Thursday, February 12, 2004
THE PENDULUM
• Page 7
NO SMOKING
Bevond This Point
The Sr«lent pn>hib}tx smoking
ft it hio iO fc« (k-wgfulcd cntrwiccx.
McEwen Smoking Ban
New signs are reminding
students of long-time
handbook policies.
See story p. 8
NEWS
Date Rape Drugs
Preventative measures
taken to prevent use
unsuccessful
See story p. 11
Elon considering Greensboro for law school location
Weighing the...
jay Dome
News Editor
Elon is considering placing a law
school in Greensboro. Location of a
possible law school is a major issue
being examined by a'feasibility task
force before its final report to the
Board of Trustees in March.
The task force, headed by
Provost Gerry Francis, is currently in
the second phase of its law school
feasibility study. This stage has
focuscd on possible locations, mis
sions and resources for a law pro
gram. During its investigation, the
task force has visited six law
schools, three with facilities on cam
pus and three with facilities off cam
pus.
Most recently, the task force has
been communicating with interested
parties in both Greensboro and
Alamance County, after determining.
that a Charlotte-based school would
not be as successful.
Greensboro officials and civic
organizations are seeking to revital
ize the downtown area and have
expressed interest in accommodat
ing a law school. Locating the law
school in downtown Greensboro
would be a way to boost the city’s
economy, said Susan Schwartz,
executive director of Action
Greensboro.
The Joseph M. Bryan Foundation
has been exploring possible loca
tions and financial resources for the
law school.
“The law school would be a pos
itive social and economic project for
the Greensboro area, which is the
goal of our organization,” said Jim
Melvin, president of the Bryan
Foundation and a founding member
of Action Greensboro. Melvin also
stressed that a law school would
attract and retain young people in the
area, a goal shared by city officials.
“We thought it was a great idea
when we heard Elon indicated they
were looking at the downtown area,”
Schwartz said. “We would work to
accommodate the needs of a pro
gram and encourage others to do so.”
“We are particularly interested in
attracting young professionals,”
said Ed Kitchen, Greensboro city
manager. “These are the people
that will go after better and higher
paying jobs, the kind of jobs that
law students look for.”
Recent and future develop
ment between Alamance and
Guilford counties would support a
decision to locate the law school
in Greensboro.
“With development naturally
occurring toward the East, the
project would help growth along
the com'dor connecting the two
counties,” Kitchen said.
Kitchen and Francis have both
praised the recent development in
western Alamance County and
have acknowledged that a
Greensboro-based law school
would strengthen Alamance’s link
to Guilford and be advantageous
to both counties.
A major advantage of a
Greensboro location is the prox
imity to federal courts and some
of the largest law firms in North
Carolina, said Francis, who indi
cated that there has been a
mixed response fi'om the legal
community.
Jon Wall, an attomey at the
Greensboro-based firm Clark, Bloss &
Wall, said he believes it would be a pos
itive opportunity.
“It would be a win-win situation for
both law students and the legal commu
nity,” Wall said. “A law school could
contribute to the overhead costs of legal
resources for the city and the program
could provide jobs and work experi
ences essential for law students.”
Those at other law firms say the
area docs not need any more lawyers
and oppose an Elon law school in
Greensboro, Francis said.
If Elon were to build a law school
on campus, the main advantage
would be integration.
“There’s nothing better than
proximity,” Francis said. “If a per
son in political science wants to
speak with tlie law school, it would
be great. 1 ’ ve seen our physical ther
apy faculty do that wonderfully with
the science department”
“No matter where it is located, a
law school would pull off the
strengths of the undergraduate pro
gram, such as the engaged learning
component,” Francis said. “You
have to ask, which location would
really be best for the program? What
really matters arc opportunities of
additional resources.”
Francis indicated that costs of ini
tial resources are a major factor in
detennining a location. A minimum
of 60,000 square feet would be
required for adequate facilities.
The cost of constmcting an on-
campus law school has been estimat
ed at $20 milhon and an off-campus
school could involve costs of buying
land or leasing and renovating preex
isting facilities. Resources for a l.aw
library are estimated at $2.75 mil
lion, not including faculty.
The Board of Trustees could
rcach a decision as soon as March 9,
when the feasibility task, force sub
mits its final report. However, tlie
board could request additional
research and tlie decision could take
longer, Francis said.
“The importsyit thing that Elon is
doing right now is asking the ques
tion, ‘Should we have a law school?’
I think it would be a huge mistake if
in the year 2020 someone asked,
‘Why didn’t we do that?”’ Francis
said, adding, “That’s where planning
comes into looking at the future of an
institution. Regardless of how the
question is answered, the key thing is
that we asked it.”
Contact Jay Dome at
pendulum@elon.edu or 278-7247.
Fire starts in Koury dryer before game
Jay Dome
News Editor
A fire broke out in a dryer in the
Koury Center at about 4 p.m.
Saturday.
The fire, which broke out just
prior to a women’s basketball game,
was the result of some towels ignit
ing that had not been properly
cleaned, said Allen Poe, chief of
security at Elon. Firefighters fi-om
the Elon Fire Department promptly
arrived to extinguish the fire.
Nobody in the building was hurt
and the damage was minimal, Poe
said.
If the items had been cleaned
properly, the fire probably could
have been avoided,” Poe said.
A similar situation occurred at the
Koury Fieldhouse near Rhodes
Stadium two years ago, but it is
not a common problem, Poe
said. *
“Although this is not a com
mon problem, Koury employees
indicated they will be paying
more attention to these kinds of
things,” Poe said.
Contact Jay Dome at pendu-
lum@elon.edu or 278-7247.