Boston College Law SchoolDigital Commons @ Boston College Law School

The Alledger Law School Archive

10-13-1995

The Alledger, volume 16, number 03The Alledger

Follow this and additional works at: http://lawdigitalcommons.bc.edu/alledgerPart of the Legal Education Commons, and the Legal History, Theory and Process Commons

This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Law School Archive at Digital Commons @ Boston College Law School. It has beenaccepted for inclusion in The Alledger by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ Boston College Law School. For more information,please contact nick.szydlowski@bc.edu.

Recommended CitationThe Alledger, "The Alledger, volume 16, number 03" (1995). The Alledger. Book 78.http://lawdigitalcommons.bc.edu/alledger/78

------------------------------------------------------ --

VOLUME 16, NUMBER 3 BOSTON COLLEGE LAW SCHOOL OCTOBER 13, 1 995

USN ews admits ranking is incorrect Soifer, Lutch point to the data; US News 'thinks' it's wrong By Brian E. Falvey Editor-in-Chief

When Boston College Law School's ranking dropped from 24th to 26th in the nation - changing its status from a "Top Tier" to "Second Tier" law school, ac­cording to US News & World Report ­many students began pointing their fin­gers at the administration. The adminis­tration responded by pointing its finger at US News & World Report, as well as other law schools, citing inaccuracies in the data. The general student reaction was, "sour grapes."

rarely hear from 100% of them. Under the old reporting method, and still-current NALP (National Association for Law Placement) method, a school could report the percentage employed of the students they knew about as the percentage for the entire class.

"Schools got to assume that the stu­dents they didn't know about were em­ployed in the same proportion as those that they did know about," said Robert Morse, Director of Research and Data Analysis at US News & World Report. "Let's assume that a school has 100 gradu­ates and they know of the status of 50 of those 100, and 40 of the 50 that they know about have jobs, they could report [that] 80% [of the class had jobs six months after graduation]."

The controversy revolves around a change in placement reporting. The figure at issue is the percentage of graduates employed six months after graduation, which accounts for a total of about 11% of a school's overall rankirig. Since this data is collected from recent graduates who live literally all ~ver the world, schools

Under the new method, which BCLS adhered to, "instead of assuming nonreporting graduates hold jobs, which

Continued on page 7 Soifer is visibly upset about the rankings error.

New library to open on time First phase of major rebuilding plan ahnost done By Jonathan Elgart, lL Alledger Staff

Students and faculty can look forward to greatly expanded facilities and state-of­the-art technology when the new library opens January 8.

The most welcome news for many will be that each floor has rest rooms, water fountains, :·and copy machines. However, library us~rs will also find much more stack spac~ and study space, a more pleas­ing architeCtural environment, and heat­ing and air conditioning somewhat in line with current weather conditions.

The library is the long-awaited first phase of the Law School's major rebuild­ing plan. Conceived in the late '80s, the plan envisions replacing the Barry Wing

and Stuart House with new buildings and renovating the Kenny Cottle Wing which holds the current library.

In 1992, Dean Coquillette appointed a building committee composed of faculty, students and staff that performed a series of need analyses. The result is the combi­nation of familiar comforts with up-to­date technology and architecture that make up the new library.

"I don't think you 'II find it hard to find a nice study space in the new library," promised Library Administrator Michael Mitsukawa. Study space will be signifi­cantly expanded, from about 130 carrels in the current library to 188 in the new. Therefore, "We have more opportunity to offer the reserved carrel privilege to stu­dents in the new facility." Furthermore,

The new library comes complete with patios and landscaping.

there will be four locked reserved carrels. Mitsukawa explained, "These are basi­cally like mini-offices which would be used by faculty on sabbatical, visiting scholars, and students with handicaps -blind students, or students in wheelchairs - to accommodate the technology that helps them do their studying."

Another helpful feature of the new library will be the five meeting rooms, available for interviews, among other pur­poses. They can be used "rather than tak­ing faculty offices," advertised Mitsukawa.

Throughout the library, "each of the carrels and most of the tables ... will be provided with a data connection which will allow a stu9ent access to EagleNet," the campus-wide data network, according to Mitsukawa, who is "pretty optimistic about [EagleNet] working for the start of the new semester," and even more so for the beginning of next year.

In any case, the carrels will have elec­trical outlets for the use oflaptop comput­ers. Laptops will be encouraged in most parts of the library. Although the policy is "currently being worked out amongst li­brary staff," Mitsukawa stated, "we think that the policy - rather than restricting laptops to a certain area, we would flip it - that we could have a certain area in the library where it's quiet so people who have not acclimated themselves to the laptop white noise can be assured of some quiet space. "As technology becomes more and more prevalent in the law school cur­riculum, we just can't restrict laptops in the library."

Continued on page 4

COMMENT

• Jeff Kopf blasts Congress' attack on environmentalism.

-PAGE 2

FROLIC & BANTER • OJ Top Ten for 1 ~s.

-PAGE 14

SPORTS

• Soccer team ready to roll ... in the dough.

REVIEW

• Comedy wedding a 'must see.'

