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3 days ago | 
pittnews.com | Livia LaMarca
I’ve been going back and forth on what to write for this column all year. I’ve been brainstorming and jotting down ideas since September — seriously, check my notes app. But one idea has stuck with me from the very beginning, a “philosophy” I have carried with me for years now — the belief that there is no such thing as wasted time. To be honest, I first read that in a TikTok comment years ago, but it is an idea I return to nearly every day.
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2 weeks ago | 
pittnews.com | Livia LaMarca
Last week, New Jersey Senator Cory Booker spoke for 25 hours straight in a historic protest against President Donald Trump. It was a glorious achievement for Democrats, a bright shimmer in a sea of otherwise hopelessness. Booker’s call for collective action to push back against Trump’s extremist positions was met with resounding praise across the country, congratulating him on his achievement and marking his speech as a turning point for Democratic resistance.
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3 weeks ago | 
pittnews.com | Livia LaMarca
There are somewhere between 350 to 430 languages spoken across the United States. Romantic languages. Afro-Asiatic languages. Hellenic languages. Roughly 30 major dialects exist under the umbrella of English, with dozens of subclasses and amalgamations beneath greater identities. African American Vernacular English. Southern English. Cajun English. On March 1, President Donald Trump signed an executive order declaring English as the official language of the United States.
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3 weeks ago | 
pittnews.com | Livia LaMarca
I did not grow up in a family of lawyers, and I only really knew one lawyer personally before leaving for college — my old boss at my high school job. She quit the legal field to pursue her family’s ice cream business. I know more lawyers and law students now than I ever did before. But despite these current connections, I went into the law school process next to blind. I didn’t know up from down, litigation from transactional or torts from contracts.
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4 weeks ago | 
pittnews.com | Livia LaMarca
In an era of performative activism and Instagram repost warriors, Pitt students and the Pittsburgh community have a real chance to make a difference and speak up for what they believe in — that Nazism has no place in our city.
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4 weeks ago | 
pittnews.com | Livia LaMarca
I think for most members of my generation — the illustrious Gen Z crowd — it is a relatively common phenomenon to have a parent or other older adult turn and look at you, pleading with you to “save the world” or “be the change.” As an individual who is planning to attend law school and who has her sights set on a future in public interest and government work, I certainly get this plea a lot. For a time, it really did feel like my generation and I were going to change the world.
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1 month ago | 
pittnews.com | Livia LaMarca
To gap year or not to gap year? There is no clear answer. I have spent the last four years grappling with whether I wanted to take a gap year before going to law school. Do I take the time off to work? Volunteer? Go get a master’s degree? Relax at home with the support of my parents? When I was considering the possibility of law school as a high schooler, I had no idea that gap years before law school were the norm. I cannot think of a single person I know personally who took one before college.
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1 month ago | 
pittnews.com | Livia LaMarca
It is easy to take things for granted — our access to clean and drinkable water, air conditioning in the summer, a warm meal at the end of a long day. But even more than that, there is one that I believe is even easier to forget, one that 13-14% of people around the world do not have — the ability to read. Every single day, we are prompted to read.
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2 months ago | 
pittnews.com | Andrew McLaughlin |Livia LaMarca
I took the Law School Admissions Test — otherwise known as the LSAT, or my worst enemy — three times — once just over a year ago on Feb. 9, again on April 11 and one final time on June 5 of last year. Like everyone else who takes the LSAT, I wanted to be one and done. A friend convinced me to take it in February, and I studied for over a year in preparation. Her advice was good, and I encourage others to seriously consider taking the exam in February.
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2 months ago | 
pittnews.com | Livia LaMarca
Eagles, propelled by Hurts and the “Tush Push” soar past Chiefs, 28-25 // Alex Porter, Senior Staff WriterThey say luck runs out. Well, for America’s sake, let’s hope the same applies to devil magic. Fortunately for those hate-watching the Chiefs or peers from “outside Philly,” the Eagles don’t need luck to win this Sunday because they have the skill. The Chiefs’ generational run this season remains undeniably impressive. However, they’re yet to face a team of the Eagles’ caliber.
