UND Law

[TheSiouxFan]

http://new.in-forum.com/articles/?id=8271

UND law school wants to dump Sioux nickname, logo

By Jeff Zent  

The Forum - 04/03/2002

The University of North Dakota School of Law wants UND to scrap the Fighting Sioux nickname and logo.

The law school

[YaneA]

Although the article doesn't mention this fact, there was significant law student opposition to the faculty's resolution and thus  the resolution, as approved, speaks only for the "executive committee," not the School of Law.  In its initial form, the resolution also purported to dictate to UND student media that it stop using the nickname and logo, which was incredibly presumptuous of the law faculty.   I don't think that paragraph appears in the final version, however.

[ScottM]

I'll definitely have to reconsider sending any money to the law school in the future, and as long as Winthrop Jeremy Davis, Esq is still running the show.

[YaneA]

Scott:

I expect the Dean will hear from a great many disgruntled alums like yourself.

[The Sicatoka]

"Asked if high school and college teams should stop using Indian nicknames, 81% of Native American respondents said no."

Asked whether the use of Native American team names and mascots contributes to descrimination against Indians, 75% of Native Americans said "does not contribute."

SOURCE: Peter Harris Research Group, Inc. as reported in the March 4, 2002, issue of Sports Illustrated.

But the UND Law School Executive Committee obviously knows what's best for Native Americans.

[YaneA]

When you scrape away all the "concern for feelings of marginalization," the real purpose of the law school resolution is

to keep its accreditors happy.  Every couple of years the accrediting poobahs attack the school

for its inability to recruit and retain minority students (particularly North Dakota's natural constituent minority, Native Americans).  Who or what to blame for this failure?  Oh, it must be the nickname and logo; it can't be  Native Americans' lack of interest in law in general or UND Law School in particular.  Nor can it be fault of the numerous individuals at the law school who have been delegated the responsibility for making the school more diverse.  Nope, gotta be the logo.

[YaneA]

The Grand Forks Herald printed a story this morning about the law students' opposition to the resolution and their

desire to distance themselves from it.  Also note the student concern that their professors are consumed by the logo issue.

www.grandforks.com/mld/grandforksherald/news/local/3002115.htm

[ScottM]

I got an email from a law classmate of mine.  Apparently, there have been some calls/emails to the Dean, etc. from alumni who disagree with the position of the "committee" and the light in which it shows the law school.  Many local alums, MSP, don't really feel a connection to the school due to the way it's run in general and the lack of support for people trying to break into the local job market, and I don't think this will improve that climate of apathy.  

Stupid move when they're trying to raise money for faculty and facilities.  Nope, the checkbook stays closed.

How much diversity does the ABA/AALS require for a class of 65-70 souls?  10-15 "minorities" of different groups?  Red herring.  The logo issue makes a nice target in the "pass the buck" world of UND academia.  

[kr]

In today's (Wed. 4/10/02) issue of the GF Herald there is a letter to the mailbag from a number of law school students (67 or thereabout).  I tried to find a link but am unable.   Many of the points reiterate a previous gf article.  Some points:  "As the Forum (Fargo newspaper) stated in its article, there are about 200 students at UND s of law.  However, those 200 did not necessarily support the resolution.  The student body and staff at the school purposely were left out of the resolution vote. ...  To state that the UND law school supports that change because seven tenured and tenure-track professors felt this way is unarguably inaccurate."  (those professors are:  Candace Zierdt, Barbara Vogelwede, Jim Grijalva, Kathrine Rand, Alan Romero, Thomas Lockney and Dean W. Jeremy Davis)  ...."To put it simply, Jeanotte (Leigh), as well as many of the faculty, seem to support the notion that if you believe the name is not offensive, it must be because you are ignorant.  The student representatives to the Faculty Committee intentionally requested that the tenured and tenure-track faculty not portray the resolution as a school backed initiative.  It seems, however, that the Forum's article, along with the tenured and tenure-tracked faculty members, have succeeded to do just that."

[Goon]

Scott_M will be happy to know that UND Law has a new lightning rod, Half wit Lil Johnny Hoff has decided to bring a case up against the new wellness center vote, doing it with some half cocked electioneering complaint...  I am sure he will have some new article about the UND Fighting Sioux name too.

I guess he figures he has been out of the lime light long enough and has decided to make everyone remember him. Does having someone like him hurt recruitment for the for the Law School? Yesh...

Hoff files electioneering complaint against SG

By Angie Buckley, Dakota Student Staff Writer

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Newly elected Student Senator John Hoff, first year law, has filed a formal complaint of electioneering during the April 3 Wellness Center referendum vote.

Hoff was vocally opposed to the Wellness Center during Sunday's Student Senate meeting. When he was sworn in as a Senator for the current term, he called for a recall of the Senate's decision.

Hoff's first complaint states that poll location and election announcements were not neutral but were essentially promotional material for the wellness center. He also writes that promotional material was displayed at polling locations.

The third complaint Hoff lists is that "individuals involved in spearheading a pro-wellness center campaign, including but certainly not limited to (past Student Body president) Matt Brown, were at the polling place and were, in fact, in charge of running the balloting and were observed 'hailing' people to vote." Brown said that was neither his nor others' intent.

