By Jules Lindgren
The Ave Maria School of Law takes a different approach to the study of law that has attracted a sizeable number of LDS students.
Despite the school?s Catholic base, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the second largest denomination on campus, and LDS students make up nearly 10 percent of the incoming class.
In fact, the University of Utah and BYU are the undergraduate institutions with the fourth and fifth largest number of graduates at Ave Maria.
When Joe Skousen, a University of Utah graduate, was considering his law school options, he received a mailing from Ave Maria and got more information from recruiters. He said the mission statement of the school impressed him.
The statement reads in part, ?Ave Maria School of Law offers a distinctive legal education ? an education characterized by the harmony of faith and reason.?
Sounds a lot like something heard at BYU, doesn?t it? But then the statement goes on to say, ?Ave Maria School of Law offers an outstanding legal education in fidelity to the Catholic Faith as expressed through Sacred Tradition, Sacred Scripture, and the teaching authority of the Church.?
?It?s wonderful to see that LDS people aren?t the only ones that support good morals,? said Skousen, who began law school at Ave Maria a few months ago. ?It was a school that seemed to surpass all the others.?
Skousen said one of the reasons he chose Ave Maria was the family friendly environment. He recounted feeling that students at other law schools looked askance at his wife and baby, but at Ave Maria they got a very different reaction.
?I?m definitely positive that this is one of the only law schools that having a family helps,? he said.
Michael Kenney, dean of admissions and external affairs at Ave Maria, who was involved in the organization of the school, said the foundational philosophy of the school was to give students an excellent understanding of law as well as its moral underpinnings.
?These principles resonate with those of many different faith backgrounds, including those who are LDS,? he said.
Kenney also said the interaction between the different faiths is very positive.
?We are not a school of theology; we are a school of law so there?s a mutual respect,? he said, ?We are a community of students and scholars who are interested in pursuing truth and the study of law in its most profound dimensions.?
Chris Esseltine, a graduate of BYU and Ave Maria, said even with Mass held four times a day and Catholic priests walking around campus, he felt very comfortable at Ave Maria.
?It was good because it really opened my mind, but at the same time, they really respected my beliefs,? he said.
He also said that the school has a ?meat and potatoes? philosophy on teaching law.
?At Ave Maria, you know the law first and foremost,? Esseltine said. ?It?s not just a great atmosphere that?s conducive to morality and spirituality, but we?re really some of the top students in the nation.?
Ave Maria boasts the largest per capita number of federal clerkships, the most prestigious a law graduate can go into, than any other law school in the nation, which is particularly impressive as the school opened only five years ago. They also exceed the nation in BAR pass rates ? last year the graduating class had a 100 percent pass rate for the Michigan BAR.
?The meat and potatoes approach to the law really works,? Esseltine said.