March 26, 2001


HAPPENING THIS WEEK

Tuesday
Town Meeting for students, faculty and staff, 12:15 p.m. in Room 3041. This meeting will focus on ways the curriculum might be improved to better foster and teach, leadership, professionalism, teamwork, and community building.

Wednesday
WLSA Brown Bag Lunch with Prof. Maxine Eichner on "Postmodern Legal Feminism," 12:15 in Room 3032. Part of WLSA's celebration of Women's History Month.

Thursday
Brown bag lunch with Major General William A. Moorman, the Air Force Judge Advocate General, in the Blue Lounge at 12:15. General Moorman will discuss the various areas of law practiced by military attorneys; anyone curious about lawyers in the military is welcome. For details, see the "Other Law School News" section.

Statutory Research class, 12:30, Federal Alcove, Law Library. See "Law Library" section for details.

Alumni Panel on "Convergence in the Media and Telecommunications Industries: Litigation and Counseling for New Technology Clients," 12:15 p.m. in Room 3041. Please RSVP to Bob Smith by 4 on Tuesday.

27th annual MBA Rugby World Championships begin; games will be played Saturday and Sunday starting at 9 a.m. on the field at the corner of Science Drive and 751. See "Student Activities" for details.

Friday
Dedicated to Durham community service project, starting at noon in the Courtyard. Students, faculty, and staff will have lunch, then participate in service projects throughout Durham from 1-5 p.m. For details, see "Student Activities" below.

Springternational festival, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (rain date: April 6) on the Chapel and CI Quads on West Campus. Come celebrate spring by enjoying musical performances, ethnic foods, and crafts from around the Southeast. Free.

J.D.'s specials this week
Monday: Red beans & rice; chicken noodle soup
Tuesday: Meat lasagna
Wednesday: Veggie chili & meat chili; Pork BBQ sandwich
Thursday: Chicken Caesar wrap
Friday: No special; JD's will close at 1:30 p.m. due to Dedicated to Durham.


REGISTRAR'S OFFICE

Fall 2001 registration
Students will be registering for their own classes via ACES Web. Again, you will be required to know your ACPUB login to access the registration panel. Registration will take place during the week of April 16th - April 20th. Registration windows will be in 24-hour sessions. Each window will open at 12:30 p.m. and close at 12:29 p.m. the next day. Before registration, you may plan your schedule by "bookbagging" courses you would like to take. Our office will notify you by e-mail when you may begin bookbagging. Returning students can expect to receive a detailed registration memo in the first week of April.


ADMISSIONS

Admitted Students Weekend a big hit
This past weekend's program for admitted students was a great success. Thanks to all of the students and faculty who helped...this year 171 students attended. In the past, 50-60% of those attending Admitted Students Weekend matriculate, as opposed to 20-25% of those who do not attend the weekend. If the students attending the events this weekend are any indication of what next year's class will look like, we can expect a great, diverse, and gregarious 1L class for 2001!


STUDENT AFFAIRS

1L survey: study habits
In February, first-year students received an e-mail from Kate Melcher containing an LSAC-sponsored survey about first-year study practices. The link to the survey is being resent to 1Ls this week. If you haven't already completed the survey, please do so by April 7. If 50% or more of Duke Law 1Ls respond, the LSAC will make a donation to our own chapter of PILF. Your response could help law students make more informed study decisions in the future, and help law schools understand what resources might best assist first-year students in their learning efforts.

Art chat
On Tuesday, March 6, a small group of students gathered in the Blue Lounge to talk with Gerry Lynch, the painter of the last group of works displayed there. Lynch showed slides of her other works and explained the personal background of each group of paintings. Students asked questions about the subjects of Lynch's works, most of which embody a form of abstract expressionism rather than representing physical forms. She asked the students what artists they liked and why, which led to some discussion of different artistic media and their place in the art world.

We hope to hold more Art Chat sessions in the near future, possibly including a forum on art and the law. Thanks to 1L Gina Dizzia for organizing this event, and to Ms. Lynch and the other attendees for participating.


EXTERNAL RELATIONS & ALUMNI AFFAIRS

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PRO BONO & PUBLIC INTEREST

New Public Interest Web site
The Office of Public Interest and Pro Bono is pleased to announce the launch of its new Web site at www.law.duke.edu/publicinterest. It features text and pictures of many different public interest activities throughout the year, information on the Pro Bono Project, employment advice, course selection advice, links to student-led projects, and links to legal services organizations. Please check it out and give us feedback on this still evolving site.


LAW LIBRARY

Sail into Summer
This week's Sail into Summer class, held Thursday at 12:30 in the Federal Alcove, will cover statutory research and legislative history. Refresh your knowledge of statutory research, and learn how to find the intent behind a federal statute. This class will cover the basic federal statutory sources, as well as methods for researching federal legislative history (Congressional reports and hearings, bills, debates in Congress, etc.) including USCCAN, CIS, Lexis, Westlaw and the Web.

COMPUTING

Update on Duke Modem Pool
Duke OIT now has a plan to "replace existing older modems with 64 high-speed modems to create a 64 port Express only service to provide limited service for (1) graduate students, (2) occasional travelers, and (3) emergency access." OIT anticipates the new service will be available beginning this coming summer. OIT is also resuming discussions with commercial vendors regarding discounted high-speed access. As more information becomes available, we will pass it along.


