The New York Law School Vol. V !,ssuell •
In Your Heart, You Know We're Right
• December 1987
On Failing The Bar by DP November 2, 1987 The Bar results are coming out today. I know this because I have called the Board of Law Examiners in Albany at least a dozen times since mid-October. I pace back and forth on the 20th floor of 100 Maiden Lane. No I don't work at Cadwalader, I am a temp here. I have been on several interviews since September but I didn't really want to do negligence law for 20K, especially since once you are in the office the interviewer tells you its only 20K after you are admitted and 16K until then, but J should be lucky for this opportunity. but fincling a job without contacts is a different article. The bus ride up to Rockland County is worse then usual. Maybe its because its the first time I am doing it since last year. (I just moved back home yesterday). I phone my mother to come pick me up at the bus stop and her voice is shaky and she sounds sad. I know r failed the bar, (yes a thin envelope is passing. a thicker one is not), J always knew this was a possibility. About l/3 of all first time takers fail the test. But now I'm unemployed and unemployable until sometime in March. Oh, shit! what course do I take now? No one tells you what to do when you fail. My notes from Peiper are perfect and
typed and its probably not worth taking over again anyway. By now I'm close to hysterical. My mom pulls up and as I get in the car she tells me how sorry she is. The ride Lo the house is silent. My phone is already ringing off the hook. LO passed... BM passed... VVHdid not. .. RH did... RB did ... I take my phone off the hook and hide the reciever under a blanket. I have a splitting headache and I don't know which is worse the loss ofself esteem, the fact that I can't get a real job until after February, the fact that 1 must gear up to study again or that the names are printed in next Mondays Law Journals, or the endless chorus of 'Tm sorry". November 10, 1987 I am sitting in the Reporter office typing this article. The law journal has not been delivered yet but I already know whose names are not going to appear. l have cancelled the last remaining interviews and notified the places that were waiting ro hear my results. 1 .still don't know what course to take but I know if I had done better on jusi 2 of my essays I would have passed. MBE was great and l even made sense our of the NY multiple choice. I bet I passed New Jersey but I still have to retake New York. Failing the Bar isn't the end of the world, but it is inconvenient and it sure as bell sucks.
Urban Law Panel Addresses Homeless service community, including HPD, the Coalition for the Homeless, P.A.L., and Lhe Citizen's Action Committee. A significant contribution to lhe event was afforded by a group of 17 youths, many living in temporary housing situations. The topics discussed ran the gamut from alternative housing pro• posals, to the constitionality of Lhe Mayor's "Prospect Roundup" of undomiciled persons. H arrison Goldin Agreements were made between ULS by A nthony Maza and the NY Civil Libeties Union to On October 22, 1987. the Urban Law work together to represent those perSociety of New York Law School spon- sons picked up and admitted to Bellvue sored a symposium on the Legal Rights during "Project Roundup", and acand Issues concerning the Homeless tions were commenced to ensure that and Welfare Hotel Populations of undorniciled youths would be able to atNYC. The distinguished panel included tend schools in their own districts. NYC Comptroller, Harrison Goldin; , One disturbing aspect of the entire Executive Director of the New York symposium concerned the noted Civil Liberties Union, Norman Siegel, absence of the law school community at Director of the Legal Action Center for large. Only one faculty member and less the Homeless, Douglas Lasdon; than ten students were in attendance. It Manhattan Borough President's Direc- was expected that such a pressing contor of Homeless and SRO Conditions, temporary issue would have been better Nancy Wackstein; the Vice-Presidnet received by the members of NYLS. of the Staten Island Chamber of ComThe ULS has made an ongoing commerce, Mark Muscaro, and a Youth mittment to continue to address this Representative of Jovenos Unidos, issue. Any students or faculty wishing Ralph Bryant. to participate or contribute time should The program was well attended by feel free to inquire in the office. respresentatives from the prima ry care (C-104), or call X349.
