Students ask questions and voice concerns at the April 9 John Marshall Bar Association Town Hall meeting. (Photo by Maggie Powers)

By Jenna Box
Student writer

On April 9, the John Marshall Bar Association hosted UF Law’s latest Town Hall Meeting with four UF Law deans. Historically these meetings have led to updates like the study lounge and more swipe card entries.

Dean Robert Jerry; Alyson Flournoy, senior associate dean for academic affairs; Rachel Inman, associate dean for students; and Deb Staats, associate dean for administrative and fiscal affairs, listened and addressed concerns from students on various topics.

“It’s been really encouraging to see the administration is really taking our suggestions, our wishes and our needs into consideration,” said a JMBA representative who introduced the panel. “They’ve really done a lot to help us as a student body going forward.”

Discussion highlights included:

Facilities

New water fountains, waterless urinals, better cleanliness and an increased number microwaves in the cafeteria were among suggestions and topics of question.

Staats urged students to snap photos of cleanliness issues when spotted. She said these could be used by the custodial team to target problem areas. She also encouraged students to take advantage of the two new microwaves in the cafeteria that will soon arrive and the cleaning products — such as Sani-wipes — that will be nearby.

Library Hours

Students expressed concern about library hours during football games and exam week. Currently, the library is closed during home football games.

Jerry empathized with students on this issue and said that options to make sports-infused weekends more study-friendly would be pursued, but he said that tailgating near the law school on game days poses a risk to the interior of the building if it were to be open, based on recent experiences with the restrooms that have been open on game days.

Students also requested later hours for a longer period near exam weeks and in general.

According to figures recorded by the library during past extended hours, on average only up to 10 people were in the library at the 4 a.m. hour, and about 20 during the 2 a.m. hour, said Claire M. Germain, associate dean for legal information. She also noted that staffing the library during these hours posed a problem.

For those who prefer to study late, space is currently available via swipe entry in Bruton-Geer Hall, Jerry said, and the possibility of extra classroom space will also be considered.

The planned extended hours — 7:30 a.m. to 2 a.m. — for the library began April 12, and will continue through May 2.

Curriculum and Registration

Regarding recent registration concerns, the course schedule is currently available in an Excel spreadsheet and in a PDF on the website, Flournoy said.

Flournoy also mentioned the possibility of online career guides that would list courses available to students who want to pursue a specific legal path, such as construction real estate law or sports law. Oftentimes, classes that benefit a certain type of law study aren’t necessarily labeled in a way that makes it obvious, she said.

The valuable Pretrial Practice class will be evaluated to decide if it should be expanded to a four-credit course, as students had suggested, or whether the topic warranted more than one course.

Finally, where students identify class conflicts involving a registration priority course, she advised checking both fall and spring schedules during registration. The schedules have been designed to include multiple sections of these classes.

Externships

Currently, law firms are not allowed as externships at UF Law. Jerry called this rule “a relic of the past,” even though, he said, a majority of law schools currently have the same rule as UF.

Because the externship has become a stepping stone to the job market, this is something the administration and faculty will need to look at to provide opportunities to connect new forms of skills training with the private sector, Dean Jerry said.

All input is appreciated by the administration, and students are encouraged to pass along further questions or concerns to the JMBA office.

From left, Debra Staats, associate dean for administrative and fiscal affairs; Alyson Flournoy, senior associate dean for academic affairs; Dean Robert Jerry; and Rachel Inman, associate dean for students, paneled a town hall meeting Nov. 13. (Photo by Marcela Suter)

By Felicia Holloman (3L)

University of Florida Levin College of Law’s John Marshall Bar Association held a town hall to tackle hot-button issues for students and potential solutions.

Students, faculty, and staff filled the Chesterfield Smith Ceremonial Classroom on Nov. 13 to discuss concerns regarding exam scheduling, the variety of classes offered and library hours.

Dean Robert Jerry; Rachel Inman, associate dean for students; Alyson Flournoy, senior associate dean for academic affairs; and Debra Staats, associate dean for administrative and fiscal affairs, paneled the meeting.

The topics discussed at the town hall were chosen through a student survey, which received 169 responses.

A high-priority issue was the exam conflict rule, which allows students to reschedule an exam if more than one of their exams is scheduled on the same day. The rule does not allow adjustments for students who have two exams within 24 hours of each other.

Nearly 80 percent of respondents reported general dissatisfaction with the rule, while 88.7 percent of respondents reported that having more than one exam in a 24-hour period puts them at a disadvantage.

One proposed solution is to institute a reading period. But Inman remarked that a reading period would likely extend the semester, and could pose problems for students who live on campus or receive financial aid. Jerry suggested scheduling conflicts with main campus may be avoided by starting the semester earlier.

Although the faculty needs to be consulted on the question of changing the exam conflict rule, Jerry believes students expressed compelling reasons for the change.

“This is a solid argument,” Jerry said. Inman hopes for a change to the conflict exam rule to be instituted by spring semester.

