A Funding Program You May Be Unaware Of
I received this notice in email today:
[The annual National Democrat Law Student Convention will soon occur in New York City. Begin making reservations.] "Dean Ortiz's office will reimburse you $100 of the cost of your flight. It'd be great to get some Boalt representation here..."
To me, this raises a number of important questions:
1. The offer appears unlimited. Will the Dean's Office reimburse any and all law students who want to go on vacation?
2. Under what terms does the Dean's Office have hundred-dollar bills lying around to fund student trips? Are there guidelines for any and all clubs to take advantage of this discount?
I'm afraid that the answers to questions 1 and 2b are not "yes", though if they are I will be pleasantly surprised and take back my scurrilous insinuating.
EDIT: As it turns out, the Dean's Office can help subsidize trips to any law-related conference. I did not know that. I hope this will help publicize the opportunity. And as promised, I take back my scurrilous insinuating. I'm glad the Dean's Office makes these trips possible for everyone.
--
In other (old) news, if Boalt's website will say nothing on this point, I'd like to congratulate Boalt alum Kenneth Wainstein, formerly U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, now Assistant Attorney General for National Security.
[The annual National Democrat Law Student Convention will soon occur in New York City. Begin making reservations.] "Dean Ortiz's office will reimburse you $100 of the cost of your flight. It'd be great to get some Boalt representation here..."
To me, this raises a number of important questions:
1. The offer appears unlimited. Will the Dean's Office reimburse any and all law students who want to go on vacation?
2. Under what terms does the Dean's Office have hundred-dollar bills lying around to fund student trips? Are there guidelines for any and all clubs to take advantage of this discount?
I'm afraid that the answers to questions 1 and 2b are not "yes", though if they are I will be pleasantly surprised and take back my scurrilous insinuating.
EDIT: As it turns out, the Dean's Office can help subsidize trips to any law-related conference. I did not know that. I hope this will help publicize the opportunity. And as promised, I take back my scurrilous insinuating. I'm glad the Dean's Office makes these trips possible for everyone.
--
In other (old) news, if Boalt's website will say nothing on this point, I'd like to congratulate Boalt alum Kenneth Wainstein, formerly U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, now Assistant Attorney General for National Security.
Labels: Classes/Professors, Legal Education Costs, N 'n B, Rabid Conservatives, Rabid Liberals
posted by Tom Fletcher at 9:37 AM
56 Comments:
Hey Jackass,
1. You can get $100 to attend *any* conference that is related to career development. Some people want to go into public service (a la Earl Warren in his first incarnation) or advocacy and they should be supported. I am sure there is no double standard between a Democratic event and a Republican event, just as there is no double standard between an ACS event and a Fed-Soc event.
2. Wainstein is probably not being publicized because no one asked the school to do it. Perhaps you could stop whining on this blog and send an email to the administration.
This conservative student victim complex is really lame. You really should know what you're talking about before you post it. And, no, the world is not out to get you as a conservative privileged white man. It is much more the case that it is set up to help you.
The school reimburses students up to $100 to attend any law-related conference. I attended the conference last year and there were many speakers on a variety of legal topics--impact litigation, voter protection, pro bono work, etc. You shouldn't have any problem getting some funding to attend a similar conference hosted by the Federalists or a similarly conservative org, as long as it's a legit law-related conference.
Ben
Thank you for your update Ben. I've altered the post to reflect that information. Do you know if the Dean's Office policy is formally posted anywhere? I don't see it on the Students section of the Boalt website.
Re: commenter #1, paragraph 2, there is no place to submit news on Boalt Hall's news website. There is no indication of how to contact the people who post on the front page. The only contact information regarding the website is for the webmaster. Do you know an email address that connects to the people who post the Alumni and School news?
I know you think you're so smart and great that the world should read even your half-baked thoughts but perhaps you should do some research next time before you post. Just a suggestion.