NYLS Purchases 240 Church by Jeffrel Dickey On August 24, in a special meeting, the New York La,\ School Board of Trustees exercised an option to buy two buildings neighboring the school: the one next door on Church Street (240 Church Street), and the one behind at 56 Leonard Street. According to Dean Simon, the primary reason for the purchase was because, "our present library facilities are not equal to our caliber." Total cost of the buildings, including purchase assumption of debt, and renovation, is $12 million. The money is to be raised by a capital fund program. Bernard H. Mendik '58, addressing the alumni upon receiving the 1987 Distinguished Alumnus Award, November 12, stated that NYLS had commited $7 million to the purchase of the two buildings. There were previous negotiations in which would have allowed the school to purchase the properties for a few million some years ago. The school decided not to purchase as it felt "no urgency for a law library," said Mendik in a phone interview. The property was then sold for $6 million to a holding company. Now that the need for the law library is great, NYLS's purchase for $7 million was approved by the Board of Trustees. The purchase means that the school will own the entire Church Street block front, and it gives the school an adcliLional 39,000 square feet of useable space. The Church Street building bas four floors, and the Leonard Street Building has two. The buildings were previously owned by a real estate holcling company and leased to the city. The new buildings will be completely renovated, including a new facade, entrance, and lobby. Renovation will probably begin next summer, as soon as the City, who presently occupies the buildings, leaves. The renovation is ex-
pected to completed by next the academic year. All of the libraries will be moved to the new buildings, with the exception of Froessel. The new library's capacity will double in size, and Dean Simon calls it "a first rate facility to point the law school to the future." Froessel will be used as a reading room and for ceremonies. Since the present library space wiJI be emptied, and only 21,000 of the new space is allocated to the library, the administration plans to move the clinics and possibly moot court into "B" building. Other plans include additional office, study, and classroom space. Dean Simon said ir will "certainly create better and more varied study areas'', such as space for study groups. It is not yet known the school will do with the third floor of the "D" building at Leonard Street. In 1984, the builcling committee, chaired by Professor Dent, consulted ith faculty, students, and staff, and it was decided then that the library was the most important need. There is a third building on Leonard Street behind the two being purchased that the school is also interested in. Ac~ cording to Mendik it is "derelict and has residential tenants." The school wishes to purchase it vacant as it does not want to be a slumlord.
BEA STAR !the Reporter Needs Your $upport and Your Writing "rhe Beponer
57 Worth Street, NY NY 10013
NEW YORK LAW SCHOOL REPORI'ER
Page2 •
• December 1m
C~llY l~lll~l~l)C))I: Sf)IJ'l,1I 1\l~lll(~1\ 1{11..1..S by Kenneth A. Brief Recemly, I was fortunate to see a premier screening of Cry Freedom, Richard Attenborough's new movie which opened Nov.6th. Cry Freedom powerfully tells the true story of South African black leader Stephen Biko who was brutally tortured and killed in prison under the system of apartheid. We learn about Biko through the experience of white newspaper editor Donald Woods, in an excellent performance by Kevin Kline. Woods investigated and subsequently befriended Biko and risked his life to bring Biko's story to the world. The opening moments of Cry Freedom, perhaps the most dramatic and captivating I have seen in a movie, are followed by 21/2 hours of unending suspense. Without question this is a thrilling cinematic experience. However, the movie goes way beyond entertainment and dynamic acting. It carries a profound message similar in quality to Attenborough's masterpiece Gandhi, and goes a step further in its relevance to a western audience. Cry Freedom brings apartheid home with such impact that it will make this issue real to many people for the first time and enliven it for those already involved. This is particularly true because it reminds us of the racial strife that is
such a recent and lingering part of our own history. The story of the charismatic and articulate Biko, superbly portrayed by Danzel Washington, personalizes South Africa's problems poignantly. Yet, perhaps the larger message of this movie is the metamorphosis of Donald Woods from a privileged white professional into a courageous activist, deeply involving himself in a fight for justice. The teaching and example$ of men like Mahatma Gandhi and Stephen Biko are greatly inspiring but their total dedication to their causes is too extreme for most people to relate to. On Lhe other hand, many of us can and will identify personally with Woods and his family who are much more acessible to us. We watch their human frailities surface while they take an increasingly courageous stand for justice. This peril filled transition brings to life the difficuty of responding to injustice in a way that few "popular'' films achieved. The end result is a portrayal that is al once moving and frightening as we see the price Woods and his family pay to stand up for what they believe. What's so remarkable about Cry Freedom is how skillfully it penetrates the thick skin of numbness we maintain to survive, especially those of us in a city
DENZEL WASHING TON stars as Black Consciousness leader Stephen Biko and KEVIN KLINE as South African journalist Donald Woods. like New York. It does this by creating a did not see the grave unhumanity in rare and compelling mood which con- apartheid before his involvement with fronts one to be introspective. I don't Biko. Now he plays a continious role in prothink anyone can see this movie and avoid being challenged to pose the q ues- moting apartheids end by informing the tion at some level of how far they might world and advocating severe economic be willing to go to fight for justice both sanctions against South Africa. lt's personally and professionally. lfmyex- helpful to be reminded that suffering perience is telling, Cry Freedom may can make us realize what's important in have a special impact on law students a way that few other things can. In the since being advocates for justice is the •welcome absence of our own suffering, we can still ask ourselves what we perhighest calling of our profession. Most of us have difficulty probing sonally, or as lawyers, might be willing ourselves at a deep level because we're to do to respond to injustice and the sufdetached from injustice and have not fering of others. Cry Freedom is an exsuffered greatly in our lives. This was traordinary catalyst for precisely this certainly true of Donald Woods who kind of reflection.
