South Texas College of Law, Annotations (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 8, No. 3, October, 1980 Page: 4 of 8
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Page 4 - ANNOTATIONS - October 1980
ANNOTATIONS
Business Manager Norman Palumbo
Editor John Cascone
Sports Editor Steve Ramunni
SBA Coverage Frank Stagg
Staff Writers Gary Aboud, Mike Magee
Dick Seltzer
Annotations is published monthly except May and December by
students of South Texas College of Law, 1303 San Jacinto,
Houston, Texas 77002 (Suite 324), 759-9142.
Have Respect and
Reshelve Books
There is nothing worse than going into the library
to do some research, strolling up to the second floor and
then finding that sixteen of twenty-two books you need
are all gone. What's even worse is when this is at eight
o'clock, with less than fifteen people in the whole
library, and all freshmen who we cleared earlier of any
wrongdoings. You face a choice, go down to the first
floor and hope the books are there and carry them back
up tíie steps to copy them since the copiers on the first
floor never work after six p.m., or you can undertake
the impossible and go on a little search.
First, the best place to check is the little study
rooms over on the far side by Mrs. Thompson's office.
All Law Journal types like to study in those rooms, and
odds are if more than a few books are missing it's one of
them, because they're the only ones that are smart
enough to read sixteen books at once, and besides,
they're practicing for the better days ahead when the
day-to-day bothers such as reshelving books will be
taken care of by the help.
Well, you're still in school, whoever you are, and
there are umpteen dozen signs asking you to "PLEASE
RESHELVE YOUR BOOKS". Have a little compassion
for those of us not fortunate enough to be able to read
all those books and REPLACE them when you're
through, and only take as many as you can read at once.
Our library is a prized possession that we should
all adore, not from afar but from within. A trip to the
library will expose you to many sigms you a never
expect. The wall to wall freshmen would come as no
surprise to anyone, they usually cover a pretty good
number of the available seats. But, they're harmless
and are usually reading outlines, their own casebooks
or a hornbook by some "law god" such as Prosser.
There is no problem with freshmen taking up space
and breathing the filtered, air conditioned atmosphere.
They're all still afraid of the library staff and the
upperclassmen.
Oh but those genius upperclassmen, they've
finally made it to the top. They're on the Law Journal,
and everyone knows that anybody who's anybody is on
Law Journak After all they have sixteen job offers for
more money than they ever dreamed possible and are
going to be working in some plush office with two
secretaries, four file clerks and three full-time
librarians to take care of the mundane tasks of the
mortal world. I can understand it, they're proud of
themselves and they should be. But, I'll be damned if
anyone should be in awe of them or allow them
freedoms with the set rules around school and
especially in the library.
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For the Record
by Frank Staggs
The SBA Board of Governors expressed its
dissatisfaction with the one-sided participation of South
Texas students in the SBA operated Outline Files. The
issue was raised at the October 27 session of the
Student Bar Association.
The lack of student co-operation was not on the
regular agenda, but was raised when Gus Haddad, SBA
Vice-President, asked senators to volunteer to staff the
SBA offices during hours when the files are open.
Haddad, who is in charge of the SBA Outline Files,
noted that at present only a handful of students have
volunteered to keep the outline files open regularly
during the semester. Lindsey Haid, freshman senator,
pointed out that most of the staffers are Board of
Governors members, while Haddad adknowledges that
Harry Kelso, who is not on the Board, has been
instrumental in keeping the files open.
Several senators noted angrily that most of the
complaints about the file system centered on the
availability of the files while few students have
volunteered their services to man the files.
The outline files are a collection of course outlines
prepared by students for their own use and
subsequently donated to the SBA for general
circulation. Additionally, the files also contain sample
exam questions released by individual professors. The
purpose of the files is to assist students in preparing
their own outlines and in studying for exams.
While other senators have agreed to help, the
board as a whole has called upon the student body to
provide the volunteer man-power required to open the
files on a permanent and steady basis.
It was acknowledged that the files are available
only during a limited time each day and that on some
days they are not open. The reason, it should be noted,
is that those staffing the office are, for the most part,
the very individuals we have elected to represent us in a
wide range of activities which often conflict with the
hours the outline file is to be open. Furthermore,
demands of work, class and study result in occassional
lapses of availability.
The SBA files are not the only files available.
Several organizations also have outline files available to
their members.
Richard Seltzer, mid-law senator, invited Haddad
to approach these organizations, particularly the
Florida Student Association, of which Seltzer is a
member, to discuss the possibility of an exchange of
resources. Seltzer noted that any inter-group conflicts
that might have previously operated as a barrier to
sharing files have most likely dissipated. He called for
a dialogue among student groups to aid the general
student population in this regard.
The main obstacle to a convenient outline file
remains a lack of student volunteers. Other attempts to
make the files available have not been successful.
Because of space and personnel constraints an
experiment to locate the outline file in the library was
cancelled. The files have been returned to the SBA
office and share space with the intra-mural program. It
is totally dependent on volunteers, and the call has
remained largely unheeded.
There is an underlying consensus in the SBA that
the present outline system cannot be maintained if
unfair demands are continually placed upon a very few
students when there are so many students who readily
use the files but refuse to contribute to its maintenance.
Haddad pointed out that no substantial amount of
time or effort is needed. Only a few hours per semester
would be required if a larger number of students
offered their help.
The outline files have been criticized. The
students are entitled to know that an important SBA
service is below par because, in part, the students, and
not the Board of Governors, have failed to support it.
Student apathy towards SBA activities extends beyond
any outline file; the lack of co-operation has stunted
many SBA activities. If we want an organization to
promote student activities we should be willing to
participate; if we want services, we should provide the
resources to make them effective.
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Palumbo, Norman. South Texas College of Law, Annotations (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 8, No. 3, October, 1980, newspaper, October 1980; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth144397/m1/4/: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting South Texas College of Law.