-PAGE5

-PAGE7

Page 2 • THE ALLEDGER • October 13, 1995

eol\1MEN1'

Lawless Congress sets bad example Radical enviromnentalists copy disregard for the law By Jeff Kopf, 3L For The Alledger

A strange thing is happening on the environmental front- a resurgence of good old fashioned Monkey Wrenching that would warm Edward Abbey's heart (The "Monkey Wrench Gang" fought back against the destruction of a desert wilder­ness by cutting down billboards, sabotag­ing heavy equipment, etc.). Green Peace Zodiacs are out cutting illegal driftnets. A group calling themselves "Elves for Habi­tat" have threatened to resume tree spik­ing in Idaho's Nez Perce National Forest (and this time they threaten to use ceramic spikes that would destroy saw blades but not set off metal detectors). Earth First! members infutriated Maine officials when they glued shut the doors at the Depart­ment of Transportation protesting plans to build a cargo port on one of Maine's few remaining pristine islands.

Senators and Congressmen piously express their outrage at the "lawlessness_" of these acts and blame "extreme radi­cals" with little regard for the law. Con­gress has only itself to blame, however, for the resurgence of environmental activ­ism. Congress has made a m()ckery_ of environmental laws this summer sending out the clear message that if you dislike a law, ignore it. That some environmental­ists have chosen to act with similar disre­gard to other laws in a last ditch effort to save a few remnants of wilderness should be lauded rather than condemned.

The "Salvage Rider," attached to the 1995 Rescissions Act (which also con-

tained budget-cutting and disaster relief appropriations too popular to oppose), exemplifies the 1 04th Congress' disre­gard for environmental law. Congress passed the Rider in violation of numerous House and Senate Rules. The Rider man~ dates that any timber sale prepared, adver­tised, awarded, or logged under its provi­sions will be automatically, "deemed to satisfy the requirements of all applicable federal laws and rules." In other words, you can forget about the Endangered Spe­cies Act, Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, National Forest Management Act, Na­tional Environmental Policy Act, Clean Water Act, and Safe Drinking Water Act; the mainstay environmental laws for the last generation no longer matter to the current Congress.

The Rider, dubbed "logging without laws" by environmental organizations, set the stage for other egregious attempts by Congress to dispense with this country's environmental laws. Senator Slade Gorton introduced a new version of the Endan­gered Species Act which he admitted was written by lobbyists from companies such as Chevron, Kaiser Aluminum, and the American Forest and Paper Association. Instead of requiring federal agencies to insure that federal actions not harm en­dangered species, the "new and improved" Endangered Species Act requires the fed­eral government merely to take its best shot at protecting endangered species, and only to the extent that saving a species does not interfere with anybody's eco­nomic interests. Secretary of the Interior Babbit noted that he could sum up Senator

Editorial Reply By Christian A viza, 2L, Associate Editor

The A/ledger editorial staff would like to thank Ms. Linda Puis who was astute enough to pick up on our grave Latin error. In our piece covering the fine attributes of a first class female legal scholar, Ms. Diane Wilkerson, we forgot to check on the correct gender derivative of the Latin word alumnus. Our staff tries not to invoke gender based stereotypes and thus chose the singular neutral form of the Latin noun. Please excuse our attempt at "invoking" Latin.

Boston College Law School 885 Centre Street • Newton, MA 021-59

(617) 552-4339

The Alledger is produced by the students of Boston College Law School. Views presented herein represent those of the author and do not necessarily express the opinions of The Alledger staff, Boston College, or Boston College Law School. Submissions from our readers are welcome, provided they include the name and telephone number of the author. The Alledger reserves the right to edit, adapt, revise and check all submissions to have them conform with the standards and style of The Alledger. © 1995, The Boston College Law School Alledger

STAFF Editor-in-Chief .. .. .... .. ............................ .. .. .. ....... : ........ Brian E. Falvey ·

News Editor .. .. ........... .. .. .... .. ...... .. ............. .. ........ ....... Michael O'Brien

Sports Editor ........................................... .................... .. David Charapp

Associate Editor ............................................. .. ............. Christian A viza

Cartoonist .................................. ............................. .. .... .. David London

STAFF WRITERS Channing Bennett • Michael DiChiara • Laurie Doyle

Jonathan Elgart • Jill Guzzetti • Jake Lesser • Colleen Manning Colbe Mazzarella • Doug McLaughlin • Ed McMahon

John Megara • Joseph Rosen

Gorton's new ESA in just seven words: "The Endangered Species Act is hereby repealed."

Congress considered numerous other bills which would undo the effects of environmental legislation this summer. One bill would have eliminated America's newest National Park, the Mojave Na­tional Preserve in California. Congress also considered giving away all 268 mil­lion acres of public lands overseen by the BLM (Bureau of Logging and Mining) including rare ancient forest, scenic desert and other critical habitat. Recently, Con­gress voted to open up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for oil development. -

"Radical environmentalists" are not the only ones copying Congress' disre­gard for the law. In light of a Congress that shows no respect for environmental laws, federal agencies are feeling similarly un­constrained. For instance, this summer the United States Fish and Wildlife Service

set the stage for delisting the grizzly bear from the Endangered Species List in cer­tain regions of the lower 48. Although Fish and Wildlife proudly trumpets that it has reached its "recovery plan population goals" in the Yellowstone region, these neglect to mention that there are currently fewer grizzly bears in the lower 48 today than when the bear was first placed on the Endangered Species list in the early 70's. Why the delisting? Perhaps because the grizzly stands in the path ofNoranda Gold, a multi-million dollar corporation that wants to mine the Absaroka range on the border of Yellowstone Park.

