Sixth-graders go to bench.Byline: Karen McCowan / The Register-Guard STOPPING BY the University of Oregon The University of Oregon is a public university located in Eugene, Oregon. The university was founded in 1876, graduating its first class two years later. The University of Oregon is one of 60 members of the Association of American Universities. law school to pick up a schedule for this weekend's death penalty conference, I noticed a suddenly higher timbre timbre Quality of sound that distinguishes one instrument, voice, or other sound source from another. Timbre largely results from a characteristic combination of overtones produced by different instruments. to the between-class buzz of student voices in the Knight Law Center's vaulted lobby. Following the sound up the stairs to the second floor, it led me to the Orlando Hollis mock courtroom, a space where law students typically hone their trial skills. On Thursday, however, the room was filled with Spencer Butte Middle School students clutching trial briefs and their own notes on high-profile student rights cases. For the fourth time in five years, teacher Paul Bodin was bringing his sixth-grade students to the law school for a robes-on civics civics, branch of learning that treats of the relationship between citizens and their society and state, originally called civil government. With the large immigration into the United States in the latter half of the 19th cent. lesson. Rotating roles - from bailiff bailiff Officer of some U.S. courts whose duties include keeping order in the courtroom and guarding prisoners or jurors in deliberation. In medieval Europe, it was a title of some dignity and power, denoting a manorial superintendent or royal agent who collected fines and to attorney to judge - the preteens try landmark student rights cases. Outside the door, five class members suited up to portray the U.S. Supreme Court hearing "Vernonia vs. Acton," in which a seventh-grade football player challenged his rural Oregon school's decision to randomly drug-test student athletes. The law school's black, velvet-striped judicial robes hung so long on the youngsters' frames, some had to hold the gowns a foot in the air to avoid entangling them in their sneakers sneakers Noun, pl US, Canad, Austral & NZ canvas shoes with rubber soles sneakers npl (US) → zapatos mpl de lona; zapatillas fpl . Yet there was no snickering from other students as the five filed into their seats on the elevated bench after mock bailiff Angela Wilson's "All rise!" Decorum DECORUM. Proper behaviour; good order. 2. Decorum is requisite in public places, in order to permit all persons to enjoy their rights; for example, decorum is indispensable in church, to enable those assembled, to worship. was diligently observed - except when Nolan Ohmart, portraying an attorney for Acton, briefly forgot to remove the stocking cap he'd worn on the nippy nip·py adj. nip·pi·er, nip·pi·est 1. Tending to nip: an exuberant, nippy puppy. 2. Sharp or biting: nippy cheese. 3. walk to the law school from a campus bus stop. Clearly mortified mor·ti·fy v. mor·ti·fied, mor·ti·fy·ing, mor·ti·fies v.tr. 1. To cause to experience shame, humiliation, or wounded pride; humiliate. 2. , he deftly swept it off his head and tossed it on a table behind him. The astute arguments of the student advocates belied their youthful ponytails, braces and blue nail polish. "The school had no probable cause Apparent facts discovered through logical inquiry that would lead a reasonably intelligent and prudent person to believe that an accused person has committed a crime, thereby warranting his or her prosecution, or that a Cause of Action has accrued, justifying a civil lawsuit. to test Wayne Acton," Nolan argued. "He was a model student." But the district had reason to test its athletes, argued Aspen Koch-Fuering in defense of the school policy. Supposedly role models, half of the athletes were behaving obnoxiously. "Drug use was rising," she said. "The school was trying to protect its students." "Going out for sports is not mandatory; therefore the drug testing is not mandatory, either," added Nina Strochlic, a fellow lawyer for the school district. THE SMART QUESTIONS of the student justices were also impressive. "Why not test only the athletes who were acting strangely?" asked "Chief Justice" Miles Schneider. "Or why not test all athletes, just to be fair?" probed the justice to his left, Patrick Moran. "We randomized ran·dom·ize tr.v. ran·dom·ized, ran·dom·iz·ing, ran·dom·iz·es To make random in arrangement, especially in order to control the variables in an experiment. it so they wouldn't know it was coming up and stop using drugs just before the test," Nina replied. UO law professor Margie Paris was surprised but receptive when Bodin first approached her about bringing such young students to the law school for a mock court experience. No high school teacher had even approached her about the idea, she said. "But I have kids myself, and I realize they have the ability to care about big issues at an amazingly young age," said Paris, who teaches criminal procedures and appellate advocacy Legal representation by an attorney before any state or federal court of intermediate or final appeal. The U.S. Courts of Appeals were created by the Evarts Act of 1891 (28 U.S.C.A. § 43) and are divided into 13 judicial circuits. . "What's really surprised me is their ability to articulate - in writing and verbally - these complex ideas." The sixth-graders have consistently shown the maturity to handle the simulation, she added. "They're in that courtroom for two hours straight, and they're very well-behaved, very focused," she said. "I've noticed the effect is heightened in the new (circa 1999) building. It's got the decorum of a real courthouse, and I think that impresses them. They also love the props - the gavel gavel small mallet used by judge or presiding officer to signal order. [Western Culture: Misc.] See : Authority , the bench, the robes." The students readily cop to the latter charge. "Sitting up on that bench above everyone else made me feel like I really was in change," said Tyler Cable. "I felt like, `Yes! I have so much power,' ' Patrick Moran agreed. "It made you feel really responsible," Liza Antico added. Bodin believes that the courtroom experience - and preparing for it with UO law students - helps his kids learn to think critically and understand the "shades of gray" that permeate tough ethical questions. He hopes it will help his students appreciate constitutional law and civics when they study those topics in U.S. history as eighth-graders. "That will be a survey, an overview," he said. "This is an in-depth examination of how the Bill of Rights plays out in real people's lives." |
|
||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion