On October 22, 2009, Dean White conducted an almost two hour “town hall” meeting with upper level students. The meeting provided students with a delicious lunch by Panera, and drew a crowd of about 40 students.
Dean White speaks enthusiastically to students
Dean White commenced the meeting by discussing the biggest news to hit the law school campus in a while—the decision to partner with the Business School in constructing a shared building on campus to provide additional much-needed space to our ever growing law school. The Dean emphasized the importance of student involvement in the project and assured students that she is open to any student suggestions and concerns regarding the new project which is expected to be ready by the fall of 2011. The Dean then spoke about the new clinical opportunities available for law students, including an Appeals Clinic with Professor Bascuas, a Natural Resources Defense Council clinic headed by Professor Doyle, and a Housing Clinic supervised by Legal Services of Miami. The Dean explained that the school is focusing on creating more clinical experiences for students to participate in, particularly those opportunities that require students to travel outside of Miami like the NRDC and Florida Supreme Court internships which take place in Washington, D.C./New York and Tallahassee respectively. “We are expanding the notion of working with others,” said Dean White during the meeting, “We want students to earn legal experiences outside of Miami while receiving academic credit for their work.” Needless to say, students in attendance were very appreciative and excited to hear of all of the new clinical programs set up by the school.
LLMs students asked the Dean about the future of international programs at UM Law
In addition, the Dean discussed an array of issues with students. Topics that were mentioned during the meeting included: (1) the number of first year students admitted, (2) security/safety concern on the law school campus, (3) issues with the student lounge, (4) UM buses and their inefficiency, (5) course diversification, (6) creating more join degree options and (7) the never-ending number of emails over flooding our student emails.
Students voicing their concerns
At least one student voiced a concern about the large number of first year students that were admitted, especially this past year. The Dean agreed that the number was too high, and she believes “400” students is “not a bad number” that the administration intends to keep as a cut off for next year admissions process. The Dean reminded that she is “always interested in student responses” concerning any issue affecting the law school.
Student expresses concerns over security at UM Law library
Surprisingly, a number of students complained about campus security at the law school, particularly at the law school’s library. One student suggested that the law library implement a system similar to Richter library, where an official UM id is required to enter or signing in at the front desk with library personnel is mandatory. However, Dean White reminded students that law librarians believe that access to a law library for pro se litigants is “at the core” of their values, and would be hesitant to restrict access to the law library. Nevertheless, she agreed that the problem should be addressed. In the meantime, the Dean encouraged “personal vigilance” and encouraged students to report suspicious behavior immediately. “Unfortunately, theft occurs at every university,” conceded Dean White, as she described a recent event at the Bank United Center where first-year students’ cars were broken into and valuable items were stolen while students attended a mandatory meeting. More importantly, Dean White warned that any law student engaged in stealing—even something as “small” as a book—would face a “huge penalty.” Dean White assured personally that if a student was caught stealing, it would affect Bar admission. Ultimately, many students said that although stealing was a problem, making smart choices and remaining vigilant and alert would suffice in resolving any theft issues on campus.
The Dean also discussed recent developments regarding the Alma Jennings Student Lounge. After many students complained that the lounge was not “student-friendly” due to the multitude of events hosted in the area, Dean White decided to create a solution. For now, the Dean plans to slowly stop using the Student Lounge for events, and instead, begin using the “Quiet Room” on the second floor of the library. Dean White explained that the Quiet Room will be furnished in a way that will easily facilitate event set ups, but remain a Quiet Room for students to use the majority of the time. Even cooler, Dean White commissioned SBA President, Matthew Givens, to set a committee that will design and implement new additions to the student lounge, including a pool or ping-pong table, various big screen TVs, better and more comfortable couches, etc. At the meeting Matthew Givens encouraged students to reach out to him with ideas for the new “Relaxation Student Lounge” set to be ready no later than next fall.
Students posing with Dean White after the meeting
Finally, students voiced their concerns about the lack of course diversification here at UM Law. Dean White was quick to agree, “The course variety here is much constrained.” One of the problems the Dean pointed out was lack of space—an issue she hopes to resolve by using the Whitten Learning Center more and by the expansion of the law school with the Business School. Nevertheless, Dean White encouraged students to take matters into their own hands by signing up and registering for graduate level courses offered at UM. She promised that the school would make every effort possible to use at least a portion of those credits toward the J.D. degree. Dean White mentioned that a similar process has already been set up for students interested in taking Entertainment related courses at the graduate level. Dean White did caution that students must first ask permission from the Dean of Students Office, but that over all the law school needs to use graduate university resources more for the betterment of the students. Dean White expressed concerns about students graduating with a J.D. but not really “knowing the subject matter.” Instead, she predicts, and can only hope that more students will decide to earn a J.D. and an M.A. simultaneously, similar to the J.D./M.B.A. program. “If you are interested, come and talk to us—we will try our best to accommodate you,” said Dean White. The Dean plans on scheduling more “town hall” meetings in the near future with students to discuss a variety of school issues. Perhaps next time you can attend and have your voice heard—plus the yummy free lunch does not hurt.
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