Annotations (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 17, No. 2, Ed. 1, August/September, 1988 Page: 2 of 12
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PAGE 2
—ANNOTATIONS—
AUGUST/SEPTEMBER
Editorial
Apathy
Apathy-
1. lack of emotion
2. lack of interest; listless condition; indifference
Some may say it's the necessary result of any large group of
people with an even larger list of priorities, and little clue as to
how to arrange them. In this country twenty years ago, college
campuses were anything but apathetic. Today most college
students simply pay tuition, go to classes, and don't ask any
questions. Apathy reigns supreme.
Apathy wields a heavy sword at S.T.C.L. It's expected, but
does not excuse it. Many people here don't have time to open
their eyes and see what's wrong with S.T.C.L. For example,
simply accept the twenty dollar (per credit hour) and the accom-
panying ten dollar increase in fees without question. It's just in-
flation, right? Wrong. What is this money being used for? Some
of the benefits are there but not used by the students. A simple
explanation that S. T.C.L. is amongst the 5 cheapest private law
schools in the country is not enough. Sure, we're less expensive
than Harvard, Stanford, Chicago.... Does this mean that it's
open season every fiscal year to raise tuition. Are S.T.C.L.
students so well off that a $300 increase per semester means
nothing to them? I think not.
Every year students moan about the lounge. Nothing yet is
done, it just looks worse each year. Why not take initiative?
Why not demand that some of that fee money be put towards it?
Why not all chip in a couple of dollars and get it done ourselves?
Why not organize a committee of students to secure our school's
obtaining A.A.L.S. standards in the immediate future, so that
we can be on par with the UH's and UT's instead of the T.S. U. 's
and Nova's? Why not pressure the Board of Trustees to add a
(non-voting) student representative? Why not give a damn? Why
not?
Letter
to the
Editor
Roger H.
It is apparant that summer is almost over and fall is fast ap-
proaching. The telltale signs are happening all around us with
one hearing the grunts and groans of children having to buy sup-
plies for school, football players doing drills at preseason
camps, and S. T.C.L. students reacting to the "annual" raise of
tuition. It's difficult not to question these cost increases but this
letter is going to focus on a smaller but relevant problem - the
discrimination of S.T.C.L. students who don't have Monday
classes. At first glance this accusation might seem preposterous
but the school's DROP/ADD POLICY favors students who at-
tend classes on Mondays. The policy calls for the charging offif-
teen percent to any student who drops a course "during the first
week of classes". On the otherhand, if a student drops a class
"after registration or on or before [the] first day of classes",
that student is only charged for the fees. This means that
students who have classes on Monday (usually the first day of
classes) have the opportunity of attending those classes and
determining whether they should keep or drop them from their
schedules. If they do decide to drop a course, they have the op-
portunity to drop it and only be charged for the fees. The
discrimination charge stems from the fact that students who
have their first classes after Monday do not have the same op-
portunity to go to those classes and determine whether or not
they should drop them from their schedules. If they do attend
these classes and decide to drop, they lose fifteen percent of the
cost of the dropped courses. It is quite obvious that this policy is
not fair. One hopes that the school will deal with this problem
and if they need a suggestion on how to solve it, they might use a
sensible approach such as a twenty-four hour grace period after
each course's initial class meeting where during this time only
fees are charged if a class is dropped. This type of policy would
allow every student the same opportunity to attend each of their
classes at least once in determining whether they should keep or
drop them from their schedules. As an afterthought for all of the
students whose first classes begin on Monday night, you are also
discriminated against as the Registrar's office closes at 5:00p.m.
Welcome
to Law
School
by Will Hughes
ANNOTATIONS
EDITOR
Joe R. Batte, Jr.
Managing Editor
Jeff Wooley Assistant Editor
Viviana Salinas
Starr Writers
Michael Adams Contributing Editors
Randy Aycrs,
Ellen Gerson
Will Hughes
Jim Hall
Patti Tillson
George Ruet Sports Editor
. . .. Doug Robb
D.K. Wiley Columnists
Clide Boundz
Contributing Editors
Jess Brunick
Charles Jeske
Peggy Fortner
Reed O'Connor
Mike Siwerka
C.F. Jeb Wait
Faculty Advisor,..
R. Randall Kelso
Slap Waxbili
BUSINESS MANAGER
Sherry Van Pelt
ANNOTATIONS is published in September, October. November. December. Fe
bruary, March,
April, May. June and July by the students of South Texas College of Lam. Typed contributions
are solicited. Suk
scriptions are SIO annually postpaid. Letters to the editor t
re welcome
but m
rust be accompanied by name and address for verification;
letters may be edited for length.
ANNOTA TIONS is published by the student Bar Association oj South Texas College of Law.
1303 San Jacinto. Suite 324. Houston. TX 77002. (713) 739-9142.
@1*N ANNOTATIONS
I would like to take this op-
portunity to extend my
warmest welcome to all the
new students attending STCL
this fall. Attending law school
is certainly a major turning
point in anyone's life and few
of us can say we began this ex-
cursion with total aplomb.
You should try to take the
natural fear most 1st semester
students experience in stride.
While sitting in my classes I
often stared around the room
wondering if I would be here
next semester. Be aware that
few law students who put
forth a reasonable amount of
effort fail to meet the
academic standards.
In an effort to answer some
of the most frequently asked
questions you might have con-
cerning your future course of
study at this institution, we of
the newspaper staff have talk-
ed with many of your fellow
classmates who began school
during the summer to get a
current opinion of what a first
semester student feels it is like
to begin law school. Maybe
this will help put things in
perspective.
The majority of the descrip-
tions concerning STCL
resembled
' 'small... nice.. .friendly... -
close-knit." One harried stu-
dent working on her Legal
Research and Writing I paper
said, "I thought getting in was
the hardest part. Wandering
around lost in the library is an
abysmal experience, but I have
only words of praise for the
library staff." K. J. Wild said,
"I have been very pleased (and
surprised) by the quality of in-
struction. The openness and
availability of the faculty for
individual instruction is the
school's greatest asset." One
recurrent theme was an ap-
preciation for our diverse stu-
dent body. Many 1st semester
lL'sfelt this adds character to
our institution and enhances
the learning process by giving
us the benefit of many con-
trasting viewpoints.
Unfortunately, not all com-
ments were of a favorable
nature. One student said,
"saying you are a law student
is better than being one". K.
J. Wild said "I wish there was
an academic counselor other
than the registrar to help plan
course schedules". Another
1st semester law student said
her worst experience to date
was having a fellow student
ask "are you a 1L? I can tell
by your books you are. Still
thinking of Law Review, Ha
Ha." Fortunately, incidents
like this are the exception
rather than the rule at STCL
and you should not be daunted
by someone else's impropriety
or derisive comments.
Most students go out of
their way to help their peers.
Being a small private institu-
tion seems to evoke a feeling
of mutuality and cohesion that
might be lacking at larger
schools. Having both full and
part-time students of various
ages allows for interaction bet-
ween different types of people
with dissimilar backgrounds.
This exposes us to a broad
spectrum of ideas and opi-
nions which is something that
is unique to STCL.
CONGRA TULA TIONS
UPON YOUR ACCEP-
TANCE.
Will Hughes
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Batte, Joe R., Jr. Annotations (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 17, No. 2, Ed. 1, August/September, 1988, newspaper, 1988; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth144449/m1/2/: accessed May 2, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting South Texas College of Law.