To Supernatural Fandom

[amari_z]

I realize that this might be directed at the wrong audience, but it’s bugging me.


Dear Supernatural fandom,

I have dipped my toe into your bountiful waters a few times, but each time I do, I seem to encounter something that makes me recoil as though something bit me.

Please note: Sam cannot have "majored in pre-law" at Stanford University. There is no such thing as a pre-law major at Stanford. In fact, there is no such thing as a pre-law major at most American universities. To go to law school you can major in anything you want. Political Science. History. Economics. French. Fine Art. But not pre-law.

(In fact, in my experience, most people who intend to go to law school generally do not even call themselves "pre-law"--and if they did, people like me might laugh at them. Unlike pre-med, where you have to take a number of prerequisite science courses in order to apply to medical school no mater what you major in, and therefore saying you are "pre-med" actually means something, there is no prerequisite course of study for applying to law school. So, while you might say that you plan to go to law school or that you're applying to law school, saying you are pre-law is a little lame. It's more something your parents might say to their friends rather than admit that you are going to that fancy school and majoring in comparative literature.)

I admit, I have no idea what the series itself says about this, since I haven't seen the first few eps, but trust me on this, if canon says Sam is majoring in pre-law, it is just wrong. I have pretty much every reason to know.

Not being more than a passing eyer of the fandom, I thought maybe some more involved type would straighten this out, but I saw this somewhere in fic when I poked my nose in ages ago, and again just recently. And it burns like acid.

Yours in public service.

Comments

[dea-liberty.livejournal.com]

Sam himself never actually says those words - not that I can remember anyway.

In the Pilot, he's got an interview coming up to get into Law school, and in an episode in Season 2, a cop who's interrogating him is going through his history and says something about him doing "pre-Law" or calling him a "pre-Law student" before taking off. Something to that effect, anyway :)

[amari-z.livejournal.com]

*bangs head on desk* There are NO interviews for major U.S. law schools. I can't think of single law school that does them.

I get that the series is misleading on this, but it's just so very jarring to anyone who well, knows anything on the subject. And just, also, completely wrong.

And really, I thought you couldn't turn around in the entertainment industry without tripping over a lawyer who might, perhaps, correct them on these type of things. It's probably a good thing that I didn't watch this show when it first came on--I would have probably just dropped it from the start and not touched it again with a ten-foot pole. I'm weird like that.

[dea-liberty.livejournal.com]

Huh. Wow, I didn't know that :P

So, I'm curious, how would you guys decide on scholarships and such?

[amari-z.livejournal.com]

American law schools generally don't have scholarships. You have to get loans. Some programs have loan forgiveness if you go into certain types of low paying jobs.

[dea-liberty.livejournal.com]

Ah, I see. That's really interesting ^_^

[ivy03.livejournal.com]

Sam says the interview is with Stanford law school and may get him a full ride. Don't know if that helps or hurts.

[amari-z.livejournal.com]

Completely hurts. I got into that school from that school, and I can tell you there were no interviews. Stanford Law does not do interviews.

[darklyscarlett.livejournal.com]

I ♥ you! Haha -- made my afternoon as I slave away on my events calendar.

BTW, my mom has revealed her grand plan after I get myself out of debt and marriage. She gave me the old "You know, you could be an attorney by the time you're forty. Remember how you used to want to be a lawyer.(yeah, in the 8th grade) Well, if you do decide to go back, I'm behind you all the way.". Came out of nowhere. **shakes head**

[amari-z.livejournal.com]

Er. Yeah. If you want, you can send her in my direction, and I can tell her all about why that's not the best plan evar.

Another way to look at it: when I was younger (okay, a lot younger than 8th grade), I used to want to be a fire truck. My mom never gave me any encouragement on that, so maybe you're lucky that your mom took such an interest. ; )

And yes, I am so totally procrastinating on my work. So very dead.

[darklyscarlett.livejournal.com]

That's quite an existential notion for an 8th grader to have entertained. Hmm, I guess when the minions begin to act up, you could meditate in terms of be the fire truck. Considering you are putting out conflagrations all the time.

Event two-and-a-half hour and counting. God, I still have to write the bloody introduction. Bleh.

Will kill off ten minutes by phoning Ash, I guess.

[amari-z.livejournal.com]

There was nothing existential about it. They were big, had expanding ladders and sirens and put out fires.

Good luck with the event! (And if you talk to Ash tell her that it's rude to taunt people who are fighting life and death battles over concentrating on work (and obviously losing), and to to tell already.)

[sasha-b.livejournal.com]

Huh? I'm not taunting you! Or I didn't mean to. *laughs*

I sent you an email in answer, so shush. :p

[ivy03.livejournal.com]

Yeah, people have a tendency of saying that Sam was at college for four years, too. In the pilot, it's November of his senior year, which would mean that starting from freshman year, he'd have been at college for a little over three years. From matriculation to graduation is always less than four years, unless you're my uncle and accidentally set fire to your thesis so you end up graduating in the fall.

I just smile and nod at all those people who are bad at math.

(I also feel the need to point out that my highschool had a "pre-pre-law" society to go along with its "pre-pre-med" society, but that's just my high school.)

[amari-z.livejournal.com]

I'm not saying that people never call themselves pre-law, but it's not like pre-med, where everyone goes around saying it and it actually means something. Especially in a university setting, you sound stupid if you say you're pre-law. The next question would be, yeah, but what are you actually studying?

You actually don't have to do a thesis at Stanford to graduate, so even that wouldn't work. ; )

[sasha-b.livejournal.com]

You must email me and I'll tell you just why this is so fucking funny.