Student Day and Lawyer’s Day on the same date; understand – 08/11/2023 – Education

Student’s Day and Lawyer’s Day are celebrated in Brazil on the same day, August 11th.

This happens because on that date, in 1827, Emperor Dom Pedro I created the first two law schools in Brazil, the Faculty of Law of Olinda, in Pernambuco, and the Faculty of Law of Largo São Francisco, in São Paulo.

The double celebration was proposed by lawyer Celso Gand Ley, on the centenary of the event, in 1927. Ten years later, in 1937, the date was chosen for the foundation of UNE (National Union of Students).

Since then, August 11th has traditionally been reserved for protests, such as those calling for the impeachment of Fernando Collor in 1992.

In 2022, the date was chosen to host the widest demonstration for democracy under the government of Jair Bolsonaro, with an act at the Faculty of Law of USP in which it was read, to applause and speeches against authoritarianism, a letter initiated in the institution and signed by 1 million people.

The date is also known among legal professionals as Dia do Pendura, when lawyers eat in a restaurant or bar and don’t pay the bill — a joke that sometimes doesn’t end well.