Stop Kicking the Door Opener

KVH has just sent out an e-mail highlighting the perils of going to school in a building that's open to the public. The e-mail in its entirety is included at the bottom. I don't mean to trivialize the serious safety concerns that students face, but I did want to point out my favorite parts of this e-mail.

UCPD has been working with us to locate a person who has been staying in the building overnight. He has surprised both staff and students who have been in the building early in the morning. He appears to have severe mental health issues. He is about 5' 10" with a thin build, perhaps in his 30s. He has medium brown skin, short dread locks, and facial hair. He typically wears light gray sweat pants and sweat shirt and light colored running shoes with reflectors that are laced with the tongues hanging out. He has significant body odor.

How hard can it be to track down a guy who has significant body odor?

If this person (or anyone else whom you have concerns about) is just wandering around the building you should call UCPD dispatch at 510 642-6760 (or 2-6760 from a campus landline). If, however, he is causing a disturbance, or appears to be a threat to himself or others, then call 911 from a landline phone OR call 510 642-3333 from a cell phone. UCPD strongly prefers that the person who observes an incident call UCPD (rather than your reporting the incident to law school staff first) because they need to get your direct observations. But we would also appreciate it if you emailed Director of Operations GAR Russ*ll <gar at law dot berkeley> or me, so we are aware of any problems.

Because remembering which phone number to call is easier than finding a CSO. Or Mindi.

[W]e ask that if you are entering the cafe or commons from the east and west courtyards that you DO NOT use the disabled access buttons unless you are in a wheelchair or otherwise disabled. When you use the automatic opener the door remains open for a full 15 seconds (enough time for a wheelchair to enter). Unauthorized people are entering the building without a key card in the evening and on weekends this way. The other reason we ask you not to use the disabled access buttons is that many of you are kicking the opener button too hard.

My bad.

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Original E-mail

We've had a few of security incidents that required assistance from UCPD in the last few days. I wanted to let you know about them and remind you of how to respond. In addition, please review UCPD's website about safety on the UCB campus.

UCPD has been working with us to locate a person who has been staying in the building overnight. He has surprised both staff and students who have been in the building early in the morning. He appears to have severe mental health issues. He is about 5' 10" with a thin build, perhaps in his 30s. He has medium brown skin, short dread locks, and facial hair. He typically wears light gray sweat pants and sweat shirt and light colored running shoes with reflectors that are laced with the tongues hanging out. He has significant body odor. When people look at him or speak to him he often becomes agitated, as well as verbally abusive and (on one known occasion) physically aggressive. If you talk to him or get in his path he may yell and use hostile language.

UCPD advises that you do not engage in conversation. Instead, walk away from him and when you get to a safe place call UCPD immediately. Be prepared to describe his location, give a physical description, and a description of his behavior. If this person (or anyone else whom you have concerns about) is just wandering around the building you should call UCPD dispatch at 510 642-6760 (or 2-6760 from a campus landline). If, however, he is causing a disturbance, or appears to be a threat to himself or others, then call 911 from a landline phone OR call 510 642-3333 from a cell phone. UCPD strongly prefers that the person who observes an incident call UCPD (rather than your reporting the incident to law school staff first) because they need to get your direct observations. But we would also appreciate it if you emailed Director of Operations GAR Russ*ll <gar at law dot berkeley> or me, so we are aware of any problems.

We also had two other incidents that required UCPD response. Both occurred late Wednesday afternoon. One involved a man who was stopping law students in the hallway, apparently trying to get legal assistance. When students declined to talk to him he refused to leave and aggressively pursued some students down the hallways and into the cafe. This person was approximately 45-50 years old, over 6 feet tall, with pale, white skin, and longish brown hair that was mostly covered by a black, derby hat. He wore somewhat colorful clothing and carried a large, yellow walking stick. Police officers explained to the man that he could not get immediate legal assistance from law students attending classes. He resisted leaving but after about 30 minutes he agreed to exit the building.

The other incident involved a person who seemed to be having mental health or drug reaction issues. He asked a student for help in getting food and books. When she tried to assist him he became increasingly agitated and engaged in inappropriate physical contact with the student. She immediately reported the incident to the library's CSO who was duty near the cafe elevator and he radioed for support. UCPD responded quickly and called paramedics. The man was transported to a hospital for observation. We do not have a detailed description of this person, other than that he was a young, thin, (perhaps Asian) male.

