Hey everyone, Callan again. I guess I don't have to tell you that we're at the point in the semester where our schedules begin to get crazy. With that in mind, I have some highlights of the topics the SBA discussed in our last two meetings:
- The SBA will be forming a committee in conjunction with the faculty to determine what our July test takers did right and wrong in preparing for/taking the PA Bar Exam. We hope to create a survey for recent graduates to find out whether or not the student took a bar prep course, what their GPA was, etc. We want to find some patterns and get some answers regarding where we can make improvements and how we can raise our PA bar passage rate. Also, Dean Baker is in the process of crunching numbers and getting statistics about the NY and NJ bar results.
- The Ethics Committee has written a new, more comprehensive honor code and is currently in the process of getting the code approved by the law school faculty and Rutgers University. Jen Budd, the Ethics Committee Chair, is working out a system for getting student feedback on the new code. If you have any questions about the code, please e-mail Jen at jbudd@camden.rutgers.edu
- The 1L SBA representatives have been holding forums to address their classes concerns. They have a Facebook group where any member of the Class of 2012 can post questions.
- The Facilities Committee has been re-activated to address recent concerns about the cleanliness of the old building and refrigerator space in the new locker area. The Facilities Committee has set a tentative time for when the refrigerators will be emptied- Fridays at 3:30. When this becomes official, I will let you all know. If you have any facilities related questions, please e-mail the committee chair, Shashi Dholandas at skashi83@camden.rutgers.edu
- I have recently become a student representative on the Educational Policy Committee. If you have any questions or concerns about credits, classes, or anything else the Committee may cover, please e-mail me at ckwright@camden.rutgers.edu
- Lastly, there will be an Academic Dean's Forum held on Wednesday, November 18th at 12:30pm. Look for the location in a future e-mail.
That's all I have for now. Until next time!
- Callan Wright, SBA Secretary
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Friday, October 16, 2009
PA Bar Results
Students,
This morning the SBA E-Board met with Deans Solomon, Baker, Ferzan, and Professor Nissen to discuss, among other things, the PA Bar Results.
The Bad News
As you can see, our passage rate is not as high as we would like. The administration and the SBA is working together in an attempt to gather some empirical data which will hopefully help point towards a specific problem which can be remedied. More likely, there are a number of steps which can be taken, both by individuals and by a law school, which will help raise our passage rate in the future.
The Good News
Rutgers-Camden, for both accreditation and US News Rankings, is only judged by the New Jersey Bar passage rate. This is because the largest percentage of Rutgers-Camden students take the New Jersey bar.
See you when the NJ results come out...
Sandy Budd
SBA President
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
SBA Meeting Minutes, 10/11/09
Hey everyone, Callan here. Can you believe we've reached the halfway point of the semester already? Here's what the SBA discussed at last Sunday's meeting:
- There will be a Red Cross Blood Drive from 8 am to 6pm on Monday, October 19th. The Red Cross bus will (likely) be parked under the 5th St. bridge. Please sign up at the following website for a donation time: http://www.membersforlife.org/pennj/schedule/login.php?sponsorcode=271
- The SBA has been advised of some problems with the facilities, mainly the cleanliness of the old building, and the lack of space in the refrigerators. In response, Shashi Dholandas has been appointed the head of the newly-reactivated Facilities Committee and Ashley Robinson will be assisting him.
- We have been advised by IT that the LCD TV should be coming to the 5th St. bridge relatively soon. It will have a scrolling list of law school announcements about events and meetings, thus addressing many of the advertising difficulties that student groups have been facing.
- A major topic of discussion at the last meeting was the recent PA Bar Exam passage rates from this past July. The Exec Board will be meeting with the Deans this Friday, to discuss what this means for Rutgers Law. One of the ideas proposed by the SBA members was to form a committee with the Deans, and get a survey of recent graduates. This survey would ask whether this summer's Bar exam takers took a prep class, if they took more than one state's Bar exam, etc. Our main goal is to figure out what our school is doing right AND wrong in terms of preparing its students to take the Bar Exam.
That's all I have for now. Until next time!