If Congress disapproves of "radical en­vironmentalists" who break the law, mem­bers of Congress themselves should start showing a little respect for this, nation's environmental laws. If Congress continues its lawless example, Congress itself must take the blame for all the "Elves" who will inevitably come out of the forests.

Student consensus: 90% say O.J. did it Fuhrman issue race, credibility By O'Brien Alledger Staff

In a survey conducted last week, 96 BC Law students took the opportunity to voice their opinions on the Simpson ver­dict. The survey questioned students' atti­tudes about the verdict reached and the attorneys that participated in the trial, as well as the overarching "Fuhrman" ques­tion.

67% of the respondents found the ver­dict to be "reasonable," with the remain­ing 33% finding the verdict "unreason­able." 8% of those who found the verdict unreasonable did not have a problem with the "not guilty" decision, but voiced con­cern about the jury's short deliberation period of approximately 3 hours. One student stated, "I think the lawyers and judge did their job but the jury failed to do theirs." Another commented, "No matter what their verdict was, I think that [the jury] should have deliberated consider­ably longer."

Although the majority of respondents found the verdict reasonable, few students indicated a belief in the probable inno­cence of Simpson. An overwhelming 90% stated their belief that Simpson was "prob­ably guilty" or "guilty beyond a reason­able doubt." The remaining 10% thought that Simpson was "probably innocent" with no respondents indicating a belief that he was "innocent beyond a reason­able doubt."

Several students attested to a conflict between their knowledge of the criminal justice system and their personal notion of justice. "Although I found the verdict to be reasonable given the law, I was ex­tremely disappointed," was a comment representative of many others.

Students were questioned about their direct knowledge of the actual proceed­ings in court. As a group, those finding the verdict unreasonable had watched more live trial footage. 50% of them had seen 10 or more hours of live trial coverage as opposed to 32% of those who found the verdict reasonable. However, the 2 re­spondents who stated that they had seen more than 100 hours of live footage, one of whom worked for the Simpson defense team, were in the minority group attesting to Simpson's probable innocence.

The future attorneys at B.C. indi­cated more respect than disrespect for the attorneys that argued the case. 56% held the defense team in a high or very high regard, as opposed to 19% that had a low or very low opinion of them. The remaining students expressed ambiva­lence. 46% stated that they held the prosecution team in high or very high regard, while 23% expressed a low or very low opinion of them with the re­maining respondents stating their am­bivalence. This survey appeared to re­inforce the position that the defense team was composed of "great" attor­neys while the prosecution treaded a sea of competence and boredom. 29% of all students held the defense "dream team" in very high regard, while 4% expressed the same thought of the pros­ecution.

Concerning the defense "attack" on Mark Fuhrman, few law students implied that it was only a "race card." Only 6% asserted that the primary issue behind the attack was racial. 35% believed that the primary issue was one of credibility. The largest group of 59% _ indicated that the two issues of race and credibility were bound together.

October 13, 1995 o THE ALLEDGER o Page 3

WHY Q.

A. BECAUSE I E .• · c···~ E-··

' . ·. : .. ! .. ~·' .

. UNT For more than 25 years, BARIBRI has guided

· over 500,000 students through law school and the bar exam!

BAR REVIEW

Tl\1

Let the POWER OF EXPERIENCE work for you

Page 4 • THE ALLEDGER • October 13, 1995

RES IPSA LICORICE by David London

SO, HOW S. -n-1~ f<£9JMC DROP l-JORKI"-lG O\JI

fOP- YOJ ?

No\ 'fbo u:£,U, .I'M AFRAID. rM HOfl}-.)6 111£ l..OT1tRI.{ 9-/STEM ~IU,... COM£ "(J.IROJ6J/.

··~ .. . . WE DON'T PAY •HII'\ HE WOR!<-S FOR FREE TO GAIN VALUABLE

. J'OB E'I-PERIENC.E. .

1'1"\ PUTTING YOU IN CH~f\GE OF THE PTG PROJE..C.T 1

PTG STAND5 -FOR. ''PAPER­T()WEL GUY"

<.5 ~ w >--< u 15 z >-"' "' w a: ::J

~ 0 w >-z ::J LL 0 z 0 u; "' :i1 a: w 0..

>-"' 0 w >-z 0: 0.. w a: >-0: w

"' -' 15

Top 10 Reasons Why lLs Would Have Made Great Jurors in the Simpson Case by Jill Guzzetti, lL and Colleen Manning, lL Alledger Staff

10. Big juice drinkers! (we hear o.j. is

free in L.A.)

9. Great lockers to keep our jury note­.books in.

8. Our Tuesday class schedule has pre-pared us well for jury sequestration.

7 . Well prepared for cameras in the court-room- We are the MTV generation.

6. Celebrity nothin' ... We've got our own NFL·star!

' 5. For those of us who are dateless, we'd

at least get conjugal visits!

4. Like the real jurors, we don't know

hpw to properly analyze a case yet!

3. As far as we know, there was no testimony during "Must See T.V."

2. We know for a fact the Brentwood Estate constitutes a "dwelling house."

1. Yeah, we can B.S. at 8:30 in ·the morning too, Johnny!

Architecture, technology, temperature fmally make it into the 90's Continued from page 1

A crucial decision yet to be made is the composition of the new computer lab. According to current plans, there will be 29 computers and four printers, but the building committee has not yet decided how many computers and printers will be ffiM-compatible and how many will be Macintosh. Library Administrator Sharon O'Conner acknowledged both the diffi­

culty of the decision and the

unacceptability of fhepresents ituation

with only one mM print station. "There

won't be a perfect answer," she said. "We

just hope there's a better answer." The library will feature eight enclosed

group study rooms, each with enough space for 6-12 people. Besides the whiteboards and coat racks, the group study areas will feature a range of audio-visual services.