Dear Anonymous Fuckheads,
75% of this school doesn't know about the $100 (used to be $200 btw) unless they're part of an organization that has a national umbrella, in which case the funds are used up probably during the 1L year.
For example, Tom is not a member of an organization that rhymes with salsa, therefore, he wouldn't know about it. That's the whole point of an online discussion. I'm still reserving my right to tell you dumbasses to do your own research before posting retarded questions. See, e.g., entire courses thread.
Anon., 11:20.
I'm impressed you know me so well! Our deep conversations and years-long friendship have taught us so much about each other.
But seriously, I post when I have questions. I did not know the answer to those questions, but I feared the answers. I did not conduct extensive research before posing them, but I'd like to know where I would have found the answers. If you could tell me, I'd be happy to look there before I post next time.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
11:32, can you just repost the link? I don't want long articles in the comments. Thanks.
Tom Fletcher,
Our deep coversations have been almost entirely one-sided. They primarily consist of you bloviating during class about some inane point in an attempt to impress the professor.
I smell a jealous tool...I mean 2L.
finals time postings are very amusing! At least I wasn't the only poster that got burned this week, huh Armen?
2Ls. Yuck!
Here is the link about the "N" Word (as in "Nazi") in regard to the recent thread about the f-bomb.
http://www.slate.com/id/2103077/
It makes a pretty convincing case that the fact you can't use the word "fascist" in the blogsphere without being totally dismissed suggests that the term is actually one that should be part of our national conversation. Here is the money quote:
"Can't pols just have little Post-its on their microphones reminding them not to compare anything to the Nazis?" Maureen Dowd wrote in the Times recently, after yet another off-message senator was taken to the woodshed. The ban applies equally to the arena of intellectual debate, such that even the wild and woolly Internet has a Godwin's Law to describe the cred-killing effect of dropping the N-bomb. So, even though it is a truism that we learn by analogy, even though the Bush administration unapologetically practices the reality-eschewing art of propaganda—with procured "journalists," its own "news" pipeline at Fox, leader-centric ("war president") stagecraft, the classic Big Lie MO of, say, draft avoiders smearing war heroes as unpatriotic—we are not permitted to draw any comparisons to the über-propagandists of the previous century. That prohibition is reiterated in the coy caution with which I introduce the topic here.
The taboo is itself a precept of the propaganda state.
Let's all just take a deep breath and watch some Star Wars Kid videos.
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=star+wars+kid
Armen -
Another Anonymous Fuckhead here. Although I'm not a member of any group that rhymes with salsa, or that has a national umbrella, I can tell you that the travel reimbursement funds can't be "used up" during the 1L year. The Dean's office will reimburse any student $100 EACH YEAR to travel to a law-related conference. Other travel funding is available through the Grad Assembly. I'm sure if anyone ever thought to just ASK the dean if there was $$ available for student travel, they would get a straight answer. But it's so much more fun to make unfounded conspiratorial accusations.
One of my questions is still lingering, and maybe you can help Anon, 1:18. This appears to be a very detailed program: $100, every year, for a law-related conference. That's a lot of elements, which makes me think this is written down somewhere.
Where is it written down?
If it's not written down, I feel it should be.
To analogize, we require public entitlement programs to follow very detailed and public guidelines. We wouldn't require someone who is disabled to ask the Social Security Administration if there is money available for them. We let them read the guidelines, and then demand the money they're entitled to.
Wow. It never ceases to amaze me how much flak I see Tom Fletcher take on this blog, especially considering he is literally about as nice a person as anyone at this school. I've also never known him to try to impress a prof--he's just genuinely intellectually curious in a way I myself could only dream of being.
As for his "conservative student victim complex," I can't say I've ever seen it, in this post or elsewhere. And yes, I know him. The post doesn't say anything about Federalists not having the $100 available to them. Rather, some anonymous commenter, armed with some limited knowledge of Tom and his affiliations, decided Tom was playing victim here. Unbeliavable. The post was phrased in the form of a legitimate question. Sure, it was snarky, but isn't this forum supposed to be a little informal (and sometimes humorous)? Personally, I wouldn't want to feel I had to exhaust my research options before posting an innocent question/observation. People ought to relax a little.
