Category Archives: System Abuse

Cyclical Fortuities

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You know how sometimes you just need to get out of town? Thankfully, that was yesterday. To start things off, the Environmental Law Society had a trip to Turtle Cove research station in Manchac, LA. The first interesting observation from that trip was the highway, I-55, itself. Because the land is so swampy, the entire interstate is elevated for miles. The twin two-lane spans are supported by struts residing in a waterway which runs through the flat and rather wild land. It must have been quite a feat of engineering to get elevate such a roadway, especially given the fact that the land out there was described by our host, a biologist, as “like pudding.”

At the research station we got an overview of the wetland ecology and then were taken on a pontoon boat tour through an old logging canal. While the land is currently largely denuded for miles, we learned that it used to be densely covered with cyprus trees; however, due to the value of of the cyprus, entrepreneurial individuals had basically clear cut large swaths of territory by forging canals and using ropes and barges to haul trees away for processing. While the area most certainly looks differently than it would have a century or two ago, much of its function is the same. Currently a key wetland habitat for fish, reptiles and birds, the area, as currently managed, provides protection against storm surges. Though we never caught sight of a large alligator, we did see a baby one (about three feet long.) The boat trip was exciting and most definitely a change of scenery from urban New Orleans.

As we arrived back at school late in the afternoon, I noticed some friends sitting at a table laden with food in the foyer. I had forgotten that yesterday was the last day of the week-long public interest/human rights film festival. Earlier in the week I had seen one of the films, a documentary on those first elections held in Iraq back in 2005. The documentary was brooding and somewhat incomplete, but provided some great footage from the country that like of which we do not get from our mainstream media. Friday’s film, obviously the capstone of the series, was a short documentary on the Jena 6. You may recall, the Jena 6 incident was a racially charged tale from a small Louisiana town. White students and black students had gotten into a series of fights over a de-facto whites-only congregation spot in the courtyard of the town’s high school. After some white students were severely beat by black students, six of the later were charged with attempted murder. The incident sparked national recognition and prompted tens of thousands to descend upon the sleepy town to protest what many saw as a racially charged miscarriage of justice.

Following the film, a speaker told of his organizing work in bringing a few busloads of concerned, mostly black students, from Texas to participate in the rally. Then, at one point in his talk, he called Michael Bell, one of the Jena 6, putting him on the phone over the room’s sound system for a live q+a. While the audience consisted of mostly law students, there were some other activists present who seemed to take great pleasure in hearing from Mr. Bell firsthand.

While I enjoyed the documentary and the ensuing talk, I did have some reservations. I was concerned with the film’s one sided presentation of incarceration statistics. Though I am aware that a disproportionate percentage of blacks are in prison, I am not convinced that such statistics lead to the conclusion that our justice system is inherently racist. While racism may play a role in sentencing disparities, the film was intellectually dishonest by not even attempting to examine the other factors leading to high incarceration rates within the black community. Furthermore, just because this kid found himself on the defensive of an overly-zealous prosecutor does not make him a hero; in fact, I was inclined to infer that he was a bit of a thug at the time this event happened. However, hearing from him on the the phone was exciting, and he mentioned that he was getting ready to apply for college and wished to move on and not allow the incident to define him. Many of the activists in the room, however, seemed content to have him remain a cause célèbre.

Following the film, I ran into my buddy who was heading over to the Chabad house. Chabad is a worldwide group of Orthodox Jews which attempts to help young Jews connect with their religion. While I am in no way interested in becoming Orthodox (I like my shellfish, pork and modern clothing too much, thank you,) the Chabad house sponsors some fantastic Shabbat dinners and holiday services. Figuring I was a bit overdue, I joined him for a delicious meal (salad, matzoh ball soup, chicken, desert, etc…) At the dinner we met a prospective law student who had been attending the first of three visiting weekends (from which the administration kept me far away.) She was a bright young Jew from Great Neck who was weighing Tulane against a few NYC schools. I also got to speak with her mother who was born in Romania. Foarte interesant, nu? The night continued with drinks at a new bar just a few blocks from my home, (verdict: a little trendy and overpriced, but great young-adult vibe,) and a ceremonial smoking of the hookah with new honey flavored tobacco.

Given the major ups and down of life as a law student, a day like yesterday comes as a great relief, reminding me that there is a larger universe beyond the reading room and that as I go about my daily activities, so too does the world. Welcome back.