-Callan Wright, SBA Secretary
- There will be a Red Cross Blood Drive from 8 am to 6pm on Monday, October 19th. The Red Cross bus will (likely) be parked under the 5th St. bridge. Please sign up at the following website for a donation time: http://www.membersforlife.org/pennj/schedule/login.php?sponsorcode=271
- The SBA has been advised of some problems with the facilities, mainly the cleanliness of the old building, and the lack of space in the refrigerators. In response, Shashi Dholandas has been appointed the head of the newly-reactivated Facilities Committee and Ashley Robinson will be assisting him.
- We have been advised by IT that the LCD TV should be coming to the 5th St. bridge relatively soon. It will have a scrolling list of law school announcements about events and meetings, thus addressing many of the advertising difficulties that student groups have been facing.
- A major topic of discussion at the last meeting was the recent PA Bar Exam passage rates from this past July. The Exec Board will be meeting with the Deans this Friday, to discuss what this means for Rutgers Law. One of the ideas proposed by the SBA members was to form a committee with the Deans, and get a survey of recent graduates. This survey would ask whether this summer's Bar exam takers took a prep class, if they took more than one state's Bar exam, etc. Our main goal is to figure out what our school is doing right AND wrong in terms of preparing its students to take the Bar Exam.
That's all I have for now. Until next time!
-Callan Wright, SBA Secretary
Thursday, September 17, 2009
1L Representative Election Results
Hey everyone! I just wanted to let you all know the results of the 1L Rep Election that took place on Tuesday the 15th. The SBA would like to welcome the following new members:
Full-time Representatives
- Brett Marie Burns
- Christopher Leavel
- Christine Schantz
- Christina Smith
Full-time Alternates
- Nicodemo Fiorentino
- Robert Kadel
Part-time Representatives
- Samantha Foss
- Ryan Peters
Also, the 1L reps attended the budget meeting yesterday and the SBA approved this year's budget.
Until the next installment,
Callan Wright, SBA Secretary
Full-time Representatives
- Brett Marie Burns
- Christopher Leavel
- Christine Schantz
- Christina Smith
Full-time Alternates
- Nicodemo Fiorentino
- Robert Kadel
Part-time Representatives
- Samantha Foss
- Ryan Peters
Also, the 1L reps attended the budget meeting yesterday and the SBA approved this year's budget.
Until the next installment,
Callan Wright, SBA Secretary
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
SBA Meeting Minutes, 9/13/09
Hey everyone, Callan again. Here are the minutes from our meeting this past Sunday:
- We still need people to serve on the following SBA Committees: Ethics, Rules & Oversight, Finance, Facilities, Election, and Social. Please contact Dave Tauster at dtauster@gmail.com if you're interested in joining a committee.
- The SBA voted to pass new budget, presidential fund, and standing committee bylaws. These changes have been immediately implemented.
- The SBA hasn't been given a date as to when the 50" LCD TV screen will be installed on the bridge. We are aware that student groups have experienced difficulty with publicizing events. We are working on a temporary solution to this problem, and will speak to the administration about it.
- Dean Andrews is getting close to setting a date for Dean’s Law Day in the Spring. She is attempting to schedule Dean’s Law Day so it does NOT conflict with the UVA Softball Tournament like it usually does.
- University Senator Shashi Dholandas informed Rutgers University President McCormick that there hasn’t been any progress with the Greenscape Project located under library bridge. President McCormick intends to work on this problem with Chancellor Pritchett.
- Lastly, if you are a 1L, VOTE today in the SBA representative elections! To vote, go to the law school intranet >>> student resources >>> online polling system. The polls are open from 9am to 9pm. If you are experiencing technical problems with the voting website, please contact IT and not Shannon Troutman.
The next SBA meeting will be on Wednesday, September 16th at 12:30pm in rm. E110. At this meeting we will welcome our new 1L representatives and pass the budget.
Until next time,
Callan Wright, SBA Secretary
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
SBA Election Information for 1Ls
Hello again, everyone! Callan here. The following is from the e-mail that 3L President Shannon Troutman sent out today. I'm putting it here in the blog as well because there is a lot of important information about the upcoming SBA elections:
Elections for 1L SBA Representatives will take place on Tuesday, September 15th. Four full-time and two part-time representatives will be elected. Campaigning IN ANY FORM may not take place before Friday, September 11th. A violation of this rule may result in your exclusion from the ballot.