Sullivan Wants Divestment; Students Agree Oberlin College Complies "Sullivan's comments definitely will ly," said Charlotte Hitchcock, a Yale Sullivan's comments are encouraging to by Mike O'Keeffe A nationwide series of planned anti- put pressure on shoals to divest,'' said graduate student who is active in that the student movement.'' ln fact, student pressure bas already apartheid protests was held in October Josh Nessen, the student coordinator of school's anti-apartheid movement. forced one school to sell investments "But Ws too little too late." and activists expected the pressure on the American Committee on Africa. Still, Hitchcock added, "Sullivan with companies that operate in South Sullivan's call for divestment, he campuses to sell their shares in firms that do business in segregationist South said, "removes another pillar from the gave us more ammunition that might in- Africa. [n June, Oberlin College' s argument of investment. I think a lot still some fire in the movement. Since trustees voted to divest primarily Africa to increase. This, the activists note, is the first more schools will feel more pressure. he's a black minister his remarks could because of student pressure, protest season since the Rev. Leon H. There's less justification not to divest." help get minority students involved in spokewoman Barbara Chalsma said. Anti-apartheid protests at Oberlin, "I'm sure the Board of Trustees will what has been a white, middle-class Sullivan called for U.S. businesses to Chalsma said, "will taking too much movement." consider Rev. Sullivan's statements," withdraw from South Africa. time out of our real mission: to educate Sullivan's call, said Penn student and said Ron Sauder, a spokeman for Johns In 1977, Sullivan authored the Sullivan Principles, a list of civil rights Hopkins University, which uses the anti-apartheid activist Polly Farnum, students. The protests were disrupting that companies agreed to respect among principles to guide its South Africian will "hopefully refocus our educational the campus." Oberlin's trustees voted to divest, she said, because South efforts. n their South African employees, investments. African-related holdings "placed "Students are more inspired by the The University of Pennsylvania, acregardless of selling their shares in the firms, adopted policies requiring cording to spokeman Fred Richards, people of South Africa and their suffer- burdens on other educational opporthe companies to comply with the already has moved in the same direction ing," Nessen explained. "But tunities." as Sullivan. Penn's trustees, he said, principles. Yet in June the Philadelphia minister plan to sell their stocks in companies and civil rights leader, frustrated by the that do business in South Africa if those South Africian government's unwill- firms don't pull out by J une, 1988. Dartmouth's trustees, however, ingness to dismantle apartheid and its mounting violence, called on firms to prefer to remain as stockholders in stop trying to make the best of a bad companies that operate in South situation, and to pull out of the country Africa, hoping the school can influence THE NEW THOMAS ST. CAFE corporate decision-making, Huppe altogether. Featuring Fresh Seafood and Pasta The announcement effectively left said. Open for Lunch, Dinner, Cocktails, Catering ''The only way we feel we can make a campuses tha t endorsed the principles difference is as a shareholder." The Happy Hour• 5:00 till 7:00 without an investment policy. F ifty-nine of the nation's biggest number of companies in Dartmouth's CONTINENTAL CUISINE campuses had adopted t he Sullivan stock portfolio that operate in South 70 Different Import ed and Domestic Beers P rinciples, the Investor Responsibility Africa, he said, has dropped "30 or 40 percent" in recent years. Research Center in Washington, D.C., Open Mon-Wed till 10:00, Thurs-Fri till 12:00 Student anti-apartheid activists says. 8 Thomas Street - off 300 B'dway - Free Parking "It's hard to say what will happen," welcome Sullivan's change of heart, although they say his call for divestment Christmas party avai lable.(212) 349-6350 said Darmouth College spokeman Alex Huppe, adding Sullivan's caJJ "has has come too late. " H is comments are important, criescalated the (Darmouth Board of) This Weeks Specials: trustees' concern, in terms of direction. tical, and it took a lot of pressure on SEAFOOD LINGUINI $11.95 Sullivan for him to come out so strongIt does add fuel to the discussion."
