Georgetown Law Weekly
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Georgetown Law Weekly The Student Newspaper of Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C. “Uninhibited, robust, and wide-open” VOLUME 43 TUESDAY, NOV. 14 TO MONDAY, NOV. 20, 2006 NUMBER 10 Students Midterm elections paint Capitol Hill blue by Sunil Varghese, 3L for Choice Law Weekly Left-leaning students finally know what it feels like to be winners after last lose e-mail week's midterm elections put by Benjamin Rubinstein, 2L Democrats in control of both the House Law Weekly and Senate. As of Friday, Democrats secured 230 seats in the House and 51 The board of Law Students for seats in the Senate (including two inde- Choice (LSfC) has announced that pendents who are expected to caucus the group will be losing their law with Democrats). Eight House races are center email address this week. too close to call, and two House contests Once Information and Systems are headed for runoffs. Technology (IST) transfers the Law Center students participated in group's 300-member email list to a all aspects of the election process, put- new Gmail address, their Lawmail ting particular emphasis on keeping address will be eliminated. The abreast of current news developments group is already barred from receiv- during class and celebrating/mourning ing school funding, including funds the Democrats' victory Tuesday night. from the Student Bar Association Georgetown Law Democrats, in photo by Benjamin Rubinstein, 2L (SBA), because its views are at odds particular, made substantive contribu- Members of the Law Democrats watch the results come in at Lucky Bar in Dupont with those of the Catholic Church. tions to their party's cause. Prior to election problems. A good portion of their Black Berries) stationed around the Georgetown University is a Jesuit Election Day the organization helped the phone calls originated from Prince state. The lawyers were usually able to Institution and tends to adopt poli- direct students to volunteer candidates George's County, Baltimore County and take care of the problems on the spot. cies that are in line with its Catholic in local Democratic campaigns, includ- Baltimore City - areas with a high per- According to Law Democrats and Jesuit heritage. ing Jim Webb's Virginia senate race and centage of minorities and Democrats. President Zachary Myers, 2L, the The group is not allowed to use Ben Cardin's Maryland senate race. Election issues included: voting loca- phones rang early and often, but the the university's name in any way, On Election Day, several Law tions, information on provisional bal- volunteers, made up of predominantly which, according to both the LSfC Democrats served as poll monitors, lots, reports of fraudulent election litera- Law Center students, had fun handling board and Dana Onorato, Director while 20 to 30 worked on the Maryland ture and complaints of long lines, closed the various calls. of Student Affairs, is why the email Democratic Party's election protection polls and broken electronic poll books. The fun lasted into the night as Law is now being eliminated. According hotline. Volunteers operated telephones Students entered the more serious prob- Democrats from Georgetown, George to board members, however, the from early morning to late evening lems into a computer system, which receiving phone calls from voters with sent electronic messages to lawyers (and See ELECTIONS, page 7 See CHOICE, page 4 Summer tales plentiful at careers event Students by Tiphanie Miller, 2L Law Weekly form lobby Over thirty second- and third-year students sat at tables in the third-floor group atrium of McDonough last Wednesday afternoon for the Students by Brianne Kennedy Helping Students Summer Internship Law Weekly Fair. They were eager to share their past work experience with first-years Since Hurricanes Katrina and Rita who are just beginning to consider the struck, thousands of people from all myriad options available to them this over the country have volunteered their summer. Students offered advice and time and money in an effort to repair anecdotes while answering the numer- the damage done to the Gulf Coast and ous questions posed by the milling the lives of its residents. first-years, who learned more about Countless hearings have been held working in a wide range of fields: gov- on Capitol Hill and in statehouses ernment, international law, public throughout the region to determine defendse, the non-profit sector, law what it is that caused the initial firms, judicial internships and research response to the disasters, particularly in assistantships. Students also learned the case of Hurricane Katrina, to go as about the Law Center's study abroad badly as it did. program, all while snacking on the photo by Marika Maris, 3L Few