The following is taken from the SBA Constitution, and describes the role and responsibilities of class representatives:
" e. The Class Representatives shall:
1. Serve on the Council as voting members.
2. Actively seek out and determine the concerns of the students in their
class and convey those concerns to the Council.
3. Be charged with the duty to work diligently and to serve the interests
of all students."
Shannon will be sending out information about how to get your name on the ballot and the voting procedures shortly. If you have any further questions, e-mail Shannon at troutman@camden.rutgers.edu.
Elections for 1L SBA Representatives will take place on Tuesday, September 15th. Four full-time and two part-time representatives will be elected. Campaigning IN ANY FORM may not take place before Friday, September 11th. A violation of this rule may result in your exclusion from the ballot.
The following is taken from the SBA Constitution, and describes the role and responsibilities of class representatives:
" e. The Class Representatives shall:
1. Serve on the Council as voting members.
2. Actively seek out and determine the concerns of the students in their
class and convey those concerns to the Council.
3. Be charged with the duty to work diligently and to serve the interests
of all students."
Shannon will be sending out information about how to get your name on the ballot and the voting procedures shortly. If you have any further questions, e-mail Shannon at troutman@camden.rutgers.edu.
SBA Meeting Minutes, 8/30/09
Hey everyone, Callan here.
We had our first SBA meeting of the semester this past Sunday and I wanted to give you a brief rundown of some of the things that were discussed. I will do this for each meeting we hold.
Budget Guidelines
If you are a student leader interested in budget information, please see Amanda Harber's e-mail from August 28th.
If you have deleted that e-mail and need the information, please e-mail Amanda at aharber@camden.rutgers.edu.
Dean's Forums (locations TBA)
- Dean Ferzan’s Academic Forum: September 23rd at 12:30pm
- Dean Solomon's Non-Academic Forum : October 7th at 12:3opm
- Dean Ferzan’s second Academic Forum: November 18th at 12:30pm
SBA Bylaws
Bylaws have been placed on the table and will be discussed and voted on next meeting. If you have any questions, please see one of your elected representatives.
- Dean Ferzan’s Academic Forum: September 23rd at 12:30pm
- Dean Solomon's Non-Academic Forum : October 7th at 12:3opm
- Dean Ferzan’s second Academic Forum: November 18th at 12:30pm
SBA Bylaws
Bylaws have been placed on the table and will be discussed and voted on next meeting. If you have any questions, please see one of your elected representatives.
SBA Committees
If you are interested in being on a committee, please email SBA Vice-President Dave Tauster at dtauster@camden.rutgers.edu.
Committees which (may) need students are:
- Safety
- Ethics
- Facilities
- Finance
- Rules and Oversight
- Social
- Safety
- Ethics
- Facilities
- Finance
- Rules and Oversight
- Social
Faculty Committees
Geoff Stark and Shashi Dholandas have been appointed to serve as student reps on the Educational Policy committee.
That's all I have for now. Stay tuned for a new blog post all about the upcoming Fall SBA elections! The next SBA meeting will be held on Sunday, September 13, 2009 at 6pm in the moot court room in the new building.
-Callan Wright, SBA Secretary
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Big/Little Program, Riversharks Game on 8/20, Welcome Back Party
Welcome back! I hope everyone's summer treated them well! Now that the new school year is upon us, you'll be hearing more from me via this blog. Here is some news from the SBA:
First, 2L Representative Frank Schultz is organizing the Big/Little Program. For those of you that don't know, 1Ls that opt into the program are assigned a 2L or 3L big buddy to help them with their initial transition to the law school experience. If you are a 1L that would like to opt into the program, or an upperclassmen who has some free time and is willing to meet with their littles and dispense some friendly advice, please send Frank an e-mail at fwschult@camden.rutgers.edu. A reception to meet with the littles will be held Wednesday, August 26, at 3:45 pm for those of you that can make it.
Second, the SBA has secured 250 tickets to the Camden Riversharks game on Thursday, August 20th. The game starts at 7:05pm, but there is an all-you-can-eat-and-drink special “Yuengs and Wings Night” which runs at the stadium from 6-8pm. There is a $15 charge for the special (purchased inside the stadium) which is completely separate from our FREE tickets. We will be attending the Orientation BBQ tomorrow at 12:30pm where we will be handing out tickets to all who are interested in attending the game. If you are not able to be at the BBQ but still want to come to the game, e-mail SBA President Sandy Budd directly at sbapresident@camlaw.rutgers.edu, and he can make arrangements to get tickets to you at the gate.
