Among the biggest clichés about the horrors of law school is the image of students pitted against each other in a bitter, academic rivalry. Too many schools fall victim to this cliché. And while the grade curve dictates that one student’s success comes at the expense of another’s, the attitude of the Cardozo student body tells a different story—one of cooperation and teamwork.

Recently, however, the Jurist staff was surprised to learn about an exchange between two students that exposed the ugly underbelly of Cardozo’s generally compassionate community: when one student got a summer job offer, she loudly and excitedly told her friend the good news. Afterwards, another student who was within earshot of the conversation sent her an email remonstrating her unbridled enthusiasm. He objected to her “bragging,” and characterized her actions as “arrogant” and “gross,” because they “rub[bed] people the wrong way.”

Presumably, what he meant to say was that people who could hear what she said to her friend might be upset to learn about her success in the face of their own struggles to find employment. Perhaps he himself felt jealous, or maybe he was offended by what he perceived to be insensitive behavior on her part. Unfortunately, what he communicated was unsolicited criticism which was neither constructive nor well-taken. Worse still, his email belied the cooperative spirit the Cardozo community has worked so hard to create. We feel he should have congratulated her instead.

We’ve all felt the sting of another person’s success at accomplishing our goals. Pride is laced with pain when a friend gets the job we wanted, or any job at all. Conversely, we’ve all taken pleasure in another person’s failure. It’s what the Germans call schadenfreude and it’s a useful word to describe a common, nuanced psychological phenomenon. It’s what makes us secretly smile when someone else falls. Research has shown that low self-esteem is a factor in its intensity—the more insecure a person is, the more they experience schadenfreude. However, to act upon the insecurity that makes us feel good about another person’s pain, or bad about another person’s success is to perpetuate a fallacy: that another student’s success threatens our own. It’s a symptom of another human condition: the tendency to compare oneself to others rather than against objective criteria.

In fact, isn’t it a triumph for all Cardozo students when any of us finds a job? Consider how fortunate it is to encounter Cardozo alum at a firm where you might like to work. Your job prospects increase at that firm with each Cardozo alum who works there and reinforces Cardozo’s reputation for producing talented, hardworking lawyers. Though it may be disappointing to learn that your classmate got the clerkship you wanted, it’s actually not bad news. Every prestigious position a Cardozo student earns improves the school’s standing, and in turn, renders you a more competitive candidate for whatever job you apply to next.

Now consider how unfortunate it would be to encounter a Cardozo alum at a firm where you might like to work if that alum is someone you scolded for enthusiastically celebrating her simcha because it made you jealous or angry at the time. What a shame it would be if that tiny indiscretion caused her to advise her supervisor not hire you. What a bigger shame still if Cardozo students at large became more akin to our cutthroat counterparts, sabotaging each other’s studying and otherwise living up to the negative reputation that law students and lawyers generally have. The economy is only further reason for us to resist the sometimes overwhelming urge to succumb to the pressure that tells us that our friends are our enemies. They aren’t, even when we’re competing for the same jobs and the same A’s.

We must keep our insecurities in check and our highest values in sight. Cardozo’s hallmark spirit of camaraderie and cooperation depends upon our perpetuating it. So, the next time you learn that a classmate’s note has been selected for publication or that she got the fellowship she applied for, congratulate her. Better yet, email Amy Cross, 1L, at amyliencross@gmail.com and tell her about the great thing another student did. That student will be acknowledged in the Jurist for her achievement. Congratulating one another on our successes and supporting one another through our rejections builds character for both the individual and the community. It renders us better classmates and better colleagues and it ensures that Cardozo remains a cooperative and compassionate environment.