people, however, have cookies and brownies provided by Students were out in full force to explain the intricacies of the summer stopped to think about what caused the OCS and OPICS, which sponsored the job search to their first-year peers in the McDonough Atrium damage in the first place, and how event. inquiring students all about the vari- assistant for a professor, as she had addressing it might prevent future ous benefits of working as a research Hannah Alejandro, 2L, told See PEERS, page 6 See LOBBYING, page 7 SALDF Food for Thought BCS rankings explained Politicians, Play Nice! Page 5 Page 9 Page 15 PAGE 2 GEORGETOWN LAW WEEKLY EEVVEENNTTSS TUESDAY, NOV. 14 TO MONDAY, NOV. 20, 2006 BriefsBriefsBriefsBrief Four Sudoku puzzles Fill in the grids so that every row, every column and every BriefsBriefs!BriefsBrief 3x3 box contains the digits 1 through 9 with no repeats. Brookings Institution and a colum- nist for the Washington Post, and Basketball Ticket Sales Tod Lindberg, a Research Fellow at the Hoover Institution and the Stop by McDonough Room 171 Editor of the Institute's Policy to purchase yours today! Tickets Review. The panel will be intro- will be available for Hoyas duced by Judy Feder, Dean of the Basketball vs. Ball State on Monday, Public Policy Institute, on Tuesday, Nov. 27 at 7:30 p.m. at the Verizon Nov. 14, at 6:00 p.m., in McDonough Center,starting on Nov. 13. Excellent Room 202. The panel is also spon- seats are available. On sale starting sored by the Office of Admissions Nov. 15, tickets will be available for and the Law Alumni Office. Hoyas Basketball vs. Oregon on Wednesday, Nov. 29 at 7:30 p.m. at the Verizon Center. Excellent seats are available. Hoyas Basketball tick- Technology and Voting ets are available for every home game. The Office of Student Affairs Thursday afternoon, ACS will will be selling tickets to every 2006- have a panel discussion, "Steal this 2007 home Hoyas Basketball game. Vote: Counting Your Vote in an Era All tickets will go on sale at least one of Electronic Voting Machines and week prior to each home game. Stop Billion Dollar Campaigns," featuring by McDonough Room 171 for more Jon Stokes of Ars Technica Magazine information. (describing how to hack a voting machine), Peter Vickery of Massachusetts Voters for Fair Elections (speaking on public cam- Ask an Administrator paign financing) and Professor Spencer Overton of George Ever wonder who does what Washington University (moderating around here? Who can help replace and speaking on Voting Rights). The Solution on page 11 a lost locker key? Who decides if a panel will convene at 4:00 p.m. in class is offered pass/fail? On McDonough Room 203. Food and Wednesdays, from 12:30 p.m. - 1:30 drink will be served. Contact george- Immigration, Border Security and Refreshments will be served. p.m., in the Market Café of [email protected] for more Citizenship; Esther Olivarria, Contact [email protected] with McDonough, a different administra- information. Counsel, Senator Edward Kennedy questions or for more information. tor will host a table in the Market (D-MA); Beto Cardenez, General Café each week to answer students' Counsel, Senator Kay Bailey questions. Stop by for a cookie and Hutchison (R-TX) and Professor chat. This month, John Stephens, Issues in Transgender Law Andy Schoenholtz. The panel will APALSA Panel Director of LL.M. Academic Services take place on Thursday, Nov. 16, at is scheduled for Nov. 15 and Denise Join Outlaw for a lunchtime 3:30 p.m. in McDonough Room 201. Join APALSA for lunch panel on Steeley, Registrar, will be at the Café talk on "Transgender Civil Rights," summer internships, in Hotung on Nov. 29. with Lisa Mottet, Law Center alum- 2000, on Thursday, Nov. 16, from nus and Legislative Lawyer with the 12:00 noon to 1:30 p.m. The panel National Gay and Lesbian Task Flu Shots! will feature summer associates at Force's Transgender Civil Rights U.S. and International Law firms, Drug Policy Conference Project. The talk will take place on The Student Health office will be public interest interns, judicial Thursday, Nov. 16, from 12:10 to offering additional flu shots next interns and research assistants. Food Just Say Know! The Students for 1:10 p.m. in McDonough Room 140. week for staff, students and faculty. will be provided! Sensible Drug Policy International Learn about current issues in trans- Vaccines will be administered at the Conference is just around the corner. gender law while eating free pizza! following times: Tuesday, Nov. 14, Hundreds of students from all over Questions? Contact from 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., the country will be convening at the [email protected]. Wednesday, Nov. 15, from 3:00 p.m. Homelessness Awareness Month Law Center for the conference, Nov. to 4:00 p.m. and Thursday, Nov.