Third, there is a Welcome Back Party being held at The Victor’s Pub (located at 1 Market Street, facing the Delaware River and Ben Franklin Bridge) on Friday the 21st, starting at 8pm.
For more information, go to the Facebook event page: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=128559121032
That's all I have for now. I hope everyone has a great start to their Fall semester!
-Callan Wright, SBA Secretary
First, 2L Representative Frank Schultz is organizing the Big/Little Program. For those of you that don't know, 1Ls that opt into the program are assigned a 2L or 3L big buddy to help them with their initial transition to the law school experience. If you are a 1L that would like to opt into the program, or an upperclassmen who has some free time and is willing to meet with their littles and dispense some friendly advice, please send Frank an e-mail at fwschult@camden.rutgers.edu. A reception to meet with the littles will be held Wednesday, August 26, at 3:45 pm for those of you that can make it.
Second, the SBA has secured 250 tickets to the Camden Riversharks game on Thursday, August 20th. The game starts at 7:05pm, but there is an all-you-can-eat-and-drink special “Yuengs and Wings Night” which runs at the stadium from 6-8pm. There is a $15 charge for the special (purchased inside the stadium) which is completely separate from our FREE tickets. We will be attending the Orientation BBQ tomorrow at 12:30pm where we will be handing out tickets to all who are interested in attending the game. If you are not able to be at the BBQ but still want to come to the game, e-mail SBA President Sandy Budd directly at sbapresident@camlaw.rutgers.edu, and he can make arrangements to get tickets to you at the gate.
Third, there is a Welcome Back Party being held at The Victor’s Pub (located at 1 Market Street, facing the Delaware River and Ben Franklin Bridge) on Friday the 21st, starting at 8pm.
For more information, go to the Facebook event page: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=128559121032
That's all I have for now. I hope everyone has a great start to their Fall semester!
-Callan Wright, SBA Secretary
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Meeting with Chancellor Pritchett
I had the opportunity to meet with Chancellor Pritchett this afternoon. With Chancellor Pritchett being new to Rutgers-Camden, the purpose of the meeting was for him to get an overview of the concerns and needs of the law school in addition to the general Rutgers-Camden community.
Chancellor Pritchett is getting acquainted with his new job by listening and learning how the responsibilities are broken down on our campus. He is living by the maxim of "do no harm" while learning the ropes. He has seen that there needs to be greater campus-wide communication and coordination. He is also looking to grow both the undergrad and MBA student population. Lastly, one of his main goals for this year is simply to be around and visible in the Rutgers-Camden community. He wants to participate as much as possible in the events and activities of the law school.
Other Specific Topics of Note:
1. Gym. The gym should be open for student use on or about August 17th. There is still work that needs to be done to the main gymnasium and until that is complete, the school cannot obtain a permanent certification of occupancy.
2. Parking. The dirt lot near the law school will soon become faculty/staff parking. Unfortunately, the other lot next to the school will remain faculty/staff parking. Students with parking passes may park in faculty lots beginning at 4:45pm. Spots can be purchased in the garage near the bookstore and if there is enough interest, the school is willing to negotiate a lower "student price" which they have done in the past.
3. Director of Civic Engagement. There will be a new position at Rutgers-Camden whose job will be coordinating with the community and school.
Less than a month until school starts... Enjoy your summer while you still can.
-Sandy Budd, SBA President
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Dean's Breakfast
Hey everyone, I’m Callan Wright and I am the SBA Secretary for the 2009-2010 school year. I will be taking over primary responsibilities for this blog.
One of the goals of the current SBA is increased communication between the E-Board and the faculty. To that end, we’ve been working on scheduling meetings with the faculty so we can talk to them about their plans for the law school and inform them about students’ thoughts and concerns. Earlier this month, the current E-Board (along with Leslie McGeoch, one of our 2L reps), sat down with Deans Ferzan, Baker, and Solomon, as well as with Alison Nissen, the head of the Academic Success Program, for a breakfast meeting. We had a really good talk with the deans and I wanted to let you all know what we discussed.
Dean Baker is currently planning to work with the SBA Ethics Committee and is also working on a task force to address student concern with the current economic situation.