December 1987 •
NEW YORK LAW SCHOOL REPORTER
• Page3
CIA Plots Intense Student Recrutment
Cases Limit U.S. Customs Searches & Seizures
LANGLEY, VA. (CPS)-Despite Foster said. campus protests and budget cuts, t he Stout opposition to U.S. policy in Central Intelligence Agency plans to ac- Central America, students at the celerate its recruiting of students, an universities of Colorado, Minnesota, agency spokeswoman said. Massachussetts and other schools proPlans for a new eight-week summer tested the agency's recruiting on their internship program-in which students campuses during the 1986-87 academic must promise not to divulge what year. Demonstrations, however, won't they' re doing or how much money . persuade the agency to stop recruiting they' re making-were revealed in a let- ' at colleges, Foster said. ter sent to career counselors. The CIA is invited by college officials In addition, the agency will recruit at to recruit at shools, Foster explained. 200 campuses this academic year to seek "We're happy to go where we're inout "the best and the bdghtest vited. Even though there have been a lot students'' interested in careers with the of demonstrations at the University of CIA, spokeswoman Sharon Foster Colorado, we'll still recruit there said. because the university invited us. " Foster said budget cuts have forced Foster would not say how many the CIA to alter its recruiting from its students the CIA plans to interview or traditional "shotgun approach" this hire during the 1987-1988 academic year. year. "It's not agency policy to talk "If the agency needs employees with numbers. The opposition pays a lot of math backgounds, for example, attention to that." The opposition, recruiters will visit schools with Foster said, "is anyone working against outstanding mathematics programs," the interests of the United States."
The U.S. Customs Service issued two directives in June 1986 (#2210-07), as ·a direct result of two law suits brought by the Center for Constitutional RightsHaase V. Webster and Heidy v. United States Customs Service. The directives limit the actions of Customs officials regarding the examination and seizure of private materials belonging to travelers returning from Nicaragua. Over the last two years, Edward Haase, a freelance journalist, Alice Heidy, a nurse, and numerous other individuals who traveled to Nicaragua contacted the Movement Support Network (MSN) to report separate incidents concerning problems with Customs. Upon returning from Nicaragua, Customs Agents detained them while their personal papers, research material, address books and other materials were seized, read and photocopied. Copies of some of the materials were shared with the FBI and other government agencies.
I
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The Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) filed a lawsuit on behalf of Edward Haase challenging the seizure, photocopying and issemination of his materials and demanding that the FBI return the photocopied materials. The suit charged that the seizure violated free speech and association provisions of the First Amendment and the search and seizure safeguards of the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution. The Court ordered the papers be returned to Haase, but held his case to be an isolated incident. Further evidence gathered by MSN, disproved t he government' s assertion that the Haase case was an isolated incident and showed that Customs has treated many other t ravelers in the same manner. CCR filed a class action suit in April 1986 in Los Angeles on behalf of 12 individuals and five organizations, including the Latin American Studies Association. As with Haase and Heidy, the plaintiffs had their personal papers, research materials and other documents seized, read photocopied and, in some instances, sent to the FBI. Pre-trial discovery revealed a broad pattern of Customs abuses, including the use of Customs a utho rity to gather intelligen ce a bo ut retu rnees from Nicaragua and the ent ry of that information in a nationwide Customs computer database. Under t he threat of a court order Customs agreed to take several steps to remedy the situation, including the expungement of the computer entries and the issuance of the poUcy directives forbidding Customs Officials from taking similar action in the future.
Racial Incident Causes Student Suspension AMHERST, MASS. The University of Ma sschussetts continued its crackdown on whites who foster racial tensions on the campus Sept. 18 when it suspended a white student who broke the windshield of a black student's car. The student, whose name was not released, was suspended for a year. The suspension grew out of a May I 4, 1987, incident at which Theta Chi fraternity members reportedly shouted racial slurs at 3 black students as they walked to their cars, and then threw a rock through a rock through the windshield. Theta Chi members said they were retaliating because one of the black students had urinated on one of their cars, but the black students denied the charge. By May racial tension at the UMass campus were running high, due to an Oct. 1986, brawl in which 5 white students beat up a black classmate. In mid-September, UMass officicals disciplined some of the white students involved in last fall's incident, making them take "sensitivity" courses. Many other campuses-including, T ufts, Pennsylvania, The Citadel, Maryland, UCLA and Michigan-suffered confrontation s between black and white students during the 1986-87 school year, and virtually all issued statements during the summer promising to install some kind of palliative measures for 1987-88.