Finally, a suggestion: try getting to know Tom sometime before you take any more potshots at him. I can pretty much promise that you'll find him likable, even though he is in fact (gasp) a white male.
This thread is hilarious. While I won't say that I disagree with any of the criticisms, I will say that Tom does get my respect for being brave enough to leave the comments up.
I also think that Armen should join a group that rhymes with salsa.
Tom makes a mean risotto.
11:39 here.
Since the original post was edited, I am going to retract my slam on TF.
As for the Johnny-come-lately commenters, keep in mind the post said something very different this morning.
Tom, I don't know how you put up with this. Your kind and rational replies to these rude responses never cease to amaze me.
I'm a white kid who joined a group that rhymes with salsa and I'm pretty sure that it will be one of the most memorable experiences from law school - in a good way. One thing about it though, if I were not a part of this group I would have no idea that there is an entire parallel universe that caters to non-white students. It is very much kept under wraps.
The conspiracy stories spun by the white men on this blog are really amusing! I'm pretty sure the email that got Tom upset today was from a white person to a predominantly white organization. I'm also pretty sure Dean Ortiz gives white men travel money on the same grounds she gives it to non-white people and women and is not involved in supporting some purported "parallel universe that caters to non-white students." But wouldn't it be SCANDALOUS if our Dean Ortiz and Dean Edley really were working to set up a separate Boalt experience for non-white students! Neither of them is white so if you're white and don't know the secret people of color handshake, how would you ever know?
7:19 - 5:27 here. I love it that you assume I'm a man. Also, for what's it's worth, I got the same note that Tom got and it was from the those nasty all white male Boalt Hall Democrats. If the Boalt Dems happen to be predominantly white that is no one's fault but the people who don't attend, and it certainly shouldn't be a strike against white people. This anti-white stuff is really getting on my nerves. How is it any different at all from anti-anything else? Is it whity's turn to get the shaft?
max power: lots and lots of scholarships, hiring events, networking events, mentoring opportunities, etc.
I'll be glad when finals are over - people here are so uptight.
9:03,
Ok, so it doesn't sound like there is really anything secret going on to benefit non-white students. All of the things you mention are very well-known and no one considers them a "parallel universe." And I love the defensive maneuver of saying that people are being "anti-white" once it is revealed you can't point to any super-secret evidence of a parallel universe.
From where does all the ire come? It is all the whining about how active students--who are often students of color--get "special" benefits not available to less active and less informed students. It is widely known--even among white students--that there is some funding available for students to travel to conferences. And now people who have had everything else in their lives served up to them on a silver platter want Dean Ortiz to write them a letter to see if they would like some funding. To boot, students who take the initiative to go to serious conferences are accused by TF of taking other students' tuition money "to go on vacation" (TF's original title for this post was something about how he now knows where his tuition money is going). And when posters rightly point out the ridiculousness of this "victim complex," the anti-white racism card gets played against them. Talk about living in a "parallel universe!"
"And now people who have had everything else in their lives served up to them on a silver platter want Dean Ortiz to write them a letter to see if they would like some funding."
Wow...talk about making assumptions about people. Do you seriously believe that?
I don't want to fuel any racial divide questions, but I do want to address how "widely know" these subsidies are. I didn't know. I don't remember seeing any BBB announcements. So far, no one has taken up the Fletcher Challenge (TM) and told me where the policy is written out.
The fact that this "well known" policy is not written anywhere troubles me. As long as benefits are transparently distributed, I feel there's no need for worry. It's when such things cannot receive scruitny that I get nervous.
Re 7:19. I have a weak grasp on sarcasm after three years of law school. But it would scandalous.
"[The annual National Democrat Law Student Convention will soon occur in New York City. Begin making reservations.]"