Dean Solomon informed us that the law school is in the planning stages of launching a new website, so keep an eye out for that.
One of the concerns we raised to the deans was the large amount of e-mails the law students receive on a daily basis, and how a lot of students delete most of them due to the sheer volume. First, we'd like to stress that some of those e-mails are sent to the entire Camden campus and the law school has no control over them. In regards to law school e-mails, one of the solutions Sandy proposed was putting the law school announcements on the LCD TVs in the law school. Currently, some announcements are put on the LCD TVs, but they require individual students to scroll through them. Apparently, a large LCD TV will be installed on the law school bridge and Sandy proposed dedicating that one to the announcement of law school activities and meetings. Sandy suggesting setting the board to scroll automatically, thus eliminating the need for people to manually scroll through it. Another suggestion raised by the faculty was putting the announcements in blog format. We would like student feedback on this, so feel free to contact one of the E-Board members about your ideas.
The E-Board is also working with the faculty to streamline and organize student activities. As many of you have noticed, there are often several activities you would like to attend, but they all seem to happen on the same date and time. The planning is the in early stages, but the SBA is hoping to help student organizations schedule activities earlier and more efficiently, and to better publicize their events.
One issue that Dean Solomon wanted to address the shooting that occurred on 5th Street a few weeks ago. Some students were angry that the Rutgers emergency text message system wasn’t utilized to warn students. Dean Solomon stated that the text message system wasn’t implemented because both the Campus Police and Camden Police advised him that the campus didn’t need to be locked down, as they already had the suspect in custody. The altercation was isolated and between two individuals who had no connection with the law school or any interest in harming the students. The SBA would like to stress to you that any school in an urban area, whether it be Temple or Penn, has safety concerns. We encourage you to be vigilant and mindful of your own safety.
When it comes to professor evaluations, Dean Ferzan advised us that they would not be opened up again for post-exam evaluations. No new evaluation questions have been written for the Spring term. This feature will be incorporated for Fall 2009 classes.
Alison Nissen also shared some news for us from the Academic Success Program. For those of you concerned about lower Bar passage rates, Alison informed us that for those who took the New Jersey Bar Exam in February, the passage rate of Rutgers students was 80%. We don’t know yet where this places us amongst other schools, but based on past information, this would place us in or near the top. While it should be noted that the February exam has a smaller number of takers, we have improved over previous years—our school’s NJ bar passage rate for the February 2007 exam was 71%.
Alison also shared with us the myriad of programs and services the Academic Success Program offers for all students. These services range from basic brief writing for 1Ls to Bar Exam prep for 3Ls. While the amount of services offered is too numerous to list and expound upon in an already-lengthy blog post, I encourage anyone who is having academic trouble to contact Alison for help. From what I gathered at our meeting, her door is always open to students.
Well, that’s it for me. I hope everyone is having a great summer! As the summer goes on, look for more updates on this blog. Add us to you RSS feed or follow us on Twiter at http://twitter.com/RULawCamdenSBA
-Callan
One of the goals of the current SBA is increased communication between the E-Board and the faculty. To that end, we’ve been working on scheduling meetings with the faculty so we can talk to them about their plans for the law school and inform them about students’ thoughts and concerns. Earlier this month, the current E-Board (along with Leslie McGeoch, one of our 2L reps), sat down with Deans Ferzan, Baker, and Solomon, as well as with Alison Nissen, the head of the Academic Success Program, for a breakfast meeting. We had a really good talk with the deans and I wanted to let you all know what we discussed.
Dean Baker is currently planning to work with the SBA Ethics Committee and is also working on a task force to address student concern with the current economic situation.
Dean Solomon informed us that the law school is in the planning stages of launching a new website, so keep an eye out for that.
One of the concerns we raised to the deans was the large amount of e-mails the law students receive on a daily basis, and how a lot of students delete most of them due to the sheer volume. First, we'd like to stress that some of those e-mails are sent to the entire Camden campus and the law school has no control over them. In regards to law school e-mails, one of the solutions Sandy proposed was putting the law school announcements on the LCD TVs in the law school. Currently, some announcements are put on the LCD TVs, but they require individual students to scroll through them. Apparently, a large LCD TV will be installed on the law school bridge and Sandy proposed dedicating that one to the announcement of law school activities and meetings. Sandy suggesting setting the board to scroll automatically, thus eliminating the need for people to manually scroll through it. Another suggestion raised by the faculty was putting the announcements in blog format. We would like student feedback on this, so feel free to contact one of the E-Board members about your ideas.
