Mia Fioritto’s Weblog
February 3, 2008 at 1:02 am · Filed under General
An excerpt from my personal statement:
“Living compassionately is harder than one might think, largely because in the course of our lives many of the people we impact are seemingly unconnected to us. I am fascinated by the legal system because it brings to light these unseen connections. Jane Addams said that “the good we secure for ourselves is precarious and uncertain until it is secured for all of us and incorporated into our common life.” I completely agree with Ms. Addams and believe that the role of the legal system in actualizing “our common life” is absolutely crucial to ‘securing the good’ for society. Recognizing this relationship between law and social change as an undergraduate stopped me in my tracks and took me down a path I had never imagined traveling.”
…that path being law school, of course. I promise to write a real post soon…apologies to all for my negligence.
December 19, 2007 at 3:07 pm · Filed under General
I took the bus home last night from work after running some errands on North Ave. I usually take the train and run into pretty much the same sort of people every day. The #9 bus on the other hand, is full of surprises. It’s one of those CTA routes whose ridership changes drastically along the way. It often feels similar to riding the #55 from Hyde Park to Midway, the faces surrounding you changing at least twice along the way.
A few stops after I got on the bus, a few men sat down behind me. As they walked by, I distinctly smelled black pepper. I momentarily felt like I was in a book in which the characters were described as smelling sweet like tobacco and cinnamon or sharp like gunpowder. I never really related to that sensory imagery, but in this case such language would have been the best and only descriptor.
I wonder, if those men were in a Hercule Poirot novel, what sort of characters would they be?
December 19, 2007 at 2:51 pm · Filed under General
It was Drew Peterson.
December 19, 2007 at 2:53 am · Filed under General, Personal reflection, Social Justice
On Architecture and the Law
Standing in Frank Lloyd Wright’s Robie House for the first time in years, I realized that architecture and law can and perhaps should occupy a strikingly similar place between expediency and innovation. Each of these fields greatly influences the environment we live in, and so must seek to achieve the greatest practicality while remaining innovatively responsive to the human condition.
Wright’s prairie aesthetic did just this. He knew that his future as an architect relied on the relevancy of his designs, yet at a time when people primarily valued homes that offered protection and warmth, he designed rooms like the one in the Robie House–90 feet long, lined with glass doors to the world outside. Wright took a risk in order to show his clients that intimate, protective environments can be created without secluding the occupants. His ‘open plans’ eliminated artificial boundaries, yet respected the human scale.
Similarly, by re-defining political boundaries, the Bill of Rights greatly impacted American society. The Founding Fathers could have considered their task complete when they had successfully achieved independence from the British. Instead, they envisioned a system that would protect Americans from future abuse at the hands of their government. They created the Bill of Rights, and in doing so, revolutionized the relationship between government and citizen.
Law, like architecture, can contract or expand the world in which we live and relate to one another. As such, greater social responsibility and positive change can be achieved.
November 24, 2007 at 6:58 pm · Filed under General, Personal reflection, Social Justice
Standing in Frank Lloyd Wright’s Robie House for the first time in years, I realized that architecture and law can and perhaps should occupy a strikingly similar place between expediency and innovation. Each of these fields greatly influences the environment we live in, and so must seek to achieve the greatest practicality while remaining innovatively responsive to the human condition.
Wright’s prairie aesthetic did just this. He knew that his future as an architect relied on the relevancy his designs, yet at a time when people primarily valued homes that offered protection and warmth, he designed rooms like the one in the Robie House–90 feet long, lined with glass doors to the world outside. Wright took a risk in order to show his clients that intimate, protective environments can be created without secluding the occupants from the outdoors. His ‘open plans’ eliminated artificial boundaries, yet respected the human scale.
Similarly, by re-defining political boundaries, the Bill of Rights greatly impacted American society. The Founding Fathers could have considered their task complete when they had successfully achieved independence from the British. Instead, they envisioned a system that would protect the new Americans from future abuse at the hands of their government. They created the Bill of Rights, and in doing so, revolutionized the relationship between government and citizen.
Legislators and judges who are both committed to idealism and confident in their understanding of humanity can effect social change—a new aesthetic can be achieved.
