Ethos and Law schools

*This blog is mainly for me to write about topics I am already thinking about for the project so bear with me.

Ethos is the perception that an audience has of the speaker. When it comes to law schools or any university for that matter, ethos is very important. The perception of Harvard as a top school is well known. Most of that perception comes from Ivy League schools being top notch regardless of which school it is. These schools are the oldest and most prestigious so they are known to be the best.

For universities such as LSU, the defining ethos has been one of change. In the early years, LSU was known as a military institution, and the law school has not been around as long as those of Ivy League schools. In order to change the perception of both the university and the law school, the university uses campaigns to inform the audience of the achievements of the university's students or faculty. One way to do this is a website. For instance, LSU Law's website boasts being a top school for graduate studies in law. They are currently ranked 15th overall and 2nd in public schools. They are redefining their ethos as a school that offers top of the line education.

Going back to the subject of Harvard law, their website has no in your face boast about the accomplishments of students. Instead, there is a small section to the right of the page that is titled "Spotlight." This spotlight does not highlight the fact that Harvard Law was ranked as the second best school in the country behind Yale Law or that the average Bar passing rate is among the top in the country. There is no need for them to boast these accomplishments. They already have a definitive ethos as being the best and therefore have no need to establish that perception to the public.