Every seat at the tables will have electric data jacks. Each room will have a television monitor suspended from the ceiling, and

students can connect their computers di­rectly to these televisions.

"They just need a simple cable ... and

they can shoot their data up to the monitor,"

explained Mitsukawa. "Students can just

check out a cable from the reference desk." There will also be audio-visual resource

areas, "equipped with a VCR as well as a 13-inch monitor," as Mitsukawa described.

f )Nt{.e also hope to have on opening day"

laser disc and other services in these areas. The idea is to allow individual students access to this technology without having to

reserve an entire group study room. In the basement- or frrst level, "Boston

College now has a standard that suggests ·

the word 'basement' is not an appropriate

designation," said O'Connor- will be twin centers for Lexis and Westlaw training with ten workstations each. Here again, Mitsuk­awa said, "we could also take the data from any of the workstations in the room and project it up through the video system."

There also is a CD-ROM legal re­search lab on the ground floor (or second level). Pending adequate funding, there

will be Lexis and W estlaw access from

this lab as well. "That's definitely planned

for this area," promised Mitsukawa. In the face of all this technology, "we

are still committed to books," Mitsukawa noted, pointing out stack locations on the floor plans including innovative "com­pact stacks." These are stacks mounted on rollers with no aisle space between each shelf unit. At the push of a button, a researcher can cause an aisle to open up at

the desired location. This technology al­lows many more infrequently used vol­

umes to be stored in a given space. "The plan is to have the compact stacks

fortheperiodicalsthatareolderthan 1980,"

O'Conner explained. If usage warrants,

more of the open stacks can be compacted,

so that, according to Mitsukawa, "we can

devote what was open stack to more class­room space or table space."

One portion of the top, or fourth, level

will be devoted to the "Massachusetts Collection." This will be a special stack area devoted to the Massachusetts materi­

als that are the primary attraction for prac­

ticing attorneys. The shelves will be only 54 inches high, to keep an open view at eye level, and the area will have its own

study facilities. Mitsukawa said, "We think that this will be a nice draw for the attor­

neys who are registered to use our facility as well as our alumni community.

"The rare book collection will be

housed in a suite of rooms, whose public area is designed around a fireplace from the White House. The fireplace was in­stalled there in the early 19th century and removed during the Truman Administra­

tion; somehow it found its way to the

faculty library in Stuart House, and now to

the new library," expecting it to become

"the law school ceremonial space." He

predicted that "people are going to be very pleased with the interior of this space."

Mitsukawa expressed pride in this and the other, "very handsome architectural details" of the library, especially the ca­thedral ceilings with "exposed trusses

wrapped in red oak veneer." The oriel windows- the ones angling out from the

exterior walls on the third and fourth lev­els- are the location of some prime seat­

ing. Of course, even those seats have elec­

tric and data outlets, "so that someone

curled up on the window seat can still

pound away on his or her computer."

Functionally, Mitsukawa was glad to

see that all the library staff would be housed together on the ground floor. "In libraries, it's traditional to put the technical staff in the

basement, away from the public," he said.

"We've made a conscious decision to bring everybody to the same level not only be­cause it creates a greater sense of commu­

nity for the staff but also [because] it makes us more available to students and faculty."

Mitsukawa called a central atrium with

sky lights, "a nice detail," but he acknowl­edged, "One of the concerns that many

students had who saw the initial plans was, 'Gee, you know, you have an atrium; isn't that going to be a big noise funnel?"' The

architects, Earl R. Plans burgh & Associates addressed this acoustical problem in their design so it should not be a problem.

"The construction project has really

gone very quickly," Mitsukawaexclaimed. "We had a very mild winter so they ac­

complished a great deal." Ground breaking

was June 28 oflast year, and the staff will begin moving in the books this ·December

22, a span of less than 18 months. Opti­mism is high. "We've been in the building a couple of times and we think it looks very nice," claimed Mitsukawa.

Whither thy old library? "In the short term," said O'Connor, "I think it's likely

that Kenny Cottle will have to be used as swing space," during the razing and re­

building of the Barry Wing, Phase II of the

reconstruction plan. Phase III is the reno­vation of Kenny Cottle, and so in the near

term, "we don't know the University's

plans for it at the moment." Meanwhile, the name of the new li­

brary is still up for grabs to a lucky donor who would help defray the $11.3 million

construction ·cost. Musing that the chair­man of Fruit of the Loom is a distin­

guished B.C. Law graduate, both

0 'Connor and Mitsukawa said they would not mind seeing "Fruit of the Loom Li­

brary." If you have a better idea, and a

seven-figure sum to back it up, please contact the Development Office, lest we

all give new meaning to legal briefs.

SPORTS October 13, 1995 • THE ALLEDGER • Page 5

Rosen answers life's questions By Joe Rosen, lL, Alledger Columnist

So many people have so many opinions on sports that I figured you wouldn't mind one more. Actually, I think this column is very insightful as I will provide you with the answers to the top ten questions I'm sure you have been contemplating for the last couple of weeks.

