Ethics lasts for no more than half a year and besides being called Ethics it has almost nothing to do with the subject. What's it like with ethics during law studies in UK Sheriff (or other countries anyone?)?

On a sidenote Sheriff is there some site in Internet which allows public access to English (preferably both local and states') bills? Some judicial case study would be also an interesting thing to read.


Last thing I just remembered is a lovely way of choosing the best candidate for job in those sparkling with ethics firms like Arthur Anersen (fortunately in a shitload of trouble right now) or Ernst&Young. Basically they hired two best candidates for a trial period, gave each of them the same case to do, and put them at face to face placed desks. The better one stays. Isn't it wonderful? I'd like to inflict a mortal wound on each of the bosses in such a company and leave them in a room with but one life saving kit.

 

I'm not entirely sure what you mean by Bills, but Hansards might be what you're looking for.

 

Thanks, I ment legal acts passed by local and state's legilative. I just thought they are called bills.

 

Ah, well, we don't have any states. We do have local government, typcially referred to as "councils". I'm not sure how much power they have, but it is certainly less than the State Legislative bodies of the US.

Hoho - that just made me think, what if my local council could vote in capital punishment. I doubt you'll get it, but, the notion is funny to a Brit (or at least THIS Brit)

 

Yet again it seems that I have to backpeddle what I wrote due to my misuse of English. I do know there are no states in Britain like the ones in US (seriously I do know that), what I ment by state's legal acts were the legal acts passed by British parliament as the legislative power of the British state=country. That's also why I wrote "state's" not "states' ".

Oh well, seems that I have to spend quite a lot of time on my English practice.

* I really hope that I made no more stupid mistakes.

I take it Brits (or just you representing the whole country) are rather against CP.

PublicServiceAnnouncement - Everyone please do not turn this thread into CP good/bad discussion, really.

 

Sorry about that. Punctuation is so bad on the web as to be almost meaningless. Also, we generally cpaitalise the word "State" when referring to government.

In that case, my initial link still stands. Hansards is a journal of the proceedings of Parliament, where laws are passed (in the form of Bills and Acts).

 

I had the same problem when I was in the engineering University. As much as I understand your disappointment I don’t think it should become a lack of faith in people. In my opinion it’s a very hard to resist behavior. In my University this was encouraged and people usually get rewarded for backstabbing. The same thing happens outside Uni, in the marketplace. Also these competitive values are sort of passed down in most movies and TV shows in a subtle and unconscious manner. It’s not really an individual phenomenon, it has strong social elements. But remember that… err, sorry, I can’t think of anything uplifting to say.

Capital punishment is… joking.

 

i'm not sure i understand your origional post; as far as i understand it you have to take exams but if you like you can take the exam earlier than most people - if you pass you don't have to take the other exams, if you fail, it doesn't matter. And this year you didn't think that was happening but it was and you feel upset because your friends didn't tell you. is that right?

 

With all due respect to your university I think it should be burnt down. Though, since buildings are not to blame it would be better to kick out all the staff members who encourage such behaviour. God damn it, if someone tells you, "I give you my word that...", and you know you can't trust that person anyway then how the fuck are we supposed to live in a world where people are tough that honor is just an empty word not worth a shit?

I don't really think I can explain it any better than in my first post, I'll still try tough. Zero term is about passing an exam earlier than most people and it might be connected with the advantage that you don't get F if you fail it (in this case however it is usually required that you qualify via grades you achieved from given subject during the year). If you pass you do have to take other exams, you simply have this one behind. Of course if you manage you can take as many zero terms as you want - tough it's pretty hard since they're held before learning season is over. But then again you have less work during exam session.

This year the examinator said officially that there'll be no zero term from civil law. He even got seriously pissed off and shouted at someone who asked him whether he changed his mind after some time. Point is that zero term in this case is very easy to pass and get best mark (which helps getting a scholarship) whereas during exam session this exam is much harder (mostly due to lack of time - 1,5h for 11 questions and a case is very little time). After all however he did this zero term and a number of people somehow got to know about it but they didn't tell anyone else, not just me. Instead they went and passed it behind everyone else back. I know I would've informed them about such a possibility, they're my frinds after all. It's simply that I couldn't look in their eyes as if nothing has happened if I did such a thing to them.

 

As much as I like this idea I have to say that this behavior isn’t encouraged just there. I have to deal with this crap in my job also (or had to since I just got sacked). Constant backstabbing that makes people more secure in their position and sometimes without even any visible benefits. Do you think that these other students will have any disadvantage? Quite the opposite, they will get better grades and possibly better jobs. The secret is to backstab while looking you are a helpful guy, read between the lines of any Administration magazine and you will find this beautiful philosophy (in any article that says how to be the executive the marketplace wants).
This logic is marvelously portrayed in Gulliver’s Liliput. Small-minded people with small-minded goals.
Many people are like you and can’t stand this attitude. It’s impressive how the society work to make it more acceptable. Let me give an Academic example. David Ricardo stated something called “The Iron Law of salaries�. He says that if the workers get good salaries they will have tons of children, so for their own good they should always live in poverty; when you see extremely poor people and do nothing about it you should be happy with yourself, after all it’s for their own good.

 

About the law students: This is what accountancy does to people.

And to S_F, you can't live without competition in any business...

 

Tell that to Microsoft and the Mint.

 

thanks that expained it.

 

I knew ya'd bring MS up... they got competition too. If they just sit on their butt...or if they would some years ago no one would know their name.

 

Well, gee loo, why don't you build yourself a time machine and stop Rockefeller from taking a chance on that oil field every said had no oil in it. Maybe that way America wouldn't be as much of an industrial power today!

You moron.