OCR Text |
Show NEWS JANUARY 21, 2013 A3 Making room for diversity , •. • . 411;4 • ~''`ll , i - , • 414, • • We need a very diverse bar so that when laws are made, interpreted and are applied in the lives of other people, that people feel the laws are fair to them and their cultural ethnicity, race, religion, gender or socioeconomic background. EILEEN CRANE University Pre-Law Counselor MALLORY BLACK/UVU REVIEW Attorney Maoputasi Young shares his perspective with students at the diversity in Law Night on Jan. 15. Pre-Law Office invites legal professionals and students to Diversity in Law Night By Mallory Black News Editor Twitter @mblack47 and are applied in the lives of other people, that people feel the laws are fair to them and their cultural ethnicity, race, religion, gender or socioeconomic background," said Eileen Crane, university pre-law counselor and legal studies adjunct professor. "That doesn't always happen." Currently, a legal studies program is available through the UVU Woodbury School of Business, which offers a Certificate of Proficiency, A.S A.A.S. and a B.S. in Legal Studies, though students pursuing law school are not limited by their choice of undergraduate program. "The conventional wisdom in law school is that it doesn't matter what you major in, but that's not true in terms of the skills that you have when you get there," said Crane. "It is true in that law schools don't care if you're an accounting major, a theater arts major, a nursing major or a geology major, what they care about is 'do you have the academic wherewithal to succeed in law school?'" After the opening introduction by ., About 50 students filtered up to the second floor of the Student Center on Jan. 15 for the Diversity in Law Night, where students learned about the ins-and-outs of law school and careers in the legal system. Hosted by the UVU Pre-Law Office, the event also celebrated Martin Luther King's birthday and his work towards diversity and racial equality. Guest speakers spoke on two panels, emphasizing the need for diversity in the legal system. "We need a very diverse bar so that when laws are made, interpreted Crane, students listened to panelists offer the potential future attorneys and lawyers in the audience advice on what to expect in law school. Panelist Melba Latu, JD., Deputy IX Coordinator at Brigham Young University, completed her undergraduate degree at BYU and went to Suffolk University Law School in Boston. "One thing you've got to remember is that your reputation starts the first day of law school," said Latu. "If you're known as the partier, trust me, when you start calling your classmates when you get out into the field, that reputation will follow you... Wherever you end up [going to law school] , know that you're building your professional reputation in the classroom." After graduating from the J. Reuben Clark Law School in 2007, attorney Mario Arms, J.D., Of Counsel at Brown Law and Managing Partner at his own firm, began his post-graduate career as a broker for Fidelity Investments before coming back to law in 2010. •- Knowing he would be successful in his career, Arras said he felt a responsibility to reach out to the Spanish-speaking community because of his background. "The biggest thing issue I had was that I was a first-generation Mexican immigrant," Arras said. "Part of my complex was to reach across so that when people become prosecutors they stop and determine that the next Mexican or the next minority they bump into is not just one of those that gets covered by the media.'" Other panelists at the Diversity in Law Night included attorney Diana Hardy, J.D., Nick Villa, a business and estate planning attorney with Haymond Law, law student Jason Harmon, Associate Professor of Law Kevin Oates, J.D. of Drexel University and attorney Maoputasi Young, J.D. respectively. The University of Utah S. J. Quinney College of Law and the Brigham Young University J. Reuben Clark Law School are the only graduate law school programs in Utah. Bringing home conflict diamonds If you combine Lord of War with Blood Diamonds, that was my story. LYNN FAUSETT Author of Crimes of Humanity PHOTO COURTESY/STOCK XCHNG Dr. Elaine Englehardt, student Daniel McNeil and author Lynn Fausett will bring the issue of greed outweighing ethics in a library auditorium panel discussion. By Nicole Shepard Assistant News Editor Twitter @NicoleEShepard When working in a culture where murder is justifiable, the idea of global business ethics falls away. This concern launched the Center for the Study of Ethics to invite UVU alumnus and author of Crimes of Humanity, Lynn Fausett, to speak to the goal of awareness and hopefully changed attitudes. "As consumers, why do we think we need diamonds?" McNeil said. "As a tool they are necessary, but as a commodity? Why are we willing to compromise our integrity for something that sparkles?" Fausett has years of experience in the diamond industry of Liberia. "If you combine Lord of War with Blood Diamonds, that was my story," Fausett said. After approximately seven months of being unable to leave the country because of flooding and civil war, Fausett's first trip to Liberia was more perilous than profitable. His second trip turned out to be DAN PERRY Coordinator of Geomatics 77 PHOTO COURTESY/STOCK XCHNG The Geomatics program was approved by the Utah Board of Regents in 2010. A new major to look at: Geomatics Geomatics is one of the newest bachelor's and two-year associate's programs now available at UVU By Kaili Spear Twitter @KailiSpear 4 students about the current reality of the African diamond industry. Global business is the new frontier. Dr. Elaine E. Englehardt, Distinguished Professor of Ethics and Special Assistant to the President, with Daniel McNeil, Digital Media senior, have worked to bring the dark realities of working in a global economy to students' attention. "I want to help students understand that global business goals are quite different than goals you'd find in the U.S," Dr. Englehardt said. "Others will do what they think they have to do: lie, cheat, kill even." McNeil, whose senior project is a documentary focused on African conflict diamonds, is working with The biggest hurdle we're facing is that most people don't even know what Geomatics is. News Writer PP The Center for the Study of Ethics invites Lynn Fausett to discuss greed, conflict diamonds and Utah Valley IA far more dangerous than the first. Diamonds were found in a gold mine Fausett worked with, and the Liberian government took interest. "I spent the next year of my life going through deep jungles, digging for diamonds and running from soldiers," Fausett said. "I was chased, I was beat up a number of times, and thrown in prison twice." Once home, Fausett needed to cope with what he had seen. "When I got home a lot of the other guys that went to Africa had PTSD and nightmares, so they went to doctors and were medicated," Fausett said. "I wrote as See DIAMONDS, A4 UVU is known for its wide variety of bachelor's degrees, and one of the newest programs at the university is geomatics. Geomatics involves the study of maps and space on, above, or below the surface of the earth. This field covers surveying, GPS and software development for areas including Google maps, remote sensing and legal work. Dr. Sowmya Selvarajan, assistant professor of geomatics, said the 2010 labor statistics showed there was no job shortage for those with a geomatics degree. The Bureau of Labor Statistics website showed all occupations related to geomatics were experiencing a hiring increase of at least 16 percent. "The biggest hurdle we're facing is that most people don't even know what Geomatics is," said Professor Dan Perry, coordinator for the Geomatics program. "If we were in Europe, you would know what geomatics meant from grade school." The Geomatics program is also involved with a variety of projects , including an archeology project in Israel. Using remote sensing, those in the program were able to explore and map out an underground village. The department has received a grant to have the campus photographed using a laser scanner. This will help create an accurate picture of the university and produce a 3-D model of campus. Students in the geomatics program also participate in various competitions involving hand and digital mapmaking Two students will be going to an event at the Utah State Capitol called Maps on the Hill, where they will present their maps with other colleges and professionals from around Utah. Geomatics classes began in fall 2011, but the program had already been approved by the Utah Board of Regents in December 2010. Four students will graduate with a B.S. in Geomatics this spring. For more information about the degree, go to www.uvu.edu/geomatics or set up an appointment to meet with an advisor at (801) 863-8648. |