Another issue concerned the variety of classes offered in certain concentrations. A total of 56.6 percent of respondents reported that they were dissatisfied with the number of classes offered in their area of interest. A significant percentage of these responses called for more classes in criminal; entertainment, arts, and sports; and real property, probate, and trust law.

Flournoy explained some of the factors that influence the classes offered.

“We look at enrollment each semester and adjust accordingly,” Flournoy said.  “We try to balance the number of offerings in different subject areas so that there is a good array of offerings each semester.”  But in general, the spring semester schedule accounts for students enrolling in fewer credit hours. Thus the number of electives offered is adjusted accordingly.

According to Flournoy, faculty members are working with the administration with the goal of developing additional tools for academic guidance to help advise students on courses that are relevant to different career paths, some of which may not be obvious to students. Flournoy is also working with faculty to develop additional courses in areas of strong student interest.

A change to be instituted this semester is 24-hour access to a classroom for studying in the weeks prior to exams. Law students may use their swipe cards to access the room seven days a week. The change comes amid student complaints that libraries around campus and the county are not opened often enough.

Jerry expressed his appreciation for students’ input.

“We get a lot of good ideas from this, either through comments in the survey or the town hall,” Jerry said.

Administrators Alyson Flournoy, Debra Staats, Dean Robert Jerry and Rachel Inman address student issues and concerns in a town hall meeting last week. (Photo by Kim Burroughs)

Last week, the John Marshall Bar Association hosted UF Law’s latest Town Hall Meeting where administrators addressed concerns and answered questions raised by students about topics that included discussion of a student lounge where students can relax and socialize, exam schedules and the ongoing quest for the perfect hot food option in the cafeteria.

Dean Robert Jerry began the meeting with a few announcements, beginning with the continuing news of the difficult legal job market. He said there are some signs of improvement recently, but it continues to be a challenge.

“I can assure you our alumni have been extremely helpful in trying to help our students find meaningful opportunities after graduation, and our career development office has worked very hard on this,” he said.

He also addressed the recent U.S. News & World Report graduate school rankings in which UF Law placed 48th overall and 25th among public schools, and noted that although UF Law applications are down, the downswing tracks with the national trend.

The first topic addressed the addition or reconfiguring of a student lounge area. Associate Dean for Administrative and Fiscal Affairs Debra Staats listened to students’ concerns that the current area downstairs in Bruton-Geer Hall is not conducive to relaxing and socializing. Options include changing the second-floor Bruton-Geer study area to a more traditional student lounge with couches and televisions or computer monitors for students to use. Staats said administrators will take this into consideration and continue to explore options.

Other topics included the installation of a card swipe on the second floor of Bruton-Geer Hall, which is currently on the way; nonworking electrical outlets in the library cubbies; and the possibility of getting an ATM on campus.

Staats said all the electrical outlets were working at the end of the fall semester and any that are not working will be repaired. Staats also said Wells-Fargo, which the University of Florida maintains a contract with, does not believe there would be enough traffic to merit installation of an ATM on the law school campus.

Associate Dean for Students Rachel Inman said a request was made to extend the hours of the cafeteria Starbucks during the exam period. She said administrators will be mindful in trying to take the exam schedule into consideration in relation to the hours the Starbucks will operate.

Inman then drew some laughs from the crowd as she read a student request about the hot food lunch option.

“Someone said ‘I love the hot lunch option, however, could we mix it up a little more? One time we had Panda Express instead of Pollo Tropical and that was great, thank you.’ And then they say, “but by the way can we please have Chic-fil-A?’”

The topic elicited a wide variety of opinions, ranging from changing Starbucks to a Subway, to having a Starbucks-Subway combination, to expanding the capabilities of the food service area for an expanded menu with items like french fries and other hot items.

Inman said another survey will be conducted before the end of the semester to help determine what will best meet the needs of the students, but any decisions will have to be cleared through Aramark, which is responsible for the food vendors on campus.

Inman also addressed concerns of reducing exam scheduling conflicts and time in between exams and said administrators will continue to work toward an option that will work best for the most students.

Panel guests include Professor Kenneth Nunn, Professor George Dekle, Legal Skills Professor Seth E. Miller, Esq. – Innocence Project of Florida, and Executive Director Professor Seigel.

It will be moderated by Rachel Inman, associate dean for student affairs.

It is presented by the Criminal Justice Center, Criminal Law Association, John Marshall Bar Association, Association for Public Interest Law, American Constitution for Law and Policy, Caribbean Law Students Association and the Center for Career Development.

Light refreshments to follow.

Inman was previously assistant director for student conduct at UT (1994-97),  and she also served as assistant general counsel for the Tennessee Department of  Health during 1993-94.

At UT, Inman oversaw student registration, scheduling of classes, administration of examinations, grade reports, class rankings, transcripts, grading policies, interpretation of academic policies, and rules and guidelines regarding matriculation at the College of Law.

A 1990 graduate of Carson- Newman College with a B.S. in Business Management, Inman is a member of  the National Association of College and University Attorneys and the Association for Student Judicial Affairs.

Inman’s arrival allows Gail Sasnett to focus on special projects and assist with the transition in the year before her retirement.