November 13, 2007 at 10:59 pm · Filed under General, Personal reflection, Social Justice
I’ve made some revisions to this essay, which I will use for one of my law school applications. Thanks to everyone who gave me feedback–it really helped! I’m still working on my last couple sentences. I’m not sure how to end it without moving beyond the scope of the argument.
Here’s the new version:
Standing in the Robie House for the first time in years, I realized that architecture and law occupy a strikingly similar place between innovation and expediency.
Frank Lloyd Wright’s prairie aesthetic revolutionized architecture. Wright knew that his future as an architect relied on the relevancy his designs, yet at a time when people valued homes that offered protection and warmth he designed rooms like the one in the Robie House–90 feet long, lined with glass doors to the world outside. Wright took a risk in order to show his clients and the world that intimate, protective environments can be created without secluding the occupants for the outdoors. His ‘open plans’ eliminated artificial boundaries, yet respected the human scale.
Similarly, effective legislators must have the courage to be idealists. I am reminded of the Bill of Rights and the impact its creators had on the course of American society. The American Revolution was ultimately fought to wrest power from the British, not to re-create the political structure. It’s impact on history could have ended with the shift in power. However, the Founding Fathers recognized that at that moment in time they could do much more for the American people–they could revolutionize the relationship between government and citizen. They created the Bill of Rights, acknowledging the centrality of human dignity in the new American government.
Law, like architecture, defines the environment we live in.
November 8, 2007 at 2:21 pm · Filed under General, Personal reflection, Social Justice
As I stood in the main room of the Robie house on Friday I had the realization that Frank Lloyd Wright’s designs exemplify the relationship I believe the law should have to society. I know this seems like a bit of a stretch, but hear me out.
In order for Wright to develop his prairie aesthetic he had to courageously step away from previous, familiar forms. I describe this decision as courageous because Wright knew that his future as an artist relied on the relevancy of his designs and on the existence of a sympathetic audience. At a time when buildings were designed with closed floor plans and small-scale spaces, it is natural to question who Wright was designing for when he created rooms like the one I stood in at the Robie House–90ft long and lined with glass doors to the world outside. However, despite their potential for ‘cold modernity’ every detail of Wright’s Prairie Homes contributed to an environment that extended the existence of its occupants while creating a sense of intimacy.
Similarly, legal theory has in the past played the role of the visionary–presenting to people the potential of the future. I am reminded of the Bill of Rights and the impact the courage and vision of its creators had on the course of American society.
Rather than seeing the social structures of the day as a matter of fact, they chose to create a new structure. In doing so, however, they easily could have placed something other than citizens at the heart of their new government, such as the economy. Instead, they chose to create the Bill of Rights, acknowledging the role of the government as a servant to its citizens.
I believe that law, like art, should not be bound by previous forms and that each must respond to the people who receive them.
October 5, 2007 at 12:13 pm · Filed under General
Time to Rise
A birdie with a yellow bill
Hopped onto my window sill,
Cocked his shining head and said:
‘Ain’t you ’shamed, you sleepyhead?’
From A Child’s Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson
A poem from my childhood that I was reminded of this morning. A pair of cardinals came to visit the bird feeder earlier and now they seem to have made themselves at home in our tree. I caught papa cardinal spying on us through the kitchen window. He was making sure the coast was clear for mama cardinal to eat. I love it.
October 4, 2007 at 11:25 am · Filed under General, Social Justice
I read in the New York Times today that an organization called One Laptop Per Child has developed a “very low-cost, high-potential, extremely rugged computer” called the XO that they hope to distribute to “two billion educationally underserved children in poor countries.”
In addition to just being a cool philanthropic venture, in order for the project to be viable they had to use all sorts of cool technology like mesh networking and solar panels.
The mesh network connects the laptops to one another, meaning that “if only one laptop has an Internet connection…the others can get online, too.” The XO comes with a super-duper battery that can last up to 24 hours, but if you just can’t access the grid, you can power up using a solar panel or a mini hand crank generator.
The software is streamlined and geared toward kids. And my favorite part, in a moment of absolute brilliance, they equipped all of the laptops with video software and a camera so teachers can send home messages to all households, even those in which the adults are illiterate.
If you’re looking for a new gadget, for $400 you can buy yourself an XO and donate one to a kid in need.