Litmus Tests

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As many of you may know, I am currently knee-deep in the law school application progress. At this point, I’ve received some acceptances, some wait-lists (the most maddening of all,) and of course some rejections. Although a rejection is disappointing, I did aim high, so when Harvard wrote back replying that it would not be reserving a seat for me, I was not terribly shocked. This is not to knock the schools which have accepted me, (indeed I should have a definitive announcement soon,) but just a reflection of fact. There are simply more highly trained applicatants than there is space for them. To get into one of the top three law schools (Harvard, Yale, Stanford – or HYS in the jargon,) you not only need a perfect LSAT score and undergraduate GPA, but also have interned at the UN, started your own business and successfully managed the subsequent IPO. So, while I’m not Harvard material (sorry Mom,) I am confident in my abilities to do well wherever I attend and create a distinguished career.

One of my interests is environmental law, and I sometimes think about working for the EPA or other governmental agencies. This said, I realize that the competition for such important jobs will be fierce and that I will have to contend with the likes of those who graduated from HYS. Or at least I did before reading this article in the Boston Globe. The article discusses Monica Goodling (the former top aid to Alberto Gonzales who has resigned and pled the 5th) and the law school from which she graduated, Regent University School of Law.

This little known law school was founded by Pat Robertson, the Christian Dominionist who wishes to turn the United States into a theocracy. In the law school’s about us page, it claims: “The mission of Regent Law School is to bring to bear the will of our Creator, Almighty God, upon legal education and the legal profession.” Digging further, the student handbook (PDF) turns up some interesting details:

1. The Equal Opportunity Policy professes not to discriminate in regards to: disability, veteran status, age, geneder, race, color, national or ethnic origin. From this list, we can assume against whom they do reserve the right to discriminate.

2. In addition to the usual exhortations against drugs, alcohol and tobacco is prohibited. The motivation for this is stated as thus: “The Apostle Paul exhorts the body of Christ that, if they truly loved their fellow man, they would set aside their personal freedom by refraining from behavior that might be a stumbling block to their weaker brother.”

3. Sexual Misconduct. Disorderly conduct or lewd, indedent or obscene conduct or expression, involvement with pornography, premarital sex, adultry, homosexual conduct or any other conduct, which violates Biblical standards, is prohibited.

Not to belabor the obvious, but I also found out that John Ashcroft often teaches courses at the law school, although he is listed as a faculty member for Regent University’s Robertson School of Government. He taught a class titled “Human Rights, Civil Liberties, and National Security.” Regent is a Tier 4 school with a median LSAT score of 153.

The Boston Globe article outlines the history of the school and why over 150 Regent University alumni have been hired to Federal Government positions since the beginning of the Bush administration. One of the most blatant reasons for this alarmingly high number is the fact that Bush nominated the Dean of Regent’s School of Government as director of the Office of Personnel Management; the OPM is responsible for hiring civilians for Federal jobs. Regent Law boasts that 1 out of 6 of its alumni work for for the Government. Since those with law degrees tend to end up in the Department of Justice, it should come as no surprise the Goodling ended up in a senior position there. The article further describes that Ashcroft, while AG, changed the hiring rules for the DOJ: “Conservative credentials rose, while prior experience in civil rights law and the average ranking of the law school attended by the applicant dropped.” As Paul Krugman notes, this is but one example of the, “infiltration of the federal government by large numbers of people seeking to impose a religious agenda.”

The United States has never been perfect, but an important ideal it embodies is meritocracy, rule based on demonstrated ability. As a 162 LSAT recipient, I realize that Harvard isn’t interested in me. But in my rejection, I rest assured that those who were accepted did better than me on the test, and thus, supposedly, are more prepared for certain endeavors. I accept this without bitterness and understand that there is a class of people smarter than I am; I hope that these people put their skills to good use in the form of public service.

If an unexperienced graduate of a 4th tier law school established only to further a narrow-minded and undemocratic agenda is promoted to great heights in the DOJ, I can only wonder how many more such individuals are crafting policy within our Federal Government. Although it seems that the Bush house of cards is starting to tumble (see banner, top right) the damage that has been done will take years if not decades to reverse. When qualified candidates are passed over for at best partisan hacks, or at worst fascists bearing flag draped crosses, the peril to our democracy can not be over-stated. This, and Iraq, and Katrina, and Walter Reed, this is the face of compassionate conservatism, this is the revolution started by Regan and re-awakened by Bush post-9/11. This is what our country has become under Bush and these are the “values” to which roughly 1/4 of our own citizens apparently adhere. If we do not all do our part to stop this, the world will have lost a beacon for enlightened government.