STUDENT ACTIVITIES

DBA Open Budget Meeting
The DBA will hold an Open Budget Meeting on Monday, March 26, at 12:15 p.m. in Room 4045. All students with questions or comments about the allocation of DBA funds for the upcoming year are welcome to attend. All students should have recived the current DBA budgeting guidelines and a sample budget request. Group budget requests need to be submitted via e-mail or mail folder to the new DBA Treasurer, James Insco, by April 6 at 5:00 p.m. (The deadline was originally April 3 but has been extended.)

DBA Opening Night with the Bulls
The DBA has reserved approximately 150 spots at the opening night for the Durham Bulls on Thursday, April 5th. Tickets for the game must be purchased in advance and will be on sale today, Monday, in front of the library from 11 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. Tickets are $5 each, and spouses, children, or significant others are encouraged. All tickets for children will be free, compliments of the DBA. But when you sign up your name on the sheet, please indicate the number of childrens' tickets you will need so we can purchase the correct amount.

Dedicated to Durham this Friday
Dedicated to Durham, Duke Law's largest community service event, will take place on Friday, March 30, from 12 to 5 p.m. It's sponsored by Lexis-Nexis and organized by the DBA Community Service Committee.

Participants will meet at noon in the courtyard to enjoy a free lunch from Bull City Subs, free t-shirts, free Lexis goodies, and free Ben & Jerry's ice cream. Then students, faculty, and staff will form groups and participate in various projects throughout the city of Durham. All 1L classes have been cancelled on Friday afternoon so that 1L students can participate in this event. Remember...rugged clothes, long pants and sunscreen are recommended.

If you'd like to sign up for a project in advance, please stop by the DTD table this week in front of the library Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Spaces at each project are limited. Student groups should feel free to take blocks of spaces for their members if they can provide the volunteers.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact David Kim, david.kim@law.duke.edu. Thank you very much, and we look forward to seeing lots of people sign up this week!

Women's Softball Tourney April 22
The Softball Commissioners, Keith Talbot and Jeff Handlin, are in the process of reserving fields for a DUKE LAW WOMEN'S SOFTBALL TOURNEY. They are scheduling the tournament for April 22nd. If you are interested in playing (any woman with any kind of affiliation with Duke Law may play), please sign up on the list posted on the daily event board in the hallway leading to the library. You may sign up as an individual (and we will find a team for you) or you may sign up as a team. The deadline for sign-ups is April 12th. If you have any questions, please e-mail keith.talbot@law.duke.edu.

Prescription drug plan for grad/prof students under discussion
The Insurance Advisory Committee of the Graduate and Professional Student Council (GPSC) is currently considering adopting prescription drug card coverage for the Duke Student Medical Insurance Plan and would like feedback from graduate and professional students. A one-question survey is being sent to students this week to determine how many students would like to adopt the drug plan. Please reply to the survey and make your opinion known.

Panel Monday on reparations ad controversy
Professor William Van Alstyne is scheduled to participate on a panel Monday, March 26, in which Duke professors and students will discuss both the controversy and broader public policy issues surrounding a reparations advertisement placed last Monday in The Chronicle and other campus newspapers across the country. The event title is "The Reparations Ad Controversy: A Discussion About Press and Community."

The event, which is free and open to the public, will take place at 5:30 p.m. in the Fleishman Commons of Duke University's Terry Sanford Institute of Public Policy. Event sponsors are Duke, the Terry Sanford Institute and the DeWitt Wallace Center for Communications and Journalism.

The advertisement, placed by conservative author David Horowitz, lists 10 reasons "Why Reparations for Blacks is a Bad Idea for Blacks - and Racist Too." It refers to the idea that African-Americans today still suffer economic and other negative effects as a lingering result of slavery and, consequently, should receive reparations from the government. The advertisement has sparked protests at Duke and other campuses.

Panelists scheduled to participate in Monday's discussion include:

*Houston Baker, professor of English and scholar of Afro-American literature and culture.

*Greg Pessin, editor of The Chronicle and a public policy studies major.

*William Raspberry, Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for The Washington Post and Knight Professor of the Practice of Journalism, DeWitt Wallace Center for Journalism and Communications.

*Susan Tifft, Eugene C. Patterson Professor of the Practice of Journalism and Public Policy, DeWitt Wallace Center for Communications and Journalism.

*William W. Van Alstyne, William R. and Thomas S. Perkins Professor of Law and specialist on constitutional law, civil rights and civil liberty.

*A Duke student involved in the ad protest on campus.

COMMUNITY UPDATES

Sports law seminar at UNC Law March 31
One of the hottest topics in sports law today is Title IX and the ways in which colleges are complying with this rule. Whether you're an attorney, a coach, an athlete, or sports enthusiast, you'll want to hear how this affects you. Panelists will explore this issue, among others, at the North Carolina Bar Association Young Lawyers Division's Sports Law seminar at UNC School of Law, Chapel Hill, Room 4004 on March 31, 2001 from 10 a.m.-12 p.m. The focus of the discussion, entitled "Getting a Jump on the Game: Current Issues and Opportunities in Professional and College Athletics," will be how sports and law intersect. Topics range from the attorney as agent for athletes to contracting issues for sports entities. Speakers include Larry Gallo (UNC Athletics), Tim Davis (Wake Forest Law), Glenn George (UNC Law), Barbara Osborne (UNC School of Sports Mgt.), Butch Williams (attorney-agent) and other noted speakers. Contact Dina Di Maio at ddimaio@yahoo.com for more information.


PERSONAL UPDATES