Spoken like a true Republican. Democrat is a noun. Republican wignuts don't like to call Democrats democratic. Even in your edit, you manage to be offensive.
Says "Democratic" so very clearly in the forwarded message. No one I know ever uses the term "Democrat" like that.
And not to bag on Tom too much (I was semi-jesting above, I'm sure you didn't mean it the way it could be read) I think the default rule is that when there is something you don't know you go look it up yourself instead of waiting for someone to point it out to you. Furthermore, it may have been in the BBB and you missed it. And it's only $100, so it probably gets about $100 coverage, as opposed to the various larger scholarship and funding opportunities that receive correspondingly more coverage.
I don't see how that's pertinent. This whole thread is based on a misguided-whine that the author tried to retract. Unless you mean it's time to move on.
And why do you get to be called Earl Warren? I mean, I know Earl Warren, and you're no Earl Warren.
Tom: not sure I've seen a form that only serves to describe the program, but there are forms for the reimbursement. I think the form is intended to serve as both explanation of the policy and the means to get reimbursement. I filled one out 1L year, and if I remember correctly you need to submit a receipt for expenses and some sort of proof that you attended the conference. I was with a group that rented cars and drove, and we were able to combine all the receipts together toward our $100 each. The "proof" was the program from the conference and the receipt from registering.
Regarding the Graduate Assembly money: it's literally a lottery. There are lots of forms and info available from the GA website. Basically, they have X amount of money to fund travel, and they see how many people submit grant applications and have a lottery to decide who gets money. So your best bet is if you're going w/ a group of 20, have everyone submit a lottery form--I believe our success rate was about 20-25%. You can use that money in addition to the Boalt $100, and even though the check gets sent to the individual who wins it there is no prohibition on letting them share their money across the group. You do need to prove that the person who wins the grant actually goes on the trip, so if one of your winners drops out you're out of luck. Like other GA funding fun, it requires receipts--you don't get the money upfront.
As the former treasurer of a Boalt student organization I got the emails from the GA that describe the GA process and let you know about deadlines. I learned about the Boalt money as a 1L by word of mouth. I just looked in the archived BBBs on the website and there was no mention of the Boalt travel money, however I do think it may have been mentioned in the first BBB of the year...if it wasn't perhaps Dean Ortiz could be persuaded to make an announcement in the first BBB of next semester? (possibly more relevant anyway, as the national conferences that I'm aware of tend to be in the spring...).
I wonder if the level of civility on this blog would be raised if people had to post with their names. Not that I don't think Tom or Armen or Earl Warren can handle being called names, but I think it's really dishonorable to call them names and make personal attacks anonymously.
This thread is dishonorable all around. I just read the entire thing and I think there is enough blame to go around and it starts are the top. The only people who signed their comments are Jenna, Ben, Armen and Tom. Regulars such as "Earl Warren," "McWho," and "Max Power" are as anonymous as any of the anonymous posters in my book because I have no idea who they are. Among the identified commenters, Armen called anonymous commenters "fucktards" and Tom kicked the whole thing off by accusing students who get limited funding for conference travel of taking his tuition money and going on vacation. Without looking into the issue at all, he also insinuated that the administration was giving vacation money based on political persuasion and levelled the "Democrat Party" slur, which led to an anonymous commenter calling him a jackass and caused quipping that he is very self-important. Then things descended into accusations of a "parallel universe" to help students of color at Boalt and accusations that students who questioned this formulation were anti-white racists.
What I see in this thread is an illustration that there may be a lot of issues and divisions simmering beneath the happy surface at Boalt. It seems many of the conservative (such as Tom) and liberal students (such as some anonymous commenters) really don't like each other and are quick to trade accusations. It also seems some white students are very suspicious of students of color and think they are getting special privileges. Students of color, naturally, are defensive about this claim.
I hope this thread can be dismissed as people simply being stressed about finals. I always think of Boalt as a place where people get along remarkably well. Throughout my time in law school, the only place I have really seen conflict and division is on this blog. Hopefully it will stay that way.