1) Who is the most overpaid athlete on the planet? This is a very tough question because there are so many. I am

tempted to say Drew Bledsoe. I mean, I know the guy has tremendous talent, but for 50 million dollars, future-hall-of-fame face, you better get me·a couple of scores. Other names come to mind as well. How about Scott Mitchell of the Detroit Lions or John Williams of the Cleveland Cavaliers? ~u.t the winner is ... DarrylStrawberry.ldon't care if the guy is making minimum wage, which is $162,000 per year. That's about $162,000 per year more than ~e sho!;!ld Pe rpaking.

2) Is Deion worth it? · -Carmen Policy, the president of the Sa~ Francisco 49ers, said his

. team doesn't need Dei on. All right,, Carmen, that's not what you were saying last year at this time. · D~ion is not going to guarantee you a Superbowl, but he is sure going to help you get there. And when you add him to 'an entourage of Emmitt, Troy and Michael, you enrich a team that is already almost impossible to beat.

3) Who's better: Emmitt Smith or Barry Sanders? Emmitt in a landslide: .. n~xt question. 4) Who is the worst franchise in professional sports? First of all, the NFL expansion team.s don't count. Secondly,

we can't count the LAClippers because they ~re simply too bad to even be in this category. Before this year, I would have said the Buccaneers, but they are actually ... can I say the word? ... Decent. How about the Eagles? The simple fact that they've allowed Randall Cunningham to be their quarterback for so long could earn them the title. But I know who beats them: J-E-T-S. Jets. Jets. Jets. They actually hired Rich Kotite after he was fired by the Eagles. That's all I need to say.

5) Can the St. Louis Rams continue winning? I have this theory that there's a league within the NFL in which the

worst teams in the NFL play. Have you ever noticed that the Rams, Buccaneers, Colts, Redskins, Cardinals, Falcons, Bengals, and now the expansion teams paly each other every single week? As soon as the Rams enter the real NFL, they'll come back down to earth.

6) Why did people cry when the USA lost the Ryder Cup? Your guess is as good as mine. OK, fine, we were winning, but give

me a break. This situation is not like the 1988 Olympic Games, where the Men's Basketball team only won the bronze. They should have won the gold. There was no excuse for them not doing so. Face it, people, Europe has better golfers than we do. They are better, they played better, and they should have won. Is it really such a tragedy? Come on, it is professional golf.

7) What are the Philadelphia 76ers doing? They are giving the term "second chance" new meaning. Last year,

they went out and hired John Lucas, who, as a player, was reinstated into the NBA about 600 times after drug problems.OK, fine, I have no problem with that. Lucas is a very good coach. Then, suddenly this year, the Sixers go out and sign Richard Dumas - who has tremendous talent but tremendous drug problems as well - and Vernon Maxwell, who left a world championship team because of emotional problems. Dumas and Maxwell are both great players when their heads are in the game, but how often will their heads be there?

8) Who are the AL and NL Most Valuable Players? Asmuchasidon'trespecttheRedSox,IstillhavetogiveMo Vaughn

his due respect. Albert Belle may be the league's best player this year, but Vaughn is the most valuable. He has taken an otherwise mediocre team and brought them a division crown. In the NL, how about Sammy Sosa? He may not get a lot of votes because the Cubs aren't in the playoffs, but he gets mine. Talk about a team with nobody. All right, Mark Grace is a player too, but Sosa put a very below average team on his back and brought them to the brink ofthe wildcard.

9) Is OJ guilty? · · Come on, I thought I was answering sports questions. No com­

ment. The NFL v. Jerry Jones: Who Wins? Tell me this. what has Jerry Jones really done wrong? He tried to

make more money. Oooooooh .. .lock him up forever. I can not wait to see the NFL try to bring this case. For all you law buffs, can you say 12(b)(6)?

Continued on page 7

Hogan eyes Olympics Cites mother as major inspiration By Brian E. Falvey Editor-in-Chief

The first year of law school can seem like a marathon. It is a long haul that must be paced and timed correctly. But, when you finally cross that finish line, no matter how well you ran the race, you are inevitably exhausted. Most of us are happy to have it behind us, and would rather not think about it ever again. Not Pete Hogan. After completing the figurative first-year marathon successfully, he has decided to run one for real ­not for fun, but to take the first step in making the United States Olympic Team.

On November 12, in Columbus, Ohio, Hogan will attempt to complete a 26.2 mile marathon in under two-hours and twenty-two minutes to qualify for the US Olympic Marathon Trials: He has already completed a half-marathon in one hour and seven minutes - a pace sufficient to qualify him.

Hogan is a graduate of Boston College where he was captain of the varsity track and varsity cross-country teams. While there, he was named to both the All Big East and All New England Teams. He returned to BC as an assistant coach, a position he holds today.

"Coaching at Boston College is an ideal situation for me," said Hogan; "I am able to train while I coach, and I have access to BC's excel­lent facilities." Hogan also trains on his own as well, with the support of his corporate sponsors which include the Boston Running Cl:ub/Reebok and PR Nutrition. "The BRC provides me with excellent coaching and training partners, while PR Nutrition promotes a nutritional system that

Pete Hogan rtiris yet another ·niite.

is easy to follow, even in law school." · Maintaining his rigorous training standards

is even harder with the added pre'ssure of law school. "I spend about 20 hours a week tarining," said Hogan, "and I've found it to be a toug~ challenge trying to keep up with my law school studies."