Page4 •
NEW YORK LAW SCHOOL REPORTER
• December 1987
THE NEW YORK LAW SCHOOL
Reporter EDITOR-IN-CHIEF BUNJI FROMARTZ
EDITOIUAL BOARD JAMI£ STEVE. WJLL/Al11I FRENKEL STAFF
JEFFREY DICKY. KENNETH A. BRIEF, KENNETH FR/EDSON, ELLEN ROSNER, JOHANNA ROTH
EDITORS EMERJTUS ROBERT GOLDMAN, DIA 'VN£ PIN£ r:e:a DPOmll lntJitC' tfUCR\1ed panic,. lo ,ubmil: colurnru, lcttc:~. a.r1id0,.. an,isms or ~ugso1ions 10: Th< Manag111g llolrcL no: U10aU11 s• Wonh ~uttt, ROQm C~l02, 1'e" \'or~. '-i.Y IOOOJ. Ttlq,h<>n<: !212) 431-2117 EDI l!IDOll!JIJl. "hid, " paMishcd penodlatli during 1h<: .cadem,c y<ar, h;tS an orimon ,;olumn em,1ltd -~ IEH'POI\ T ·• Pe~on, mt.c:rested in ~ubrnlning a wrdlC'n opm1()n for tht.>cotumn should lnbd jt •·nEu·ro1/\ T"'a.nd submit it t o . ~ Jl&POJITZ1. ~ 11.-0"Rnlt r~t'f".es 1h,e rttth1 to Nlir a1I m:iteri:d a..,'"e.pt<id rot publi..:.ar1011i.
College Pre" ~...,... Subscriber. SomcanK"b rrom "w10\ef1\C"f1I Sup;xn, Network of 1hc Cenln for Co°'3;11uuone.1 Right.~ 1n coopcra1ion \1.-ilh the Natiortal
l.a\\yns Guild
EDITORIAL:
10 Reasons For Not Wanting To Speak At Graduation Feb. 7th
Contra Network Purvasive
In May 1986, months before revelations of Reagan Administration involvement in the Iran-Contra arms sales, a federal civil lawsuit named the 10. What!? Miss the Bugs Bunny-Road principal figures in the scandal and acRunner Hour? cused them of participating in a 9. I don't Like leftovers from the criminal network responsible for Faculty Christmas Party (Dec. 14), thousands of assassinations worldwide, 8. I told my parents I went to NYU, funded by massive drug smuggling and they would disinherit me. illegal arms shipments. 7. I don't get up early on Sundays The Christie lnstitue, an interfaith 6. I don't want to sit in a room with center for law and public policy, so many unemployed persons. brought the suit on behalf ofU.S. jour5. I might go beserk and say that it nalists Tony Avirgan and Martha was a great learning experience. Honey, both based in Costa Rica. The 4. I hear Col. Chuck Sola carries a complaint filed in U.S. District Court in gun to graduation. Miami, names 29 individuals, mostly 3. r might assert my First AmendU.S. citizens involved in this secret netment priviledges. work. 2. I have never been in Froessel, why The suit originated with the 1984 start now? bombing of a press conference called by I. Though Justice Murphy of the 1st dissident contra leader Eden Pastora in Appellate Department will be adwhich plaintiff Avirgan was seriously dressing the group I will be at the injUied. The ensuing investigation of Pieper lecture on Domectic Relathe bombing by Avirgan and Honey extions along with 70% + of the posed a "secret team" of contra supgraduating class. porters who carried out the bombing as The law school administration is part of an overall strategy to create a always talking about the NYLS com- "Southern Front" for CIA-backed munity. A community means au people contras in Costa Rica. The network had working towards the same goals, accom- also smuggled tons of cocaine into the U.S., with proceeds used both for permodating as many as possible. sonal profit and to finance the illegal A petition signed by almost ¾ of the recruitment, training, arming and exgraduating class was fowarded to Dean port of a mercenary army to attack Simon stating its disgust and vow to not Nicaragua. attend the ceremony. The Dean always In a simultaneous investigation interviews the top votegeners of the beginning in early 1984, the Christie Instudents to see who gets to address the stitute uncovered similar evidence of a outgoing class. (The reason is that once a criminal conspiracy among contra supstudent voted in as class speaker spoke porters. The investigation began several disparagingly of the placement office, months before the Institute was retainanother good example of the NYLS ed as legal counsel for A virgan and c:ommunily.) Honey. ln December 1986 Daniel In talking with Howard Schacter and Sheehan, general counsel for the Karim Lynn, the midyear '88 choices, Washington-based Institute, filed an mE :U:POBDB was told they both extensive affidavit with the court made a major point of the choice of time outlining evidence uncovered in the inand day. The response of Simon was one vestigation. Sources for the affidavit inof a noncommital nature, saying any clude current and former high ranking officials of the CIA and Drug lnforcechange rested on Murphy's head. ment Administration, investigative It is obvious that the Dean feels Murphy's atlendence is more important journalists, U.S. mercenaries, inthan that of a majority of the graduates. dividual contras, drug smugglers, and pilots who flew planeloads of illegal Better relations and sensitivity are in U.S. military weapons to the contras order thatstudents to truly feel a part of and returned to the U.S. with loads of the NYLS community. cocaine. The affidavit provides support for several allegations, amoung them the On Mon. Dec. 7th, Dean Simon an- following: nounced that Graduation has been • The Federal Emergency Managemoved to Feb. 7th, 4:30 PM. ment Agency (FEMA) has proposed the