We may be anonymous in the sense that we don't spew our name around, but as posters we do in fact get a reputation. I may not have a rock solid one yet, but Earl and Max do, since they have been here awhile.
*Note that anyone that has a blogging account and posts with a name doesn't post the random hate messages like anon people. Anonymous people spur conversation, which is the best thing about this blog. Unfortunately some people take a bit too much liberty with the feature.
Plus, I have introduced myself before. I just didn't really feel the need to keep reminding y'all.
Finally, as someone that is a bit right of center, I have had plenty of arguments online and off with people of a different persuasion - especially at Boalt. We learn alot from each other, even if every now and then it gets heated. That is what discussion is all about.
Good points McWho! I think people sometimes forget this blog is maintained by folks who are centrist or right-of-centre. Perhaps the "progressive" students should start their own blog!
One quick question: does Armen calling someone a "fucktard" count as a hate message in your book? If so, your point about the named posters being more reserved is undermined a bit.
You see, if you came up to me in person, I'd still call you a fucktard. I stand by anything I say. See the diff? And only in Berkeley can the bloggers here be considered centrists or *snicker* right of center.
Now, put your name in your post and call me a centrist.
Well I don't know the identities of "McWho", "Earl Warren" and "Max Power" - so out of curiosity are all the permanent bloggers on N&B white men?
Didn't Tom Fletcher support Prop 90 and serve as the guest of honor at a recent Federalist Society meeting? I'd say that qualifies him as pretty far right of center and he's the (white) guy who started this entire thread in the first place.
See comment re: only in Berkeley.
I assume that the anonymous comments here go south quickly because it is terribly difficult to have honest conversations about certain topics without being labelled. Sensitivity levels seem to be very high, and most people choose to be silent rather than non-anonymously voice an opinion or even a question that ticks off the wrong person or group. End result: false (and offensive) assumptions about our fellow students.
Excellent point Max. I think SOME commenters didn't do their research before posting. Fucktards.
How did we get to shutting down debate?
This thread started as a blanket and obviously misguided accusation that public money was being funneled into partisan political purposes. People were impolite, mean, crude, and vulgar. Armen did a lot of sockpuppeting.
Where possibly could there have been debate?
Oh--you mean debate on how to get financing for endeavors outside of Boalt or student organizations? Perhaps that's what the new title of the thread " A Funding Program You May Be Unaware Of" is trying to indicate?
I think the idea is that there is a whole lot of crap out there, you just have to go find it out. That's what all the long, annoying meetings are for that treasurers of student groups are required to attend. I mean it's not like funding opportunities just fall from the sky like manna from heavens.
Where is there possibly debate here? How can one discuss the disposition of funding without first spending the annoying, time-consuming, drudgery of figuring out where that funding is?
Now a guy who has stolen the title of Earl Warren (he may be liberal for all I care, I just think it's weird that he calls himself earl warren and writes his posts as though they were judicial opinions) is writing about the downfall of our democracy and hypocrisy of Berkeley liberals.
Move along folks, nothing to see here.
I have nothing against you, I just find it weird that I'm having a conversation with a dead SC justice that's all.
I wasn't discussing what was relevant for your message board. I was responding to claims that this debate lacks civility. You haven't addressed my point that there could not have been a debate.
And this was not the case of a simple, curious response, nice try there. As I recall, there was shock over the misappropriation of public funds for private causes.
I suppose the lack of a real response to the question about whether all of the posters are white means they are all white. Except Armen, evidently, although I seem to remember him posting about how he tried to get a cop to list him as white since his people are from the Caucuses. So, for posterity's sake: are any of the regular posters other than Armen not white?
Regarding Fletcher, only on this blog could a Federalist Society member not be considered conservative!
Yeah the Fresno cop listed me as "Other." I'm switching to Western Asian. I should probably start WALSA.
And as to the identity of the bloggers, why wouldn't that violate their anonymity? I'm laughing at the thought of anonymous 12:15 wondering what the racial make up of the bloggers is.