October 4, 2007 at 11:00 am · Filed under General, Immigration, Social Justice
On July 24, New Haven began issuing ‘resident cards’ to anyone who could positively identify themselves and verify that they live in the city. When Ryan first mentioned that he was applying for his card, I didn’t quite process the import of it. The card allows undocumented immigrants to fully and officially join the community.
According to Mayor John DeStefano, “the card entitles residents to basic city services such as recreation, libraries, waste removal, and elderly transportation.” It is also a debit card that can be used to pay for city services and can be used to open bank accounts.
Understandably, some balk at helping people who have entered the country illegally. The mayor offers a simple and confident answer to their concerns:
“These residents bear the mark of being undocumented – or illegal, if you like – because of the spectacular failure of the federal government to come up with a sensible border and immigration policy for the nation. This is a failure that none of us can reasonably expect Washington to do anything about any time soon. We decided to act in New Haven because we couldn’t afford to wait for Washington to act.”
I applaud Mayor DeStefano for being willing to acknowledge the role US action (or inaction) has played in creating the immigration situation we face today. In addition to contributing to the root cause of migration (for example, destroying local economies and ecologies with poor business practices, leaving whole towns in Central and South America without jobs or food), the US has failed to update it’s archaic and inefficient immigration policy. I think recognizing this is the first step to understanding the nuances of what ‘illegal’ immigration is all about.
I am impressed.
September 29, 2007 at 10:44 pm · Filed under General
Emily and I have started a blog together in which we recount our food adventures. You should really check it out.
Mmmmhm tasties!
September 26, 2007 at 10:00 am · Filed under General, Personal reflection, Social Justice
I was raised with a firm sense of individual responsibility. Being provoked, no matter the circumstances, was never accepted as an excuse for bad behavior. “You need to worry about you–not about them,” we were told over and over again. “You can make good choices.” I really do believe this. Our circumstances certainly impact how difficult those choices are, but in the end we are responsible for how we move through life.
I recently read an article in the New York Times about a town that made it illegal for any business to hire an illegal immigrant or to rent property to them. In the end, most of the immigrants left town leaving the economy in shambles. Now I have my opinions about legislation like this. I’m not sure it’s wise to place the burden of enforcing immigration law on citizens, nor do I think it makes a ton of sense economically; however, what really horrified me about this particular circumstance had little to do with any of that.
When asked to reflect on his decision to push for the ordinance, the town’s former mayor said, “The business district is fairly vacant now, but it’s not the legitimate businesses that are gone. It’s all the ones that were supporting the illegal immigrants, or, as I like to call them, the criminal aliens.†Later in the article, the mayor comments on the slow return of illegal immigrants saying, “It’s not the Wild West like it was,†he said, “but it may return to that.â€
Criminal aliens. Wild Wild West.
Mr. Hilton made a choice. In his mind, he seems to envision illegal immigrants as a threat to civilized society, akin to the outlaws or Indians of the Wild Wild West. He could have chosen differently. He could have chosen to see them as people, as families, as neighbors, as workers. He could have chosen to do that, without forgetting or ignoring that they broke the law. You can uphold the law without demonizing the people who break it. People are people and we all make choices–good and bad.
When you look at the big picture, Mr. Hilton’s attitude might seem a little dramatic, but it doesn’t necessarily seem extreme. However, when you apply that attitude to day to day circumstances, say an elementary school classroom, how does it play out? Let’s say the teacher believes, like Mr. Hilton, that illegal immigrants are a threat to society and sees their ‘unwillingness’ to learn English as justification for this belief. The logic goes, if you wanted to be a part of this society you would learn English, so if you don’t learn English you are against this society.
As a result, the child of Spanish speaking parents (legal or illegal) is criminalized, looked down on, neglected, isolated. Their teacher makes a choice. They make the choice to see the student as a threat to their way of life rather than as a vulnerable child who needs to learn how to read. I’ve generalized the scenario, but it’s real and it’s common.
We all make choices.
I can only hope that in making those choices we can remember that the most important thing in life–more important than a flourishing economy, secure borders, or comprehensive immigration reform–is to love our neighbors. If in the day to day, I find that the debates I’m having in my head over this policy or that is distracting me from fulfilling this commandment, then I need to make better choices.
