More Public Discourse Needed From Dean Search and Student Bar Association

Dear Cardozo Community,

The season of change is here. Spring is upon us and the new semester is well underway. Breathing new life into the office of the president, and our collective faith in the power of government to do good, Barack Obama and the Democratic majority in both houses of Congress—as well as the New York State Senate—face troubled times, as well as tremendous opportunities. The Cardozo community is similarly looking ahead to the great possibilities of change. Although we are all saddened to see Dean Rudenstine step aside at the end of this year, we hope—we expect—to see his strong and dedicated leadership and vision to continue. Likewise, our Student Bar Association has taken bold strides this year to reform and improve the function of our student government. Matthew Eiben covers some of these developments in more depth elsewhere in this issue.

However, among all of this exciting progress, The Cardozo Jurist remains concerned about the dearth of public discourse and transparency in these processes of change. As our school’s only student newspaper, we feel strongly that it is our responsibility to remain vigilant in addressing deficiencies in communication of important decisions affecting the Cardozo community.

Since The Cardozo Jurist first reported in April 2008 (see Volume I, Issue 1, page 15) that this would be David Rudenstine’s final year as dean, we have heard practically nothing about the search for a new dean. The Cardozo Jurist has learned that the search is well underway, which, in and of itself, is not particularly surprising. What is surprising is that a handful of students have had the opportunity to participate in the interview process as candidates for the Dean’s position have been narrowed down.

Having only discovered this student committee’s existence in the past few days, The Cardozo Jurist did not have the time to properly investigate the dean search process for this issue. However, we pledge to our readers to have a detailed article in our next issue. It is our position that a student dean search committee should reflect a breadth of perspectives. With a student body as diverse as Cardozo’s, this should not be a difficult task. The school has over three dozen student groups, from an Intellectual Property Law Society to chapters of the American Constitution Society and Federalist Society. The Cardozo Jurist believes many, if not all, of these varied interests should be represented when considering the choice of Cardozo’s next dean.

On a similar matter, The Cardozo Jurist is disappointed that the SBA continues to operate almost entirely in secret. While we were happy to see the periodic progress emails last semester, we wonder why the SBA has never managed to post its senate meeting minutes publicly as its own by-laws call for? And why are the planned SBA Senate meetings not announced publicly, either by school-wide email or even listed on the Docket? That the SBA is furtive is no small complaint as many important matters that would surely interest the student body occur at SBA meetings.

Among other things, the student body may be interested to learn that the SBA voted to provide food and beer at every Senate meeting, which take place every two weeks. Of course, these victuals are funded by our student groups budget. And this in spite of the SBA’s new policy this year to deny funding to student groups for food for their monthly meetings. What justifies such callous double standards? The student groups budget is for all student groups, and it is merely administered by the SBA for convenience. The student groups budget is not the SBA’s private treasury to be raided for its own benefit. The Cardozo Jurist demands that the SBA follow its own charter and by-laws and stop providing any benefit to itself that it does not allocate equally to all student groups. Announcing upcoming Senate meeting times and locations as well as posting meeting minutes should begin immediately. The Cardozo Jurist would be more than happy to provide space on its website or in these pages for such matters. This is the only meaningful way for students to be involved in their student government.

Open and public communication is the first step to recognizing the views of all members of the Cardozo community. Our variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and interests is what makes us unique and strong. To ensure the vitality of this growing community we must strive for ever more public discourse on important issues, and the process by which decisions on those issues are made must be open and transparent.

Joshua Moskovitz, 2L

Executive Editor