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THURSDAY, MARCH 28, 2013
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
SCHOOL OF LAW
University Law students to compete abroad
EMILY DONOVAN
edonovan@kansan.com
Joining Harvard, American and Queens Universities, four School of Law graduate students will represent the University of Kansas in Geneva next month.
"It's no more of a surprise [to see KU Law list amongst these prestigious universities] than it should be to see Kansas jayhaws in the final four of the NCAA tournament," said Raj Bhala, an Associate Dean with the School of Law. "We're a darn good law school and have a darn good international and comparative law program."
Bruno Samoes, Ryan Thornton,
Jade Martin and Matthew O'Neill
qualified as semifinalists in the All
America Regional Round of the
European LawStudents' Association
Moot Court Competition in
Szazú, Costa Rica.
"Pretty much all of Christmas break and January was spent writing our briefs and doing initial
research," Martin said. "We had 15 practice rounds and, after each, we discussed what our pros and cons were."
After placing fifth of 54 two-person teams in last year's School of Law's in-house competition, partners Samoeds and Thornton quali-
The competition takes the format
the two selected the ELSA Moot Court Competition and reached out to Martin and O'Neill to create the four-man team.
"We're a darn good law school and have a darn good international and comparative law program."
fied to represent the University at a national or international competition of their choice. Both interested in international trade and finance,
RAJ BHALA Associate Dean of School of Law
takes the forma. of a World Trade Organization dispute settlement mock hearing. Orally debating before a panel of judges including former U.S. trade representatives, World Trade Organization members and well-known trade attorneys, the to place as semi-
team advanced to place as semifinalist.
"It was maybe intimidating at first but during it, we realized
that we were prepared enough to answer questions from the judges that were very qualified" Samões said. "It was really nice to have that level of questioning—it really helped us hone in our arguments and see what we need to focus on as we move on to the world finals."
"Success at these competitions enhances our global name brand and thereby opens doors for our students to get jobs around the world and encourages prospective law students to come to KU", Bhala said. "It also opens doors for our faculty to enter into research and teaching and moot court collaboration with international schools."
The international finals is a return trip for the Jayhawks, as the 2009 KU Law team traveled to the international finals in Taiwan. The School of Law sponsors both travel and competition entry expenses.
This year's competition dealt with reforms and emergency majors made during economic crisis, including guaranteeing domestic, commercial bank deposits like in Germany and theoretical currency devaluation created by using two currency exchange rates. The team debates three members at a time, each arguing for and against an action and possible responses.
"We are focusing on soring- have prepared" Samores said. "And assessing our style of argument to be better received by the European panel."
The team will travel to Geneva to compete against 20 other top teams in the international finals April 30 through May 5.
—Edited by Tyler Conover
CAMPUS
Student Senate coalitions finalize platforms
MARSHALL SCHMIDT
mschmidt@kansan.com
The final platforms for both Student. Senate campaign coalitions—Ad Astra and KUnited—have been released. These releases come in preparation for the upcoming election, which will occur April 10 and 11. Both coalitions have both released a total of 12 platforms each during the campaign.
Woodward KUnited
KUnited an-
Tetwiler Ad Astra
forms.
nounced Tuesday via their facebook page two additional plat-
1. Hawks Helping Hawks
- A 23-year-old female was arrested yesterday on the 0 block of Eighth Street on suspicion of theft and interfering with the duties of an officer. A $200 bond was paid.
KUnited pledged to work with KU Endowment and KU Alumni Association to create a student led fund campaign for students in financial need who meet certain academic and verification criteria.
"We are modeling this after the very successful "K-State Proud" at KSU," said Brandon Woodard, a senior from Topeka and KUnited's 2013 presidential candidate. "KUnited feels that it's extremely important for students to have the opportunity help make the lives of other layhawks easier."
2. Surveying Students to Identify New Initiatives
the Student Survey Board was established this past fall, and is still in the process of being established.
KUnited said it will use the summer months and the Student Survey Board to generate at least two additional initiatives to expand its platforms beyond the campaign season. Woodard said
"We would ensure the use of this board to gauge the opinion of the student body to help us when making important decisions on their behalf." Woodard said.
21. Reducing Plastic Bags In order to make the University
Ad Astra released four additional platforms via their twitter account Tuesday.
1. Increase Student Input in Housing
2. Reducing Plastic Bags
Due to the underutilization of housing boards in recent years, Ad Astra said it would create more boards composed of residents, RAs, and student housing employees. The initiative cited the importance of housing to a students' University experience, and aims to increase the amount of student input within Housing.
a more environmentally friendly campus, Ad Astra said it will cooperate with the Office of Sustainability to reduce the number of plastic bags used on campus.
3. Election Reform
KU has the most heavily student-utilized campus health center in the Big XII, according to the Ad Astra coalition. In order to bring Watkins Health Center up to University standards, Ad Astra said it would invest financially in needed upgrades and repairs to the student health center.
Citing how a single-party student political system disengages students, Ad Astra said it would implement campaign spending caps, a shortened election season, and a transparent candidate nomination process.
Edited by Elise Reuter
4. Prioritizing Student Health
CORRECTION
In the story titled "University hosts pizza and politics" that ran in yesterday's issue of the Kansan, Blaine Bengtson, a junior from Salina running as Kluntner's 2013 vice presidential candidate, was misidentified in an accompanying photo. Marcus Tetwiler, a junior from Paola and Ad Astra's presidential candidate, should have been pictured.
- A 25-year-old female was arrested yesterday on the 100 block of Indian Avenue on suspicion of operating a vehicle under the influence.
A $200 bond was paid.
The biggest building on campus is Mallott Hall. At 325,000 sq ft, it is almost as big as all five Jayhawk
Towers buildings combined.
POLICE REPORTS
Information based on the Douglas County Sheriff's Office booking recap.
- A 23-year-old male was arrested Tuesday on the 3600 block of 25th Street on suspicion of possession of controlled substance. A $2,500 bond was paid.
- A 26-year-old male was arrested Tuesday on the 800 block of Missouri Street on suspicion of driving with a suspended, revoked or cancelled license and attempting to elude. A 200 bond was paid.
Emily Donovan