Then there's that last gem. It's quite revealing that you equate membership into an organization with personal ideology. How McCarthyist of you. And you're wondering why Earl Warren thinks speech at Boalt is stifled? YOU, anonymous 12:15, are the stifler. That's why you're blind. You think only conservatives join Fed Society, only White males complain about not knowing about funding sources, and I'll paint you with a broad stroke and associate you with the previous anonymous remark that we all grew up with a silver spoon in our mouth. Good job. And you wonder why I call you guys fucktards?
If you have any response to this make it in person. I'll be more than happy to discuss.
who joins organizations when they don't believe in their ideology?
anon 1:02,
Who joins orgs not for their ideology? Law students chasing elite clerkships have been known to join -- the Federalist Society.
Me for one. I joined the Feds, and I don't personally believe in 99% of what their organizational mission is. Though I would almost certainly feel more at home in ACS, I do feel that there's some value in having a school with robust debate. Now, when you take this argument to an extreme, this was pretty stupid. Of course I wouldn't join the American Nazi Party to foster debate. I just happened to think that my positions and ideology might be strengthened if I understood what and where the other side was coming from. It was the worst decision I made in law school. You simply can't join the federalist society, no matter what your reasons, without being labeled, fairly or not, as a Conservative. And yes, for those same reasons, this comment is anonymous.
Weighing in on the hot-button issue of the racial and political makeup of this blog:
I'm not white, but some of my best friends are.
Okay, maybe I am white. Sorry. But I can't even see to the right of center from where I stand. (Maybe that's my problem...)
2:00 pm: I don't understand what you mean when you say:
"It was the worst decision I made in law school. You simply can't join the federalist society, no matter what your reasons, without being labeled, fairly or not, as a Conservative."
Was it a bad decision because you disagree with the group's viewpoints, because the group was too extreme, or was it because you were labeled as a Conservative?
11:33. The latter. Tony Kushner once said "it's easier to come out as a gay man in this country than as a socialist." Despite not being a conservative (not that there's anything wrong with that), affiliating myself with the Federalists because I was interested in learning how to justify my own positions labeled me as a Conservative. Maybe the mistake was joining rather than just listening, but the mistake comes from outside perceptions, not from discovering it's a horrible organization (although, the more I've learned on that end, the more I realize how much I disagree with the group's ideology). It's the same phenomenon we, or maybe just I, see in class when someone says "Not that I'm a Republican or anything, but I think Scalia is right about this." It's the first part that should be troubling, it suggests that there isn't true freedom of discourse.
What's up with the Federalist bonus points with Republican judges? Is this a myth or for real? And what about the rumors that John Yoo has the power to hook anyone up with a clerkship? I keep hearing rumors about it and maybe I'll join up if it can get me a clerkship.
To the Preacher who's trying to out anonymous commenters, knock it off.
Actually, I think the anonymous Federalist Society member was trying to out theirself.
Re: discourse. A funny thing happened like that in Bundy's CPII this semester. A student wrote an email basically saying, "I'm concerned subjecting foreign defendants to US jurisdiction based on the flimsiest of contacts in a tort case -- and with no review of the merits -- might not be in the best interest of the US economy or the international one."
And then there person closed by saying, "Please understand I'm not a Republican or anything! I always vote Democratic! It just looks a little strange to me" -- as if the mere OBSERVATION that sometimes the judicial system and economic growth are opposed was some sort of shameful admission.
To his credit, Bundy wrote back (CC-ing the whole class), that that was obviously a legitimate concern, and he'd hate to think people aren't speaking up because of a misplaced fear of silly political labels.
On a more gossip-y note, a Boalt grad was telling me the other day that Bundy got in some hot water a few years ago for some political statement that deviated slightly from the acceptable Berkeley extreme-left line. Anyone know about this incident? I nearly fainted in class when he said some elements of CAFA might be reasonable.
I didn't get this email. Who was it sent to?
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