Looks like USD is on the hotseat this week, as they appear before the Government Operations & Audit Committee this week to explain why it was important to ban leis and to rename Hawaiian Day so as not to offend those triggered by our 50th State:
Of course, this was at the invitation of GOAC who extended the speaking engagement for the head of USD this last week:
Stay tuned for more on this. I’m sure it will be worth a listen!
Someone at usd needs to be fired for doing this
Here’s an explanation:
The law students are immediately impressed upon them that they need to succeed in extra curricular activities at orientation, the most prestigious being the boards (Law Review, Moot Court, Alternative Dispute Resolution). Not that it’s a bad idea, because it’s true; associate attorney roles and clerkships vie for these top candidates and shuck the other resumes. The problem is that there are limited board placements and students with drive but lack of immediate success typically turn to other options, one being the Student Bar Association (SBA) positions.
The SBA acts as both a student quasi-government as well as a professional association. The fact of the matter is that, absent events/issues that should concern purely the school administration, the student population essentially runs itself (other than some budget allocations from student dues). They’re adults for the most part. So what happens when a driven group in an elected role is in want of measurable success? Initiatives, social goals, awareness, etc. The people in these positions are good people (many were friends of mine) but the role almost requires creating action and results out of what is actually a tepid setting.
So now you have a designated group that acts as the budget allocator (legislature), code of conduct enforcer (executive), and interpreter of rules (judiciary). You’d think a bunch of soon to be lawyers would be more aware of the need for a separation of powers, right? Compound this with the fact that students are almost forced to illustrate the magnitude of their works to try to show their worth through results, and now you have consolidated power with a gung ho attitude.
Sometimes this results in instances where students feel they need to fix perceived social awareness issues, because what happens if they don’t jump on that opportunity? Less on the resume, more copies in the trash bins of law offices, no job offers. It’s almost an expectation that an SBA leader would act in a manner that might have outcomes like this Hawaiian day debacle; failing to do so is a risk to their chance to compete with the students that, for one reason or another, gained the prestige that will net a job. This named-day fiasco is a symptom of a much larger issue, and even as one of the most conservative graduates, I can see why someone would make some cowabunga waves to try to compete in their soon approaching job market.
Look to the Associate Dean of the law school. She’s the one who canceled Hawaiian Day. She should stand up and admit it and explain her actions. Poor Gestring will get blamed instead
GOAC really needs to find substantive work. This is silliness (on all accounts).