CPS
creation of 10 U.S. military detention centers for hundreds of thousands of Central American refugees in the U.S. to be used in the event of a major U.S. military action in Central America. • Several defendants in the Christie Institute lawsuit, including ex-CIA officials Theodore Shackley and Thomas Clines, businessmen Robert Owen and Albert Hakim and retired generals John Singlaub and Richard Secord.
• In violation of the Neutrality Act, U.S. supporters of the contras recruited trained and transported anti-communist Cuban-American mercenaries with the goal of setting up a CIA-controlled "Southern contra front" in Costa Rica. • In the course of these illegal activities, leaders of the network held secret meetings to plan the bombing of the Pastora press conference, at which Avfrgan was injUied.
Lesbian & Gay Law Students Assoc. The Lesbian and Gay Law Students Organization at New York Law School provides political, educational and social support for lesbian and gay people at New York Law School. The aim of the or.ganization is to combat discrimination, provide information and referral on educational, political and professional issues and problems and to help lesbian and gay students deal with entering a profession less than fully accepting. Understanding that it is not always possible for individuals to be "out" on
the NYLS campus, the organization organizes and sponsors off-campus socials as a way for the lesbian and gay students at NYLS to meet each other, alumni and faculty. If you want additional information about the organization and its activities, or would like to talk to SQmeone confidentially about any problems you may be having as a lesbian or gay student at NYLS, you can leave a note in our mailbox in the mailbox or in our desk in C-107.
The
ACROSS
26 Whirlpools 1 Chief artery 6 Singing voice 11 Gratify 12 Beginning 14 Three-toed sloth 15 Boil partially 17 Japanese drama 18 Watering place 20 Disturbances 21 Suffice: adherent of 22 Temporary shelter 24 Organ of sight 25 Arrow poison
28 Imprisonment 30 Writing fluid 31 Sticky material 32 Trade 35 Missive 38 God of love 39 Japanese outcast 41 Country of Europe 42 Alcoholic beverage 43 Pointless 45 Metric measure 46 Exists 47 Those bound to drug habit
Crossword Puzzle 49 Hypothetical force 50 Sewing implement 52 Diners 54 Guide 55 Pretends
DOWN 1 Wing-footed 2 Faeroe Islands
whirlwind
3 Knock 4 Former Russian ruler 5 Eagles' nests 6 Sounded a horn 7 Goddess of discord 8 Nothing 9 King of Bashan 10 Washes lightly 11 Adhesive substance 13 Memoranda 16 Lao 19 Firedog 21 Indisposition to action 23 Shades 25 Angry 27 Piece out 29 Southwestern Indian 32 Start 33 Gets up 34 Deliver 35 Spears 36 Mistakes 37 Musical instruments 40 Siamese native 43 Unemployed 44 Greenland settlement 47 Fruit drink 48 Music: as written 51 Latin conjunction 53 Printer's measure
December 1987 •
NEW YORK LAW SCHOOL REPORTER
• Pages
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Page6•
NEW YORK LAW SCHOOL REPORTER
Grade Reform: Weighing Grading by Brian Graifman I'm told it is a fairly common phenomenom, but r never expected it to happen to me. 1 call it grade skewing; when you are sure you either aced or bombed and exam, and then find out you did exactly opposite. Whal could explain this missing of the mark? Some offer a simple explanation: the professor is crazy.More likely though it is attributable to a grade curve system under which the grades reflect performance in context with comparable efforts. Or perhaps it is that those who deserve high grades in a given subject area are more perceptive of their own faults vis-a-vis that subject, engendering higher self-standards and hence lower self-assurance of their performance. Expecting a low grade, they receive a high one. Conversely, those expecting a high