Thomas Jefferson SBA Honored

Congratulations to Thomas Jefferson School of Law, winner of the Law Student Division’s Student Bar Association of the Year award for 1998-99. This award is presented each year to the law student government that best represents and leads its constituents.

The Division considered criteria such as membership, teamwork, effectiveness in voicing and addressing student concerns, and interaction with the local legal and nonlegal community in making its decision.

Though closely contested by outstanding SBAs from across the country, the Thomas Jefferson SBA stood out in its ability to balance student concerns and community commitments. Under the leadership of president Michele Castillo (see page 47), the SBA addressed issues important to Thomas Jefferson law students—problems big and small, exciting and mundane.

Among other things, the SBA persuaded the law school to extend library hours, ease the grade curve, and install an outgoing mailbox and dedicated Mac printer in its computer lab.

SBA representatives also designed a new diploma, proposed the development of on-campus e-mail, encouraged the school to offer more course electives, and arranged for a more efficient disbursement of loans to graduating students.

Though perhaps not the most glamorous work a student government performs, these measures significantly improved the quality of life for all students at Thomas Jefferson School of Law.

"This year, the SBA did more than any other SBA ever in existence [here]," Castillo says. The SBA’s efforts, however, were not limited to improving the quality of life for students. The Thomas Jefferson SBA sought to improve the surrounding community as well, arranging a series of highly visible and useful public interest projects. Under the SBA’s leadership, students devoted hundreds of hours to the community, including a project in which students painted pictures of dolphins and other sea creatures on storm drains throughout San Diego.

"The purpose of the pictures is to remind people that whatever they dispose of into the drain will eventually flow into the ocean and may harm the dolphins and the environment," says Thomas Jefferson SBApresident Daniel Moreno. Students also volunteered at the Special Olympics, donated clothing and pumpkins to a local battered women’s shelter, cleaned a local beach, held a Halloween party/food drive, staffed a Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program, sponsored an Easter party/literacy project for children and families infected with HIV/AIDS, and worked with children in local sports clinics, all at the behest of their student leaders.

"We encourage public interest work among the students because we want to promote respect and integrity for the legal profession," Moreno says. "Our efforts will let the general public know that as law students, we care."

Other law schools garnering recognition from the Law Student Division as Regional SBAs of the Year were Suffolk University Law School (Northeast Region); American University, Washington College of Law (Southeast Region); Capital University Law School (Midwest Region); and Southwestern University School of Law (West Region).

If you believe your SBA is one of the best in the country, let us know. Nominations for the award are available at the ABA/LSD web site at www.abanet.org/lsd/nataward.html.

The submission deadline in April 15. •

Kim Vu