Chase Dean Misunderstands Professionalism

Chase Law School (part of NKU) has made some national news this week, and not in a way that will make its administration happy.

Last week, Chase scheduled a mandatory lecture on "professionalism" for its first-year students. Such events are relatively commonplace. They're boring. They have little to do with what first year students are studying at the time, and first-year students aren't really able to put a lecture on professionalism into context, as most haven't so much as set foot in a law firm yet. But nonetheless, law schools love to schedule these kinds of events.

For some reason, Chase's administration thought the perfect time for the relatively useless exercise was Thursday night--right in the middle of the first round of the NCAA tournament. And during Kentucky's first round game. The results were predictable. Students showed up, and (as is common at law schools these days) had their laptops open to "take notes." Of course, CBS was live-streaming the tournament, so students with laptops turned the game on (without sound). Others used their phones to check scores or text friends.

So who cares? The panel of speakers, seated at the front of the room, couldn't have seen what was on the laptops. Apparently, one of Chase's deans was in the back of the room. He saw the laptops, and was not pleased. So he sent a nastygram strongly-worded email to the entire 1L class, telling them how "rude" and "unprofessional" they were. And now, the email has made its way to Above the Law, a blog with a national following devoted largely to law school news.

As a UC Law alum, I'm always happy to make fun of Chase. My glee at pointing out that the law school began at the Cincinnati YMCA knows no bounds. ("Where'd you get your law license--the Y? Oh, yeah, never mind....) Here, any ridicule needs to be reserved for Chase's administration, not its students. They scheduled a lecture to be attended primarily by twenty-somethings fresh out of college in the middle of the first round of March Madness and expected that attendees' attention wouldn't be diverted? Seriously?

Law school administrators often fall into the pattern we see here: treat law students as if they were still in high school, with little control over their own schedules or (frankly) lives, and then chide them for not being "professional." They forget that professionals have at least some control over their own calendars. Walk into the courthouse on Opening Day. You won't see anyone. Why? Because no one wants to schedule anything then. If a lawyer is a basketball fan, do you think he scheduled client meetings or court appearances last Thursday or Friday? Do you really expect a bunch of kids from Kentucky to abstain from March Madness?

Lawyers have lives outside of their practices. Law students are usually told during law school orientation to try to maintain some sort of life outside of their studies. Then, for the next three years, administrators and professors pretend as if law school is life. Such mixed signals will inevitably yield unhappy results.

A Pledge For Local TPers, If They Are Serious

Loki at Cincyvoices has formalized a pledge that local TP members should consider if they are really serious when they spout off about being against all forms of socialism.

Conservative Politics: The Junior High Edition

We have rock throwing at the local Democratic Party HQ and people wonder who could have been egging on the stormtroopers?

Someone needs to remind the right wing crazies that the world isn't going to end because of health-care coverage. Seriously, it's not.

Also, I really wonder if Ohio TPer's know anything about Federal Preemption. I mean, sure, they could try to coin their own currency or try to ignore the 14th Amendment, but we had a war about a 150 years ago that decided all of that rather definitively.

Where did the Republican grown-ups go?

Will Local GOP and TP's Denounce This?

As of this morning the National GOP has been silent on the use of racial slurs towards members of the US Congress by TP protesters, as well as anti-gay comments towards Rep. Barney Frank and someone spitting on Rep. Emanuel Cleaver.

These are hopefully not the views of the local TP or GOP, but those movements/groups have been surrounding themselves with people who do use hate as a weapon, so they need to be responsible and speak out against this. It would be an honorable gesture and clear sign that these groups are not sympathetic towards racism or homophobia. The level of hate that as brewed inside the TP movement has been more caustic and intense then anything short of the radical anti-abortion movement from the late 80's early 90's. Many theories have been raised that point to the irrational fear people have now that a black man is President as being a cause of vehemence been shown leading up to this vote.

The sad truth is that there is a lot of racism and bigotry on the right-wing of American politics against blacks, Latinos, and Gays. It does not take much to stand up and denounce hate. Just a press release would be a start. A better place to have started would have been the "Tea Party Pledge" to have included an idea including equality for all. The problem is, I don't think they could get consensus on that type of idea. That is the clearest sign that there are problems and the TP/GOP leadership can't ignore them and expect their members to be civil when they foster and fuel hate.

Gumption Awards Taking Nominations

Cincinnati's Charter Committee has announced it is taking nominations for the Charles P. Taft Civic Gumption Award through Sunday March 21st, so there is still time to honor local leaders who "exhibit courage and common sense in leadership."

To make a nomination, please fill out the form found on the Charter Website.

Send in your completed form to info@chartercommittee.org by the end of the day tomorrow.

For more information on the award, please check out the Charter Committee website.

The Enquirer Loves It Some GOP Talking Points

The Enquirer's Editorial on health care reform from Tuesday is nothing more than a restatement of every GOP Talking Point on the current bill. I mean using "arrogant" in the title was the dead give away, but including "negotiated behind closed doors" and "sham" are just to obvious. It goes on to get worse.

They cherry pick poll questions about how people feel about health care, not new. Everyone can find a poll question or combination of answers to a poll question to fit their opinion.

This editorial is bad, I would be embarrassed if I worked there. This is political spin about as bad as I've seen. It was as if a journalist didn't even write this at all. It comes off as PR, not an editorial.

I find it arrogant of the Enquirer or Gannett, or who ever wrote this attack editorial to think that we don't see the political bias at work. We understand that newspapers have opinions, but why can't they do more than just spout one side? We have enough of that on FOX News. We have a conservative newspaper here in Cincinnati, but why does he have to so often be a lap-dog of the GOP on national issues?

Chris Smitherman Arrested

The Enquirer is reporting that Cincinnati NAACP Chapter President Chris Smitherman was arrested this morning outside a school construction site. I am sure we shall be besieged with how it matters to justice that Mr. Smitherman can't seem to get the CPS to hire the people Smitherman wants them to hire, but I am really am starting not to care.

If you are going to protest something, then you need to define what your goals are, something the local NAACP President has failed to do. Just saying you want more African-Americans hired is about as focused as Pastor Phil telling us we should all be nicer to your fellow man. Pastor isn't standing in front of schools yelling at people that we must be nicer. Tell us the goal. Make that goal reasonable. Work with African-American Chamber of Commerce to find viable businesses to provide good service to our Schools.

Published reports indicate that Smitherman has provided the CPS with little more than names and phone numbers of people he thinks should be hired. Smitherman needs to provide the detail and at least basic support documenting that the people have relevant companies that can provide valuable services. Our school system does not exist to provide employment to Smitherman's friends.

If there are problems in how contracts are handed out at CPS, Smitherman and his minions need to stop playing games. The attention is not going to gain you anything. He is turning off his possible allies. He is a mockery and is sullying the work the NAACP has down locally and across the country. He needs to find a strategy based on sanity, not on Smitherman's desire for fame and fortune. This I fear is just another in what will be a long line of stunts that Smitherman will waste time and effort on, instead of actually finding solutions for problems.