"We wanted to create an environment where people could be comfortable to vote no but to also know what they were voting on," Brown said.

Hoff also charges that he reasonable believes that ballots of the referendum were counted by Brown and other individuals involved in student government who could not be considered objective, neutral parties. However, ballots were not counted by a student government representative. Memorial Union employee Jay Smith counted the ballots electronically at the computer center.

"I didn't see the numbers until they came back as electronic results," Brown said.

Hoff's final complaints state that the "no" vote for the wellness center was at space 21A of the ballot and the "yes" vote at 1A, both to the best of his recollection. Finally, Hoff states pro-wellness center material was on display the day of the balloting, the day prior and even days after at locations other than polling places.

Hoff did not return phone calls.

Hoff's complaint was turned into the student government office Monday and is being handled by the Judicial Board. Julie Passa, a second-year law student, serves as chief justice of the board. She would not comment on the board's possible actions but said the board "can only work with in the parameters of what (Hoff's) requests are." The board will be holding a special meeting to hear the complaint. The judicial branch does have to power to overturn the referendum vote and also the resolution of the senate if it rules the actions to be unconstitutional.

[Diggler]

Hoff's first complaint states that poll location and election announcements were not neutral but were essentially promotional material for the wellness center. He also writes that promotional material was displayed at polling locations.

Couldn't he have gotten off his fat rear end and made promotional material against the Wellness Center? I guess he found picking his nose and drafting his letter of complaint was more important at the time.

The third complaint Hoff lists is that "individuals involved in spearheading a pro-wellness center campaign, including but certainly not limited to (past Student Body president) Matt Brown, were at the polling place and were, in fact, in charge of running the balloting and were observed 'hailing' people to vote." Brown said that was neither his nor others' intent.

Once again couldn't he have gotten off his fat rear end, gone down to the polling locations and helped oiut in the balloting.

[ScottM]

I think the only "Wellness Center" the campus needs is a bar, that is loose on the "minor issue."  They'd never raise tuition again.    

Hoff, schmoff.  

[Diggler]

Having a bar on campus would rule.  They are remodeling the Memorial Union and one of the ideas is to make the old book store into a non-alcoholic pub.  Now I may be off here but doesn't a pub by definition have alcohol?  Without alcohol it isn't a pub, it is a freaking juice bar anbd juice bars suck.

[Goon]

So, do any of you UND lawyers feel proud that Half Wit John Hoff is carrying the tourch for the law school...

I really doubt that he has any friends though...

[ScottM]

Hoff is destined to be a whining "activist."  If he can't bill at least 2000 hrs a year around here, he's basically useless.  "Hello, Burger King."  

[kr]

Every class has one or two of 'em.

[The Sicatoka]

Diggler: There's a state out east where you can't sell alcohol where there is "live dancing." Those "juice bars" ain't so bad.

[Goon]

Kr,

Here is what I don't understand why is Hoff is the darling of the media? Personally to me Hoff comes off as this loose cannon that writes stuff that lacks merit and facts, especially the article that he wrote about Englestad last spring. I am not sure why he doesn't need to check his facts before he publishes them...

This guys as I have heard has never held a solid honest job and has some how become the mouth piece for fringe people of the acedemic society. The Grand Forks Herald publishs his tirades as if he was a credible source of information. I scares me to think he is going to be a member of the bar some where some day. Stay tuned.

[dagies]

The question should be if Goon is right, how did he get elected?  Or is this a job no one wants?

[Goon]

The question should be if Goon is right, how did he get elected?

[ScottM]

I vaguely remember the law school scraping for people to run for student govt posts.  It interfered with my drinking time, and those people were a bunch of tools anyway.  Hoff should fit right in.

[Goon]

I vaguely remember the law school scraping for people to run for student govt posts.

[Diggler]

I was going to vote for Scott as the Law Schools Student Rep.

[kr]

Goon, you're right - it is hard to believe that John Boy gets as much print as he does.  My theory is that the papers/tv news try to put in as much as they can regarding:  controversy, crime and kooks!   To psycho-analyze (is that even a word?) someone LIKE a John it would appear that outside of news clips/bites not much substantive content comes out of such a person; and that the only sense of self worth (validation) comes from public exposure  - don't think it matters if it is positive or negative, just that the community knows his/her name.  (I don't think I had enough sleep last night - so I'm crabby and for some reason just the thought of John Boy's rants has put me in a worse mood - but I'm sure John Boy would be pleased that I spent all this time talking about him!  His world domination tour continues!!)

[Goon]

http://www.UND.edu/org/ds/_issues/2002/04/16/news/hoff.html

Well Half wit Johnny Hoff's lawsuit has been thrown out. Good for the student government.

In a unanimous decision Saturday, the seven justices of the UND Student Government Judicial Branch dismissed Law School Senator John Hoff's complaints of Student Government electioneering during the Wellness Center referendum. The justices will issue their opinion on the hearing within a week.

The hearing was held Saturday at 4 p.m. in the Baker Courtroom of the UND Law School. Hoff and former student body president Matt Brown were each given 30 minutes to state their cases.

Hoff argued that Brown was not an objective individual in regards to the Wellness Center and spearheaded the campaign.

"Brown was pushing for this from the beginning of his administration," Hoff said. "You can't say he was an objective or neutral party."