The centennial celebrations at the Loyola University New Orleans are going on full scale and the College of Law is determined not to be left behind. The law students are reviving an old tradition of ‘Mardi Law’ where during Mardi Gras, law professors reign as carnival royalty.
The Loyola University Newsroom reports a group of Loyola University New Orleans College of Law students decided to hold their own “Mardi Law” during Mardi Gras 1977, and they decided to celebrate in style complete with costumes and floats and a king and queen. This year, the college of law will again hold ‘Mardi Law’ on February 21 in honor of the centennial celebration of the school.
During the 1990s, College of Law faculty were honored as king and queen of the carnival and former kings and queens include professors like Keith Vetter, Leslie Shoebotham, James Klebba, Mitch Crusto and Mary Algero. The king and queen salute their court and read their proclamation from the second floor balcony of the College of Law on Pine Street.
Algero, who served as queen in 1995 said, “I loved our law school Mardi Gras celebrations and parades. Each class level elected a duke and maid, and students selected the king and queen from the faculty. The court and friends threw beads down to the gathered crowd while Mardi Gras music played. At some point, everyone lined up in parade fashion and marched as a parade through the streets around the law school.”
She said, “The event was just plain fun because it drew the law school community together around an event that could only happen here in the city of New Orleans.”
The Student Bar Association of the College of Law will host the 2014 Centennial Mardi Law Celebration from 3 to 6 p.m. outside the College of Law on the Broadway campus and the event will include the crowning of the faculty king and queen along with a student organization parade, followed by a block party wit complimentary jambalaya, king cake, drinks and much more.