Annotations (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 17, No. 1, Ed. 1, July/August, 1988 Page: 1 of 8
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/^ANNOTATIONS^
flJLi The Student Newspaper of South Texas College of Law '
VOLUME XVII, NUMBER I
1303 San Jacinto, Houston, Texas 77002
JULY/AUGUST 1988
/
'
STCL
Wins
In what should surprise no one
any more, South Texas advocates
won the ABA Regional Moot
Court Competition and now will
set their sights on the National
Finals to be held at the ABA con-
vention in Toronto, Canada.
Law Schools from Texas,
Oklahoma, and Louisiana argued
during the three day tournament.
South Texas swept to the title
brushing aside S.M.U. and Texas
before defeating Texas Tech in the
finals.
Dean T. Gerald Treece
"coach" of the team describes the
contingent as "experienced" and
"hard working". The team con-
sists of Levon Hovnatanian,
Shawn Stephens, and Robert
Musemeche, with Theresa Letson
as alternate. Professor Neil Mc-
Cabe is the other coach.
Treece promises a competitive
showing by STCL in Toronto,
August 4th - 8th. Anything less
would be the real surprise.
This year's national problem
deals with issues of jurisdiction
and conflicts of law arising out of
social host liability for serving
alcohol. Copies of the law
school's written brief may be ob-
tained by writing to:
Asst. Dean T. Gerald Treece
South Texas College of Law
1303 San Jacinto
Houston, TX 77002
v V If
(Left to Right)-Dean T. Gerald Treece, Coach, Levon
Hovnatanian, Shawn Stephens, Robert Musemeche,
Teresa Letson, and Neil McCabe.
'Harvard on the Bayou' article: Students React
by Ellen Gerson
Is elitism becoming the
hallmark of South Texas College
of Law? According to Jerry Ur-
ban, it is. In the June 5, 1988,
Sunday edition of the Houston
Chronicle, Urban described the
struggle over the direction that
S.T.C.L seems to be taking. In his
article entitled "Grads v. Dean:
Harvord on the Bayou", Urban
focused on the controversy bet-
ween Dean W.J. Williamson and
S.T.C.L. Alumni. There is ap-
parently "no love lost" between
Dean Williamson and S.T.C.L.
alumni concerning measures in-
stituted by Williamson to improve
the school's academic standards
and requirements at the expense
of the traditional night-school stu-
dent. The article also touched on
some alumni's personal disen-
chantment with Williamson
himself.
It cannot be argued that since
S.T.C.L. opened its doors in
1923, the school has earned its
college originally offered primari-
ly a night curriculum, attractive to
part-time students. Today,
however, approximately sixty per-
cent of the school's students at-
tend classes on a full-time basis.
Although the number of part-time
students at S.T.C.L. has decreas-
ed since 1923, S.T.C.L. is still a
haven for Texas law students
desiring part-time status as well as
S.T.C.L., have doubled in the
past year, gives rise to the notion
that S.T.C.L. can be somewhat
more selective in choosing its stu-
dent body. While it is desirable to
see the standards of our school
improve, the question becomes
whether such "improvement" will
destroy the very ideals upon which
S.T.C.L. was founded. As might
be expected, student views on the
'why is it that I get pot luck on
professors who teach at night
and why do all of the new
professors teach at night?'
night courses.
Perhaps some of the changes
facing S.T.C.L. which Urban
discussed in his article, are in-
evitable. As more full-time
'the school (S. T.C.L.) is simply
accepting students with higher
G.P.A.'s and L.S.A.T. scores
because more students with such
scores are applying...'
reputation as a school of law
which caters to students who wish
to or must attend law school part-
time, as well as those "high risk"
students unable to meet the rigid
academic requirements at other
legal institutions. As a member of
the Y.M.C.A. - affiliated law
schools, located where the
downtown Y.M.C.A. is today, the
students apply and are accepted to
S.T.C.L., the percentage of part-
time students favoring the night
program diminishes. It is un-
disputed that tuition costs, as well
as admission criteria, have risen
steadily during Williamson's
presidency. These factors, com-
bined with the fact that applica-
tions to law schools, including
subject are varied.
Charles Jeske, a third year stu-
dent, suggests that in the name of
progress, the school "must give
up some of the night school
ideals". An unidentified second
year student declared that the col-
lege is not becoming "elitist"
simply by raising its admission
standards. According to Kay
Peterson, a first year student,
"the school is simply accepting
students with higher G.P.A.'s and
L.S.A.T. scores because more
students with such scores are ap-
plying." "I'm just glad I'm in
already," replied another second
year student.
Other students questioned were
not favorably impressed with the
new direction S.T.C.L. seems to
be taking. Among these dissa-
pointed with the rise in admission
standards are second year student,
Jake Peret and Debbie Flint, who
will graduate this year. "They're
throwing out the baby with the
bath water" said Peret, while
noting that higher admission stan-
dards would have denied admis-
sion to some of the outstanding
advocates who have helped to
build a fine reputation for our
school. "If grades were the sole
determining factor," stated an
unidentified second year student,
"then I would not be here." This
student recently received the
highest grade in one of his classes.
Many students feel that the part-
time student has become the vic-
tim of recent S.T.C.L. policy
changes. One second year student
asked, "why is it that I get pot
luck on professors who teach at
night and why do all of the new
professors teach at night?" These
students feel that money and
resources should be used to make
positive changes which will affect
all S.T.C.L. students.
So, what can be done to ac-
comodate two desirable goals: im-
proving the standards of S.T.C.L.
and continuing to provide an op-
portunity for part-time students to
obtain a quality legal education?
Kay Peterson has an idea, "a
possible solution is to increase
class sizes to accomodate more
students." Is this feasible in light
of the fact that many students
consider S.T.C.L. crowded
already? Can these two goals be
simultaneously attained? These
unanswered questions deserve our
prompt attention.
While you might expect an arti-
cle like this in one of Houston's
largest papers to create quite an
interest among S.T.C.L. students,
a majority of the students ques-
tioned about this subject echoed
the comment made by third year
student Kevin Knight. When ask-
ed his opinion on Urban's article,
Knight replied, "I heard about
it," and then he added, "but I
didn't read it."
Inside...
Summer Fun
AB INITIO
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For the Record
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Newlyweds at South Texas
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Attention December Graduates
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Collegiate Crossword
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Truves or the Falls
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Health Law Column
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Adventures of Amjur
Phi Alpha Delta
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In the Doug-Out
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Thoughts on Sports
Leisure: Things to Do
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Law Review Announces New Issue...
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Batte, Joe R., Jr. Annotations (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 17, No. 1, Ed. 1, July/August, 1988, newspaper, 1988; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth144452/m1/1/: accessed May 7, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting South Texas College of Law.