The College of Law held its second open student forum Thursday since Dean Hannah Arterian announced that the law students would be responsible for finding a commencement speaker 45 days before graduation.

Last week, the College of Law students were able to book Dan Abrams from MSNBC as their commencement speaker.

Unlike the previous forum, Arterian was present at Thursday’s, which took place in the College of Law’s Barclay Auditorium. Arterian began the forum by laying out principles she believed would help improve communication between the faculty and the students next year and how she is working to improve the school’s low rankings.

Arterian said one of the major factors in determining rankings is financial resources, which she said have been ‘poor’ in the past for the College of Law. She also said the resources a law school has affect every other subject that determines a college’s ranking. Because of this, Arterian said it is necessary for her to be out of town often. However, the school still needs to function efficiently without her, Arterian said.

‘Because I don’t always have to be present, it’s important that there’s a good infrastructure in the law school,’ Arterian said.

Arterian proposed continuing the student forums in the College of Law next school year and said she will be present ‘for some of them.’ She also said she will try to release periodic written updates and newsletters for students and have a staff member in the student services office to deal specifically with students’ concerns.

Arterian said she would also like to revive the council of presidents of student organizations in the College of Law. Arterian disbanded the council three years ago during her first year at the law school because she said the students did not attend the council meetings. The proposed council for next year will hold a summer retreat before classes to discuss issues the College of Law will face.

After Arterian introduced her plans to the law students, the room was opened from questions. One second-year law student asked Arterian what was being done to book next year’s commencement speaker in order to prevent the same problem that happened this year from occurring again.

Arterian said there is a faculty committee that picks the commencement speaker, and she suggested that next year the faculty create a student committee to help with the selection process.

‘With respect to next year’s class, I don’t have a problem with allowing a student committee to find a commencement speaker,’ Arterian said.

Another third-year law student asked Arterian why she stepped aside from the commencement speaker selection process this year and told the law students it was their responsibility to find one with 45 days left until graduation.

Arterian did not specifically say why she asked the students to find the commencement speaker, only saying that ‘events occurred’ that prevented her from doing it herself.

‘I was handed a proxy to find a commencement speaker and events occurred,’ Arterian said. ‘I think it is inaccurate to say, ‘The dean could not, would not or wasn’t trying to get a commencement speaker.”

Some law students said they were not satisfied with this answer, however.

‘I think that this completely destroys any credibility (Arterian) might have,’ said Jon Karp, a third-year law student, referring to Arterian’s reasoning behind why she told the students they would have to secure a commencement speaker. ‘She repeatedly said (The Daily Orange’s) story was wrong, but she wouldn’t say why. She knew The D.O. was right and she didn’t want to say it.’

Karp also said law students deserve to know the truth behind Arterian’s decision.

‘It’s insulting to the intelligence of students that (Arterian) won’t tell her version of the story,’ Karp said.

When asked after the forum why she told students they had to find their own commencement speaker, Arterian told The D.O., ‘No, I’m not going to answer that. I’m not going to talk to an organization that doesn’t check its facts. And you can print that in The D.O.’

Kristen Smith, a third-year law student and editor of The Syracuse Law Review, said the reason there has been so much conflict between the College of Law’s administration and students is because many students are not informed as to what the ‘vision’ of the school is.

‘I’ve been fortunate to have more contact one-on-one with the administration,’ Smith said. ‘I have a better idea of the vision of the faculty. They definitely have the best interest of the students in mind.’

Another student present at the forum said there were a lot of students concerned about what happened with the commencement speaker situation and that they went to Chancellor Nancy Cantor for answers. The student said Cantor held a confidential conversation with Arterian regarding the matter.

Aterian responded to this by saying she was working all along to find the speaker.

‘I have been actively working to get a commencement speaker,’ Arterian said. ‘There came a point in which students were not happy … the expression was we can do it. My concern was that this would not get turned into ‘the dean won’t help the students.”

Roxanne Houtman, a third-year law student who was on the student committee that was to pick the commencement speaker last fall, said she was unsure as to why Arterian would not book the speaker.

During the forum, Houtman said Arterian never informed the committee she was on about any problems in finding a commencement speaker. But Arterian accused her of not having her facts straight.

‘(Arterian) said what I said was incorrect. That just highlights the miscommunication between her and the students,’ Houtman said.

Houtman said that last year she and the rest of the committee met with Arterian and submitted a list of possible commencement speakers. Arterian then told the committee that she would handle it because it would be easier if one person was responsible for booking the speaker, Houtman said.

Houtman said the only student who knows why Arterian chose not to book the speaker is the class president, Nancy Hammel, who met with Arterian behind closed doors prior to the announcement that the students would need to select a speaker.

Hammel could not be reached for comment.

Jesse Endler, a third-year law student and president of the student senate, said he also didn’t know what went on behind closed doors, but he did say he agrees with many of Arterian’s policies.

‘I think that some of the ideas that the dean explained today are going to be moving us in the right direction,’ he said.

Some students present at the forum asked Arterian what the faculty was doing to improve the quality of the College of Law. The school was once ranked as one of the top 50 law schools in the country, but is now ranked by U.S. News and World Report as number 95.

Arterian said the College of Law faculty tries to come up with a mix of testing and guides for students to prepare for the Bar exam so they can find a job right out of school. She also said, when she began her job as dean of the College of Law, improving the ranking of the school was one of her main priorities.

‘We’re not going to be a school that ponies these numbers up,’ Arterian said.

Published on April 20, 2005 at 12:00 pm