The E-Board is also working with the faculty to streamline and organize student activities. As many of you have noticed, there are often several activities you would like to attend, but they all seem to happen on the same date and time. The planning is the in early stages, but the SBA is hoping to help student organizations schedule activities earlier and more efficiently, and to better publicize their events.
One issue that Dean Solomon wanted to address the shooting that occurred on 5th Street a few weeks ago. Some students were angry that the Rutgers emergency text message system wasn’t utilized to warn students. Dean Solomon stated that the text message system wasn’t implemented because both the Campus Police and Camden Police advised him that the campus didn’t need to be locked down, as they already had the suspect in custody. The altercation was isolated and between two individuals who had no connection with the law school or any interest in harming the students. The SBA would like to stress to you that any school in an urban area, whether it be Temple or Penn, has safety concerns. We encourage you to be vigilant and mindful of your own safety.
When it comes to professor evaluations, Dean Ferzan advised us that they would not be opened up again for post-exam evaluations. No new evaluation questions have been written for the Spring term. This feature will be incorporated for Fall 2009 classes.
Alison Nissen also shared some news for us from the Academic Success Program. For those of you concerned about lower Bar passage rates, Alison informed us that for those who took the New Jersey Bar Exam in February, the passage rate of Rutgers students was 80%. We don’t know yet where this places us amongst other schools, but based on past information, this would place us in or near the top. While it should be noted that the February exam has a smaller number of takers, we have improved over previous years—our school’s NJ bar passage rate for the February 2007 exam was 71%.
Alison also shared with us the myriad of programs and services the Academic Success Program offers for all students. These services range from basic brief writing for 1Ls to Bar Exam prep for 3Ls. While the amount of services offered is too numerous to list and expound upon in an already-lengthy blog post, I encourage anyone who is having academic trouble to contact Alison for help. From what I gathered at our meeting, her door is always open to students.
Well, that’s it for me. I hope everyone is having a great summer! As the summer goes on, look for more updates on this blog. Add us to you RSS feed or follow us on Twiter at http://twitter.com/RULawCamdenSBA
-Callan
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Congratulations to the new EBoard
President-elect: Sandy Budd
Vice President-elect: Dave Tauster
Treasurer: Amanda Harber
Secretary: Callan Wright
Callan will be taking over primary responsibilities for this blog and we may attempt to move it to the Rutgers website. But for now, stay tuned...
Thanks for everyone who voted and support the SBA,
Sandy Budd
Friday, April 3, 2009
UVA Awaits...
Good Morning,
I woke up too early for the UVA trip. We're leaving at 10 and I decided that 7:30 would be an appropriate time to wake up. With that misconception firmly squashed, I have some free time on my hands and I thought I would check in with my much neglected blog.
Thanks to Amanda for taking the invitation and opportunity to post some thoughts. In the spirit of creativity, I am going to try to "respond" to her post and perhaps begin a trend of this blog being a place where the students can read EBoard candor. As always, please indulge me and send comments, I am still new and love ideas for improvement.
#1 - Law Revue, April 17th
With Mr. Law School being such a success, the SBA Fundraising Committee (chaired by Amanda) set their sights on recreating it but focused on the talent portion (over the humor). I don't yet know much of the details but I could not be more excited for Mike Peacock on the mic. Come out and support your fellow students.
#2 - Ethics Committee
I agree that Jen is doing excellent job. I think academic integrity is an important topic because it plays such a large role in our law school life and I doubt many students have actually taken the time to read the University Policy. Please take the time to peruse it. Dean Baker will be the correct person to direct any questions to at the Non-Academic Deans Forum on April 16th.
#3 - Budget Guidelines
Amanda was the drafter, and while I have not yet had the time to read the guidelines she wrote, these have been the work of many budget meetings and discussions both last year and this year. These guidelines (and others) will be reveiwed by the Rules and Oversight Committee within the next week and then refined over the summer. Once the final drafts are approved, the committee will then choose which ones (if any) we would like to present for approval to the SBA Council. If I am elected President, I will make sure that the student body stays informed about any and all proposed changes which may impact their law school career. These policies will be made available for review and SBA meetings are open to all students. I hope to make agendas public before all SBA meetings
#4 - Outstanding Reimbursements
Amanda wants to make sure you get your money. I have reimbursements in my wallet that I have not taken care of from January. This is unacceptable, we could all use some extra money, so let's make sure we get our money. Put it on your schedule for Monday.
