This month, a group of UM medical students went all out to “break the law” – and they finally succeeded.
On Sunday evening, the med school captured the 2011 Dean’s Cup against the law school in an intense annual rivalry that dates back to the early 1980’s.
Standing on the IM field, second-year med students Nirav Joshi and Danica Vance, captains for their school, hoisted the giant trophy in victory to the cheers of their teammates and supporters.
“We’re very proud of our players and our school,” Joshi later said.
“It was a huge team effort.” added Danica. “The score was very close the last three days, but we never gave up.”
On the other side of the field, third-year law student John Fischer, head coordinator for his school, said his teammates gave it their best.
“I’m proud of the effort; we played hard but unfortunately there can be just one winner,” Fischer said.
For these future doctors and lawyers, the Deans’ Cup competition is a lot more than catchy mottos like “break the law” and rah-rah rallies. These contests are taken seriously, and the importance of winning is instilled in law and med students alike from their first day in their respective programs.
“It’s not just the cup; it’s the pride that is more important,” said first-year med student Tyler Brown. “Since the first day in orientation, they talked about the Dean’s Cup and how big the event is for both schools.”
The Dean’s Cup competition is spread over about 10 days and consists more than 25 different activities and sports in which teams from each school accumulate points toward the winning final score. There were soccer, basketball, volleyball and kickball matches, along with video games, billiards and darts competitions.
Law Dean Patricia White said the competitiveness says reflects the students from both schools.
“Maybe that says something about the sort of person who wants to become a doctor or a lawyer,” she said.
Students weren’t the only ones who take part in the quest for the cup. Pascal Goldschmidt, the Belgian-born med school dean who students call the “Muscles from Brussels” joins in too.
“Dean is very enthusiastic; he looks forward to this every year,” Vance said.
With Sunday’s victory, the med school extended its overall record to 17 wins, six more than the law school.
Daniela Santamarina may be contacted at dsantamarina@themiamihurricane.com.