It takes more than just an average person to accomplish what Hogan is accomplishing-. Th~s. his parents have been instrumental in his running success. "My dad taught me the importal1C:~Qf ~ _work_ethic," he said1 ''a hard work ¢thic.if Hew~ ever, bis mother is h1s1iu-gest sour~e of iiisPi'rat tion. "My main motivation-for running is my mom, who is handicapped with Polio. I hope to qualify for the Olympic Trials for her."

'Big Least' back again Out-of-conference record despicable By Brian E. Falvey Editor-in-Chief

Here they come again - the critics of the Big East, or "Big Least," as they like to call it. The difference this year is that they may be right. For the first time in the history of the conference, no Big East teams were ranked in any of the Top 25 national polls on September 25. In fact, it was the first time in ten years that perennial Big East champion Miami has been absent from the in­dex. The critics may be on to something. The coaches disagree.

"It's too early to make an accurate comment on it," said Syracuse coach Ron Pasqualoni, "By the end of November we 'II be able to; I think it all comes out in the wash." Pasqualoni' s attitude reflects prevailing · sentiment of many of the conference's coaches: wait and see.

"I think that when it's all said and done at the end of the year, there will be some teams in the top 20," said Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer, "it's not where you start, but where you finish, and I think that's true for the Big East, too. It's not where we are right now, but where we'll be at the end of the year." Eagles' coach Dan Henning echoed that thought. "I believe that by the end of the 1995 season there will be some teams from the Big East in the top 25."

The coaches must be either very optimistic or in states of denial. The fact of the matter is that the Big East is 8 and 17 against non-conference opponents this season. And what does .all that mean?

Stalin. Colinet (99) and Nick Gianacakos take down Demetrius Harris.

"It's a good league; it's a strong league," alleged Beamer. "A very tough conference," added Pasqualoni. Temple coach Ron Dickerson even claimed, "I've said it all along, [the Big East] is a powerhouse." The only coaches with any sense of reality have been Henning and Miami coach Butch Davis.

"Our early season out-of..:conference sched­ule has been tough on us, having to play OniO State and Michigan who are both in the Top 1 0';" Henning admitted, and "it doesn't get any easier, especially on the road [against the Big Ten's Michigan State]." He proved himself a prophet by dropping that game, too.

Continued on page 6

.-============~~----------------------~ - --- --- - - - - ---~--------------

Page 6 • THE ALLEDGER • October 13, 1995

SPORTS LSA kicks around soccer$ proposal By John Megara, lL Alledger Staff

Fliers posted during the first week of law school which read in bold face print, "Draw Blood, Relieve Stress" and "Li­ability Free Torts", could only appeal to, two groups of people: law students and soccer players. For the co-coordinators of Boston College Law School's co-ed soc­cer team, Geoff Howell~ 3L, and Tom Lynch, 3L, the fliers were a huge success.

"We got 50 names on the first day of school. About 30 were ILs," said co­coordinator Geoff Howell. In addition to pick up games on Tuesdays and Thurs­days, the soccer team plays games in the Boston Ski and Sports Club Fall Soccer League on Sunday's. "With the enthusi­asm and skill of the [BCLS] soccer team,

we should have no problem dominating this league," said player Dave Colleran, IL. This isn't just idle talk. The team is undefeated at 4-0. "We have many, many good players; we are very deep," said Howell. "Everybody has contributed.,-,

The soccer team is also seeking contri­butions from the Law Students Associa­tion (LSA) in the form of funding. The team requested $2,000 from the LSA for 1995-1996 academic year, according to Geoff Howell. This request includes par­ticipation in three different leagues, at about $500 per league, and referee and field fees for the spring. The money will also help "subsidize a couple of different indoor teams in the winter," said Howell.

"Soccer will get some kind of money," said LSA treasurer Dan Hampton, 3L. The LSA did not reach a decision on the

FREE

amount of funding soccer would receive at a budget meeting on Tuesday, Septem­ber 26. Dan Hampton said, "The Board wanted a better sense of how much indi­vidual players were going to pay" before making a decision. The LSA already funds hockey, basketball and softball at $1,320, $280 and $180 respectively, according to last year's data. If the soccer team's fund­ing is approved, it may have a larger budget than all other sports combined.

The big question is: Where will the money to fund the team come from? Hamp­ton said, "We found some money, [about $3,600], from graduation two years ago that we didn't know we had." In addition, the Law School's crew and rugby teams, which were allotted a total of $855 last year, are both disbanded and will not receive funding. "We'll have an opportu-

MPREREVIEW ANNOUNCING OUR LOCATIONS FOR THE NOVEMBER M.P.R.E. REVIEW

***NOTE: All classes will run from 9:00a.m. to 5:30p.m.

LIVE LECTURE Fashion Institute of Technology

VIDEOTAPE LECTURES

Albany Law School Buffalo Law School Georgetown University Hofstra Law School NYU Law School Syracuse Marriot Melville Marriott

Sunday, October 15, 1995 Amphitheater - Main Floor • Enter at 7th Ave. and 27th Street

Saturday, October 21, 1995

Law School - Room 17 O'Brien Hall - Room 107 Law School - Room 156 Law School - Room 23 8 Vanderbilt Hall - Room 11 0 Basin Room will be Posted Board Room (1st Fl.) will be Posted

Walk-ins are welcome or call 1-800-635-6569 to reserve a seat. Each student that attends will also receive a free 250 page M.P .R.E. Review

Book containing text and 150 M.P.R.E. questions.