Hopefully my next post will be sooner rather than later.
-Sandy, VP
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Fundraising, Ethics, and so much more.
Hey everyone,
Just a few updates from your friendly treasurer - if you read this blog, you'll actually know these things a day or two before the greater student body.
#1 A fundraiser is coming your way. Save the date for April 17, in which Rutgers Camden will host a "Law Revue" of the talented. It will be emceed by the one and only Mike Peacock (I'll leave it to him to make up a clever slogan). Cost: $7, and the proceeds go DIRECTLY back to the SBA budget, which goes to student groups, who spend it on the awesome programs that they put on.
#2 There's an ethics committee. Jen Budd is the chair of it, and she is doing an excellent job so far. So, if you're thinking about ethics in our school, she's a good person to get in touch with.
#3 Budget guidelines have been submitted to the Rules & Oversight Committee to review. That means that if you are a rising student organization e-board member, next year, when planning your budget requests, you'll have a clear picture of what kind of events the SBA is hoping to fund.
#4 I'm leaving the state for the summer, and I want to make sure that if you spent your own money on behalf of your group, you get it back in your pocket before I leave! So, by all means, drop it off in my mailbox, email me, whatever it takes, we'll get it done. My email is aharber@camden.rutgers.edu.
Just a few updates from your friendly treasurer - if you read this blog, you'll actually know these things a day or two before the greater student body.
#1 A fundraiser is coming your way. Save the date for April 17, in which Rutgers Camden will host a "Law Revue" of the talented. It will be emceed by the one and only Mike Peacock (I'll leave it to him to make up a clever slogan). Cost: $7, and the proceeds go DIRECTLY back to the SBA budget, which goes to student groups, who spend it on the awesome programs that they put on.
#2 There's an ethics committee. Jen Budd is the chair of it, and she is doing an excellent job so far. So, if you're thinking about ethics in our school, she's a good person to get in touch with.
#3 Budget guidelines have been submitted to the Rules & Oversight Committee to review. That means that if you are a rising student organization e-board member, next year, when planning your budget requests, you'll have a clear picture of what kind of events the SBA is hoping to fund.
#4 I'm leaving the state for the summer, and I want to make sure that if you spent your own money on behalf of your group, you get it back in your pocket before I leave! So, by all means, drop it off in my mailbox, email me, whatever it takes, we'll get it done. My email is aharber@camden.rutgers.edu.
Monday, March 23, 2009
March 23, 2009 - Welcome Back
Welcome Back from Spring Break!
My first day back began with a bang so indulge me for a moment while I muse about some established facts and complete opinions from the office of the VP...
Today the SBA EBoard had its monthly breakfast meeting with the Deans (only Solomon and Baker, unfortunately Ferzan could not join us). I will discuss some of what we talked about as well as other happenings of importance.
First: Academic Dean's Forum (Ferzan) - Thursday March 26th 12:30 - 2:00 in Room 106
Come and bring your academic questions, comments, and concerns.
Topics will include (but are not limited to):
Attendance Policy
Grade Distributions
Examination Methods
2009-2010 Curriculum and Fall Registration
Hunter Moot Court (shift in program)
A Non-Academic Dean's Forum (Solomon and Baker) is currently in the works.
Second: Cafe Information
Service Items (when open):
Breakfast - danish, bagels, coffee, etc.
Lunch - grab-n-go sandwiches and salads (with specialized orders)
Third: Proposed Student Fee Increase
There will be a referrendum on one of the Spring Ballots involving whether or not the raise the student fee by $10, thus increasing the SBA/Student Org budget. This money was removed last year as an unused Yearbook Fee and the referredum will offer the students a choice whether we should reinstitute that money for general use.