As always, we are concerned for your safety and well being. We would prefer that students (and staff) did not use the building after the library closes, but understand that sometimes you need to be here doing journal or other work in the Student Center or your offices. Please take care not to leave doors open or to let people who are not known to you into the building. And be aware of your surroundings.

Finally, we ask that if you are entering the cafe or commons from the east and west courtyards that you DO NOT use the disabled access buttons unless you are in a wheelchair or otherwise disabled. When you use the automatic opener the door remains open for a full 15 seconds (enough time for a wheelchair to enter). Unauthorized people are entering the building without a key card in the evening and on weekends this way. The other reason we ask you not to use the disabled access buttons is that many of you are kicking the opener button too hard. This is causing the mechanism to stick, leaving the door entirely open.

Thanks for your cooperation and have a good and safe holiday weekend.

What Would You Do: Post-Apocalypse Edition

Maybe it’s because today is Valentine’s Day (and I kindof can’t resist shitting on a day dedicated to chocolate hearts and the color red), or because the Mayans have predicted the world will end this year, or maybe just because this blog has become so damn morbid lately (and if you’re going to do something, go for the gold baby)—but today, I'd like to pose a question that drunken frat guys and science fiction nerds have been debating since time immemorial: Post-apocalypse. What would you do?

Allow me to set the scene. Several unforeseen earthquakes have destroyed most buildings, streets, stores, etc. in your area. Random shit is on fire. Electricity isn’t working. There’s no news on how far-reaching the destruction is; for all you know, the destruction could just be in Berkeley / SF / whatever city, or it could be the whole state—or even (gasp) the WORLD!! Your goal: Survival.

Here’s some guidance on how to properly debate what to do in a post-apocalyptic alternate-reality. I am not ashamed to admit that I’ve discussed this enough times to know people generally fall into two camps: (1) Faith in Humanity (ban together with your fellow man), or (2) Humans? Screw Humans!! (run for the hills). If you’re creative enough to come up with other options, I’m genuinely interested and want to hear in the comments.

It’s a close call, but personally, I fall into the F(@#$ Humans camp. I’m not a general people-hater or anything, but I do think that people react unpredictably under stress. That’s why, if I ever live to see a post-apocalypse, I’m going to grab whatever survival implements I can find nearby and go live in the Berkeley hills (I hear Lake Anza is lovely) or an equally suitable mountain range. So long as I can start a fire and scavenge for small animals and plants, I think things would be OK in the short-term. The long-term plan? Wait. See if helicopters are coming to rescue people and the damage really isn’t that widespread (if so, rejoin fellow man). If time goes by and it becomes apparent the chaos was far-reaching, spy on the people who chose to band together and see how civilization appears to be working out (if it's working out, rejoin fellow man on the condition that they make me their leader). Meanwhile, recruit a badass doctor/nurse and/or Woody Harrelson to join my wilderness team. Ad hoc goals: Build tree-house. Learn how to kill big animals and make a bear-fur cloak. Make out with Woody Harrelson.

On the other side of the debate, I’ve met people who are like—come on, don’t be crazy. Obviously, people will be nice to each other and not loot each other’s shit and fight over whatever food they can salvage from crumbled-down-Safeway. Humans, after all, have not come this far by being big meanies! (OK, now I’m editorializing.) Anyway, it would be much more sensible to find a working car, and try to drive away from the post-apocalypse zone to someplace like Nevada where hopefully the supermarket isn’t crumbled-down. I’m sure there’s more to this side of the debate, but I’ll leave that to people who feel really passionately about it.

A final note: For those of you who have read this far and are thinking something like “OMG, what a terrible thing to think about,” or “This hypo is total BS, my iPhone will never die because that's technologically impossible...” please comment here.

For everyone else, the question remains... what would YOU do??

Buzz Killington

I hate to be Buzz Killington (though I wonder if there is really any buzz to kill here...) but does anyone else feel like the Gun Club pranks serve only to create extra work for an already-stretched-thin cleaning staff?