Test Date: Regular Application Deadline: Late Application Deadline:

Friday, November 10, 1995 October 13, 1995 November 1, 1995

nity to get some of the money they aren't using," said Howell.

With participation high and funding by the LSA imminent, the future of the Boston College Law School intramural soccer team looks bright. The team is not content to play just in the local leagues, however. According to Geoff Howell, "The goal is to go up against other law and graduate schools in the spring."

Hurricanes battered by injury storm Continued from page 5

Davis gave an equally candid assess­ment of his struggling (1 -3) Hurricanes. "I don't know what the perception around the league is from other coaches [about the Big East]," he said, "but we're still a young football team and we're going to continue to strive to get better."

The youth Davis was referring to is the aggregate of 5 seniors on the team, two of whom are kickers, the other three on of­fense. Miami lost defensive stars Warren Sapp (first round) and Pat Riley (second round) to the NFL draft, and leading rush­ers James Stewart and AI Shipman to the same source. In addition, the Hurricanes lost six seniors to injuries either during, or prior to this season. The net result is a 6 true/red-shirt freshman defensive front, and virtually no experience in the offen­sive backfield. Miami is rebuilding.

"We're forced to play a lot of guys that probably have no business playing at this particular stage of their careers," said Davis, "the upside is that we're getting an awful lot of guys experienced who will turn into good players somewhere down the line." Unfortunately, Miami's future potential is of little help to the Big East's current problems.

The good news about Miami not being in the forefront is that the Big East Cham­pionship is wide open this season. "I thought the race was a scramble all along," claimed Henning, "but don't look down your nose at Miami. Miami will be in the race, and if they're not, it'll be a shock." Given the apparent weakness of the con­ference this year, it will be a shock if Temple is not in the race!

At any rate, this could be Boston College's year. Despite a meager 2 and 3 record, the Eagles are undefeated (2-0) in the Big East standings, having already beaten Pittsburgh and Virginia Tech;

If the Eagles can win big games against teams like Syracuse, they have a great opportunity to take the title and go to the Orange or Sugar Bowl. Even Brent Mus berger pointed it out. "There are a lot of reasons to be optimistic about this BC team," he said, speaking of their hopes to take the Big East and go to a major bowl.

Temple's Ron Dickerson made his hopeful prediction. "It's early in the sea­son, and I think our conference teams will rebound and perform well before the season's over."

For the Big East's sake, they better rebound sooner than later. Wait and see.

REVIEW October 13, 1995 • THE ALLEDGER • Page 7

Tony n' Tina a slice of Italian cheese Hilariously funny off-Broadway show sure to keep you laughing By Brian E. Falvey Editor-in-Chief

Fighting in-laws; the unwanted guest;

the alcoholic priest; the video guy who just happens to be having a fling with Tina's brother; the cheesy band ("Donny

Dolce & Fusion"), complete with a five­

song Madonna medley; the disinterested photographer; and Dad's stripper girl­friend: Tony n' Tina's comedy wedding has it all, and it ' s all hilarious.

From the moment you are kissed on the cheek when you arrive at Arlington

Street Church until Tina leaves in a gold lamae bustier, black satin pants and a faux rabbit-fur jacket for her Poconos honey­moon with Tony, the laughs are non-stop. When you witness the union of Anthony

Angelo Nunzio, Jr. and Valentina Lynne

Vitale, you definitely do not feel like you

are at an off-broadway show; you feel like

you are a guest at an authentic Italian wedding.

The reality of it is accomplished by the sheer talent of the actors and actresses, consisting of many Broadway singers and

performers, who never come out of charac-

ter for any reason. It is the only place where a perfect stranger will sit down next to you and talk to you naturally, as if he or she had

known you for years. Even more, the actors

actually make you feel like you have known them for years, as they give you the "dirt" and gossip about their new in-laws. By the

end of the night, you find yourself talking to

them as if they are true personalities, and not just characters. Catching yourself doing this is half the fun.

The ceremony, at Arlington Street Church, and the reception - that you and 250 other "guests" walk to a block away at

the Boston Park Plaza Hotel - take just over three hours. The sheer entertainment and "Authentic Italian Buffet" are sure to

please, as you dance the night away to wedding favorites by a real band.

Tony n' Tina 's Wedding is the original

comedy wedding, and is, in fact, the third

longest-running show off-Broadway. In addition to playing for seven years in New York, it has traveled the world to cities including Chicago, Los Angeles, Frank­furt and Sydney. It is also the only comedy wedding in which the ceremony takes

place at a real church, augmenting the

Tony and Tina travel to their reception via rickshaw bicycle.

authenticity of the ambiance. The bottom line is that Tony n' Tina's

Wedding is dripping with melted Velveeta. Put this one between two pieces ofbread and grill it. As the people at Kraft say, "It' s the cheesiest." Of course, in terms of com­

edy weddings, that also makes it the fun­

niest.

Shows are presented Wednesday

through Saturday evenings in addition to limited matinees. The tickets range from $35 to $45, but are a real steal given the pure fun that awaits.

I must, however, clue you in to the one

downside to Tony n' Tina's Wedding:

Sorr).r, but the bar isn't open!

The proof is in the pudding: the numbers just don't add up Continued from page 1 favors schools with low reporting rates,

only one fourth of the 'unknowns' are in­

cluded in the percent of the class employed six months after graduation," according to US News & World Report. In Morse's ex­ample, the reported percentage drops from 80% to about 53% using the new method. Since it accounts for approximately 11% of the total score, this number has a large effect on a school's ranking.