Fourth: SBA Webpage: https://camlaw.rutgers.edu/cms/student-bar-association
Check out your current SBA Council and the SBA Constitution
The RULaw webpage should be getting a facelift in the immediate future
Fifth: Student Honor Court
The SBA Ethics Committee (chair: Jen Budd) is currently looking into our Code of Conduct and other academic regulations. The idea of having a student-based honor court has been placed on the table and if you have any ideas, please feel free to share them.
That is all for now, I really hope people read this.
-Sandy Budd, VP
Questions, Comments, Concerns: ambudd@gmail.com
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Rules & Oversight Policies
The Rules & Oversight Committee met to begin preliminary construction on some bylaws. The biggest issue of concern to the students is whether to limit the number of events/bake-sales/speakers which can be held on any one day.
If you have any thoughts, please direct them to Sandy Budd :: ambudd@gmail.com
Thanks.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Committee System Off the Ground
The newly created Rules & Oversight Committee will be meeting to form policies and procedures for the SBA in the form of Bylaws. At this time, our policies will be limited to the internal structure ans functioning of the SBA Council. If we stray into policies which more directly affect the student body, attention will be drawn to those before they are voted on by the Council.
As always, we welcome input from the students. Input can either be to your elected representative or directly at the SBA Council Meeting. If you wish to attend a meeting, make you contact Ben Connors, sbapresident@camlaw.rutgers.edu, to get your issue on our agenda.
Next Meeting: March 22, 2009
Friday, February 20, 2009
New Authors
Thanks for all the feedback I have received. To make this a more functional idea, I have changed it from just my space to a space where all SBA E-Board members can post. Starting with this post, the author will sign the bottom so that you know who it is.
For those who might not know, the SBA E-Board is as follows:
President - Ben Connors
VP - Sandy Budd
Treasurer - Amanda Harber
Secretary - Chad Sweeting
Good luck to all with the second half of this semester,
-Sandy
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Hunter Moot Court Bailiffs
The Hunter Moot Court Competition still needs bailiffs for the Spring arguments. This is a great opportunity, especially for 1Ls thinking of participating next year. The benefits of helping out far outweigh the minimal time requirement. If you have any questions I can put you in contact with people who helped out last year so you can get a better idea of what volunteering will require.
If you would like to participate, please email me (email to the right) and I will pass your interest along to the appropriate parties.
Thank you.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Upcoming Events for the Week 2/16/09
Here are some events and activities which I am aware of:
Monday February 16
- Careers in HealthCare Law, Room E108 :: 12:30pm - 1:30pm
Wednesday February 18
- Medical Marijuana in New Jersey - A Discussion, Room 207 :: 12:30pm - 2:30pm
- APIL Guest Speaker - Braam Hanekom, Room 206 :: 2:30pm - 3:30pm
Thrusday February 19
- ACS Happy Hour, Misconduct Tavern, Philadelphia, PA :: 5:00pm - 8:00pm
- Spring Mental Health Night, Victor's Pub :: 8:00pm - 12:00am
Note: If you have an event that you would like to see in this list, please email me (email to the right) and I will be sure to add it.
SBA Council Meeting 2/15/09
Notes from the SBA Council Meeting
1. Discussion - Raise in Student Fees
Last Spring, the student body voted to drop a $10 yearbook fee (because there is no yearbook anymore). The idea has been brought forth to reinstate that fee as an addition to the student fee (not earmarked for a yearbook). This would raise the SBA operating budget approximately $12,000/year. The Council discussed the issue last meeting and will be voting next meeting on whether to put a referendum on this Spring election ballot to reinstate this fee. If you have any thoughts, please speak to your elected representative before Sunday March 1.
2. NJ Appellate Division and Supreme Court Arguments
Arguments will be held in the Moot Court Room on the following dates:
A. NJ Appellate Division - Monday, Feb. 23
B. NJ Supreme Court - Monday, Mar. 9
Ticketing and other information will follow. This is a great opportunity to see oral arguments right in the comfort of Camden.
Next Meeting: March 1, 2006 6PM, Moot Court Room
Meeting with the Deans
The SBA EBoard, minus Gonzalo, plus Dave Tauster, had a very successful meeting with Deans Baker, Ferzan, and Solomon last Wednesday (Feb. 11). We covered a wide variety of topics including all the issues which arose from our open forum earlier this semester.
Dean Solomon suggested these meetings become a monthly occurrence. This marks a great step forward in the student/administration relationship and opens lines of communication which have not been fully utilized.
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