September 20, 2007 at 1:09 am · Filed under General, Middle East, Personal reflection, Travel
So, the joke goes that if Jesus came back to earth today and showed up in Yemen he wouldn’t think any time had passed since he was last here. It’s kind of true. Between the camel-powered flour mills and ancient mud-brick buildings, Yemen does seem to be a remnant of another time. The recent invasion of locusts in the country, which appears to be of Biblical proportions, only serves to confirm Yemen’s ‘old world’ existence in my mind.
Seriously though, this is worrisome. Yemen already struggles to produce enough food to feed it’s people, in large part due to the conversion of agricultural fields to qat production, or so I was told when I was there. I’ll be looking to see how they weather the storm, so to speak.
Reading about this made me want to go back to Yemen. It wasn’t always easy being a foreigner in Yemen, or more specifically a foreign woman, but there was something about the place that captivated me. If you’re interested, you can check out the pictures I took while I was there. While none of them have cute puppies in them like all of Daniel’s pictures seem to these days, there are some interesting shots. Enjoy!
September 4, 2007 at 11:49 pm · Filed under General, Personal reflection
I’m visiting my brother in Arizona this week for a much needed, yet poorly timed vacation. I am trying hard to enjoy my time here even though I have so much to do at home, namely finding a job.
We had a lazy day today and I spent much of my time inside applying for jobs and catching up with my email. I still had some loose ends to wrap up at work even after the crazy hours we put in the past few weeks.
All of that to say that at some point this afternoon I just had to get out of the house. So I put on my shoes and went for a walk around the block, which was a little silly given how hot it was today. As I was walking I had the amazing experience of actually feeling my body cool itself. You learn about the whole ‘evaporative cooling’ system when you’re a kid, but if you go for a walk in the middle of a September afternoon in Arizona you can actually feel it happen.
It was such a familiar feeling. It made me feel so ‘in place’ like you do when you return to school in the fall and everything settles back into the normal rhythm. Yet I don’t feel at home here. In fact I feel very transient at this moment, for a number of reasons. I left school, said goodbye to Sarah and Ryan as they head off on their own adventures, walked away from two jobs that I have been devoted to for years, and moved to a brand new neighborhood.
None of this bothers me really, but I just felt oddly aware of it all today. Change is good, but it’s always hard.
August 30, 2007 at 8:58 pm · Filed under General, Personal reflection, Social Justice
Early on this summer I had the opportunity to speak with Jaime Kalven, a journalist and activist who I admire very much. He challenged us to live a life of “active confusion” and I took this charge very seriously. I am wary of people who find a conspiracy behind everything, but I do believe that the only way to live a loving life is to live intentionally. This summer has reminded me that what has been and will continue to be the driving force in my life is my basic commitment to loving all people. This is a truly difficult decision to live out daily largely because in the course of our lives many of the people we impact will be strangers to us. In many ways, the justice system brings these connections to light and clearly establishes that we are social beings and we are responsible to one another. I hope to live in “active confusion” always knowing what is right and good and Godly, but being acutely aware of my own lack of understanding and compassion.
August 14, 2007 at 12:44 am · Filed under General, Personal reflection, Social Justice
Whirling around in the back of my mind pretty much 24/7 right now are questions about life after graduation. For the past several years I have been convinced that law school was my next step. I am an advocate at heart and law seemed like the right place to live that out. Recently, I’ve been thinking more about this decision.
In my experience, people in the legal world tend to assume the centrality of the justice system and of the government in general to the existence of a respectable, modern society. You don’t have to think it’s a perfect system, but you have to believe in the fundamental value of the principles of law and their importance to society.
On one hand, I believe that this attitude is entirely well-founded–the Bill of Rights is as amazing to me now as it was when I was a kid first learning about it. On the other hand, why did we have to legislate those principles in the first place? I see the system as a necessity–as a symptom of the fact that the principles protected by law aren’t held by individuals themselves. I believe that making the system as just and as consistent as possible is a necessary part of advocating for vulnerable individuals and population.
However, I do not see even a perfect justice system as the solution to life’s injustices. What I am questioning now, is what place is there for me in an environment where the system, once perfected, is seen as the ideal, rather than as one solution to a problem that can and should be addressed in many ways.
August 13, 2007 at 4:53 pm · Filed under General
test
July 16, 2005 at 10:04 pm · Filed under General
Enter your password to view comments
« Previous entries