"Placement itself counted 20% in the overall ranking, and 'Percent Employed at Six Months' counted 55% of that 20%.

So, it counted approximately 11% of the

overall survey. It was an important fig­ure," said Morse, who acknowledged, "The

reason [BCLS] ranked out of the top 25 was because of [its] placement rank."

Boston Coilege 's placement rank dropped 9%, moving them out of the nation's top

25 by two-tenths of a point (81.1 vs. 81 .3). The BCLS administration's allegation

is that many schools reported their place­ment figures under the old method, which

was far more generous. "They were quibbling about the fact

that [schools] were reporting the old way,"

said Morse of BCLS's charge. "Maybe

[the BCLS administration] has proof that

some schools did lie on their placement

data; they didn ' t offer it when [Senior

Associate Dean Brian Lutch] met us in May. They offered just, 'Well , we just

think it ' s so.' They don't have any proof.

Why should we think what they're saying

is credible besides the fact that they say

it's so?" In response, BCLS Dean A vi am Soifer

points to the numbers reported in OS News

& World Report by Morse himself. They very often corroborate BCLS 's claim, and even Morse, despite his denial of inaccu­racy, acknowledges that some of the data

does not logically fit together. For example, "the University of Arizona says they had

94% employed after 6 months," he said, "but they only reported 30% have salaries.

How can those two figures coincide?"

They are hard to reconcile under the new method because, as Soifer maintains,

they were probably calculated under the

old method. In fact, they are quite easily reconciled using the old method. Assum­ing that the 30% that reported salary actu­ally represents the number reporting they

had jobs, a 94% placement rate indicates that only 32% of the graduating class

reported their employment status. Con­sidering these numbers under the new method, however, the University of Ari- '

zona could only have reported that 47% of

its class had jobs six months after gradu­ation, not 94%. To its apparent detriment,

Boston College calculated its placement using the new method, resulting in a six­

month placement rate decrease from 92% in 1994, to 83% in 1995.

Rosen prophesizes Sox' fate Continued from page 5

10) Finally, can the Red Sox win the world series? Please Boston fans, don'tget mad at me, but it's really not a question of if they

are going to get swept, it's when they are going to get swept. They just don't have

the firepower to compete with the big guns. Come on Jose, prove me an idiot.

I hope you can sleep soundly now that you know the answers to these puzzling

questions. Talk to you later.

A quick examination of the rest of the statistics indicates that, despite the stricter

new method, many schools' six month

placement rate actually increased. In fact,

only six of the top 25 law schools from 1994 reported placement rates that de­creased by more than 2% from the year before. Schools like the University of California at Hastings, Boston College,

and the University ofW ashington reported decreases of 14%, 9% and 13% respec­

tively. Their respective ranks dropped accordingly from 20 to 45, 24 to 26, and 25 to 34. For the most part, the rest of the field

either improved or stayed the same, as did

their placement figures. Confronted with the numbers, Morse

responded, "if any academic has any ac­

tual proof, or direct knowledge that a school puffed up their placement data, we would certainly like to know about it. If there's some knowledge, then we would

deal with this in a public way, and I think our track record is that we will do that."

Dean Soifer and the rest of the BCLS

administration are openly frustrated by US News & World Report's response,

since they feel the data speaks for itself.

What frustrates them more is that Dean

Lutch informed US News & World Report

of the problem before it even happened.

"We alerted them that it was coming,"

said Soifer. "Brian [Lutch] sent them a

memo in February before the results were in," expressing concern about the new

placement rate calculation method. Dean Lutch specifically warned US News &

World Report that the "formula change was insufficiently highlighted in your sur­vey instrument, creating a serious poten­

tial disadvantage to those schools follow­ing the new formula, and advantage to those which continue to provide data in

NALP-formula terms." Despite Boston College's warning and

post-surveyvisit, US News & World Report

chose not to take any action last year. For the

1996 rankings coming out in March, how­

ever, the magazine has changed the way the

actual numbers are reported. ''This year, we are going to change the way we are asking the question, even though we are using the same methodology," said Morse. "We're not going to ask for schools to give us percentages; they'll have to give us the

number of people in the class, the number with jobs, and the number that are unem­ployed, so that it will have to add up. It will

make it much more difficult for [the prob­lem] to happen."

Although subsequent remedial mea­

sures are generally not admissible as

evidence ofliability, it is clear US News

& World Report changed its placement

reporting method this year to prevent an admitted mistake from recurring. Morse carefully worded his acknowledgement of last year's error. "Do I think that

some of the schools misreported - I

don't want to say misreported- misin­terpreted [the criteria]? Yes. Do I know

which ones they were? No. Do I know whether BC's charge actually has merit?

I don't know."

Elegant Limousines Professional Disc Jockeys

True Class Wedding

Specialists P.O. Box 913, Norwood, MA 02062

( 617) 762-5791 J .L. Harrold

Page 8 • THE ALLEDGER • October 13, 1995

With a $75 deposit towards any _WEST Bar Review Course

• you can receive WEST's

MPRE Course & Materials

FREE -.&

WEST Bar Review's EARLY ENROLLMENT ·

DISCOUNTED COURSE PRICES

Contact your WEST Bar Review Representative or call your

local WEST Bar Review Office for more information!·

1-617-630-8770 or

1-800-WEST -636