grade receive lower (due to deficient subject-matter/self percepting and, accordingly, initial lower standards). Notwithstanding these theories of grade skewing, its effects on students is disconcerting and attempts at explanations are not comfort. Despite afflicting itself upon hapless students for generations of classes, from law schools to institutions across the land, grade skewing continues to flourish unabated. The Umgepa System As this writer has been victim on both ends of the grade skewing spectrum, he has standing as a representative to propose the Uniform Model Grade Equalizing Procedure Act ("UMGEPA "). UMGEPA follows the premise that a student has some idea of the grades/he deserves, and therefore should have some input into the result. Each professor-submitted grade should be
weighted by the grade that the student thinks that s/he deserves. The studentsubmitted grade will be subject to 2 restrictions. One is that it will itself combine subject-knowledge deservingness and final-exam deservingness. This accounts for the reality that a final exam does not necessarily reflect one's knowledge of the subject matter accurately. The second (and more important at giving themselves undeserving h.igh grades across the board) is that the student-suggested grades should, in total, reflect the student's current cumulative average. For instance, if a student has a "B" average, the student might adjust his/her three grades into an "A", a "B", and a "C". A conceded downside of the UMGEPA weighting restriction is its reliance on past CUM performance. Questions may arise as what to do about the first semester where there is no past CUM to weight. One solution is to abate their weight until the date when their fate is known, and then after the wait, let t.hem rale their weight at that late date. Another downside is that in certain cases, past CUM reliance might act as double jeopardy. This, however, is not dispositive, for reliance on past decisions is not unknown in law (e.g. stare decisis and criminal responsibility for one's past acts are two that come to mind). the advantages of the UMGEPA system more than make up for its disadvantages. Its effect on overall CUM will be negligible; its main effect will be to raise those grades that are too \ow and to lower those grades that are too high. This will placate the grade-skewed student and cut down tremendously on public grade complaining.
G~GDIJITTID,~a~~n~ DDIT~IJ~~g
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by Kennith Friedson Greatfu.l Dead/ American Beauty and Workingman's Dead/ Warner Brothers Compacl Discs The finest Dead Lp ever made. 1f you are a Dead fan you can expect that these discs are a perfect addition to your colleccion. The transfer onto CD had me a little leary at first, but this was due to the qualit \ of other old products reissued on CD by Warner Bros. especially James Taylor's Sweet Baby James, one of his greatest Lp's ever, and a total disappointment on CD. But guess what? There was a ton of effort put into 1hese transfer, and the quality is superb. The harmonies soar as do the acoustic instnunents. There is some level of tape hiss, but it is minimal at best and could only be detected in the quieier sections of songs {i.e., the breakdown section in Uncle John's Band). Pat Metheny/ Still Life (Talking)/
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guitar playing, and arrangements, and then all of a sudden he trips into the fielcl of free jazz. Now this may be alright for some people, but not for me. Surprise, Suprise, Surprise-This is not only a consistent Pat Metheny albwn, but it is one of his most satisfying discs to date. One possible explanation could be a change in labels. No longer with the freeform ECM, Metheny is now with the Geffen company. As a rule Geffen puts much emphasis into being consistent, and has sent several artists back into the studio to clean up their tracks and/or selections of songs. At any rate, the finished product here is great and stands up to anyMetheny Lp in the past.
• December 1987
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Geffeu Compact Discs Remember Pat Metheny's effort with Omette Coleman. That had to be the worst music I have heard in a long time. Metheny has been known from time to time to wander a bit. Musically, he can come up with the most beautiful songs,
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NEW YORK LAW SCHOOL REPORTER
December 1987 •
• Page?