This is how the Fishbowl looked as of 8am this morning:







At the very least, they should be smart enough not to fill a mesh trashcan with ice... there was a pretty good amount of water on the carpet.

9th Circuit Finds Prop 8 Unconstitutional

You can download the decision here (PDF). There's a lot to chew on, but the decision appears to be limited. It doesn't say that there's a constitutionally protected right to marry under the Due Process or Equal Protection Clauses, but rather, that eliminating an existing substantive right for a particular class of people is unacceptable.

I'm not a huge fan of judicial minimalism, but this decision seems crafted for Anthony Kennedy in light of his opinion in Romer v. Evans.

Thoughts?

The Wonderful/Dreaded Class Campaign

A commenter asks:

Can we have a thread on the class campaign? I am a 3L and I don't really understand what it is. They are doing a poor job of explaining it. Is it just a fundraising campaign? Does the money go for a class gift or something (ie. named bench or sculpture)? Why do people seem to have such polarizing views on this? I'd appreciate anyone's thoughts. 

I figured I'd take a stab at each of the questions posted.  

Can we have a thread on the class campaign?

Yes.

Is it just a fundraising campaign? Does the money go for a class gift or something (ie. named bench or sculpture)?

I love how use of the phrase "just a fundraising campaign" betrays how as law students we are conditioned to expect some fringe benefit any time money is forked over.  You don't just donate, you go to an auction! Or a prom barristers' ball. In a way, this trend continues beyond law school. Soon politicians will ask you to pay $2500 a person for dinner (about 10x more if it's a political party dinner). But when it comes to law schools, they just pretty much whack you over the head and ask you to open your wallets. The class campaign is your gentle introduction to this wonderful tradition.

I'm sure someone can explain it in better terms than me, but unlike say your undergrad where the class gift to the school was a park bench, Boalt's annual class gift is the donations that the members of each class make to the school. If I remember my class campaign, you could pick and choose precisely where your money goes, e.g., your favorite journal (BJIL shout-out), your favorite clinic (CARC!), financial aid, etc.

Why do people seem to have such polarizing views on this? I'd appreciate anyone's thoughts.

This has been debated ad nauseam. The problem starts with the goal of having 100% participation in the class campaign, i.e., every member of the class donate something, anything. Why does this matter? Because then the school, when it's whacking alumni over the head for money, can claim 100% participation in the class campaign, which only raises the question of whether alumni give a sh*t about these things. I think to an extent it matters. I don't think anyone gets hung up on 100% vs. 98%, but I think when students have an active interest in gifting to subsequent generations, then it gives us the comfort that the current stakeholders are just as invested. This may not be the perfect analogy, but at some psychological level, even as practitioners we come to work much more inspired and motivated when the client is just as invested and eager. So, yes, a large level of participation from the students helps further raise money from alumni.

What's so bad about that? I think some tension and friction begins to build because a) some people are opposed to donating when they are six figures in debt and b) when the number of students who have not donated becomes small, these students are very aggressively targeted. Sometimes even suggestions of "let us donate in your name" are thrown around. This can rub people the wrong way. I can't quite put my finger on it, but there is something unsavory about it. As I suggested above, the actual numbers aren't as meaningful as the message they carry. And I think I'd prefer if that message were based on each student's volition and conscience, as opposed to some behind the scenes arm twisting.

All that said, the Class Campaign is a great opportunity to give back to a school that you will be a part of forever. I won't go into detail how the school becomes an integral part of your very being, but suffice it to say, being a Boaltie is probably the most defining aspect of who I am as an attorney. Honestly, only the extreme cynics among us can walk away and truly never care about the school or ever look back. To those, I say good riddance. And I really hope no one donates a penny in their name.

If I May...

While we continue to mourn the loss of Polly, I wanted to briefly interject to pass along some uplifting news regarding the Boalt community, namely the appointment of my classmate Sonia G. as the executive director of the California Bar Foundation (the non-profit that you can donate to when filling out your bar payment forms).  The broader mission of the Bar Foundation is to increase access to justice, but as it relates to law students, the Bar Foundation offers scholarships for students from underrepresented communities as well as those who'd like to work in the public interest sector.  No doubt, Sonia will continue with the Bar Foundation's mission full steam ahead.