Students Costs Increase; More Financial Aid Cuts Threatened By U.S. Dept. of Education (CPS)-Students who returned to campus this fall found higher tuitions awaiting them again. Tuition increased faster than the inflation rate for the seventh consecutive year, according to a survey by The College Bo~d released Aug. 9. In its annual look at what colleges are charging students, the College Board found four-year private schools are now 8 percent more expensive than they were in fall, 1986. They now cost an average of $10,493 for tuition, fees, room and board. Four-year private schools have raised tuition by 8 percent each of the last 3 years, while four year public schools have boosted costs by an average rate of 6 percent during the same time period. Latest figures from the Office of Management and Budget in Washington, D.C., indicate the general inflation rate for ·
1987 may reach 5.4 percent. In 1986, prices nationwide increased an average of 2.6 percent, and have not increased by as much as 4 percent any year since 1984. Nevertheless, students at four-year public institutions will pay an average of $4,104 for school this fall, a 6 percent jump since 1986, the College Board said. At private two-year campuses, students will pay an average of $6,945. Students attending two-year public colleges will pay average costs of $687. Campus officials say they need to raise tuition to compensate for money they no longer get from state legislatures and the federal government. A budget crisis in Oklahoma, for instance, forced legislators there to increase tuition at state campuses by more than 10 percent this fall. Citinga "fair but inadequate" increase
in funding from his state legislature, Western Michigan U. President Diether H. Haenicke said Aug. 5 he'd have to raise tuition for undergrads a whopping 9 .5 percent this fall. Upon hearing of the College Board's summary of tuition hikes, U.S. Sec. of Education William Bennett-who has asserted colleges raise their tuitions more than necessary because they know their students can borrow more money from the federal government-sighed, ''There they go again and again and again. When will they ever stop?"
Student Aid Falls U.S. Secretary of Education William Bennett, long an advocate of cutting federal student aid programs by as much as 45 percent, announced he would seek more cuts in the future.
BAR/BRI vs. PIEPER 29 Reasons why most people choose BAR/BRI Reason
#24.
BAR/BRI allows students to listen to an unlimited number of lectures on an individual basis at our office in midtown Manhattan and at many tape locations. The Pieper course does not offer unlimited individual re la s of lectures.
Bennett, explained Der of Education Undersecretary Bn ,ce Carnes, feared his cue back proposals provoked hostility that, in turn, turned Congress off to his efforts to alter campus coursework, tame tuition increases and chase down loan defaulters. The Regan administraiton will send its next education budget proposal to Congress in January, 1988. In June, the American Association of Community and Junior Colleges reported that federal support for twoyear colleges dropped by 16.9 percent from fall, 1985 to fall, 1986. Moreover, about 40 percent of the nation's undergraduate students and 50 percent of its graduate students may lose all or part of their eligibility for student loans this fall, Michael Novack, head of the U. of Texas at Austin's aid office, estimated.
Standardized Competancy Tests Keep Minorities From Advanced Education ATLANTA, GA (CPS)-Making take "competency" and other kinds of standardized tests tends to make courses "narrower" and keep minority students out of colleges, the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) said last week. The tests, SREB researcher Rodney Reed of the University of California at Berkeley said, should be used only as "diagnostic" tools. Instead, Reed found schools use them "to pass irreversible judgment" on students' ability and motivation. Teachers whose jobs depend on their students' doing well on the tests tend to skew what they teach in class to help students score high, not necessarily to educate them, the SREB asserted. Reed's study of what happened when students in Louisiana and North Carolina took competency tests also discovered they took a toll on minority high school students. More white students pass the tests on the first try, the study found. Some 97 percent of white high school junior passed North Carolina's reading test on the first try between 1978 and 1985, compared to 82 of the black students. Similar results were found on the math exam. Without passing scores, students cannot advance to upper level course work, or graduate. Several colleges in both states require the tests, and the U.S. Dept. of Education advocates that more colleges adopt similar tests.
For the other 28 reasons, contact your BAR/ BRI representatives
Seven Students Convicted In Racial Beating BAA REVIEW
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Northampton (Mass.) Judge Alvertus J. Morse, sentenced seven white U. of Massachusetts-Amherst students to undergo counseling for "race sensitivity" and perform some "community service" as punishment for beating a black UMass student in October, 1986.
Page8 •
NEW YORK LAW SCHOOL REPORTER
• December 1987
BAR/BRI vs. PIEPER BAR/BRI, in the summer of 1987, prepared more than 3700 students . for the New York bar exam.
The Pieper course prepared approximately 1700 students.
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