Campus Life News Archives - Page 18 of 29

Stetson Moot Court alumni return as coaches: Giving back “small fraction of what Stetson gave me”

By Kai Su

Diana Evans, J.D. ’12, and Jason Lambert, B.B.A. ’02, J.D. ’12, both note Stetson’s Moot Court Board as a defining experience during their time studying at the College of Law.

“Moot Court was probably the part of law school I enjoyed the most,” Lambert said, who returned to coaching this year for the Civil Rights and Liberties team, helping the team win the 11th Annual Civil Rights and Liberties Moot Court Competition on Oct. 23. “When I graduated, I knew I wanted to come back and contribute to a program that did a lot for me.”

Jason Lambert (left) helped his moot court team 2011 Robert Orseck Memorial Moot Court Competition in Orlando. — Jason Lambert (left) helped his moot court team win the 2011 Robert Orseck Memorial Moot Court Competition in Orlando while he was a student.

While on the Board, Lambert competed in a variety of competitions: the Mercer Legal Ethics and Professionalism Competition, two ABA National Appellate Advocacy Competitions, the Robert Orseck Memorial Moot Court Competition, and the Appellate Lawyers Association Moot Court Competition. His teams won the Mercer and Orseck competitions, and his second ABA team made it to the national semifinals.

“The competition problems were all different,” Lambert said, with some of the competition problems resembling real-life, contemporary Supreme Court cases.

Evans competed in the National Veterans Law Moot Court Competition and the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition as a student. Evans, who is coaching the Veterans and Jessup teams in her first year as a coach, expressed a similar sentiment about what motivated her to return. She said she wanted to give back what her coaches gave her.

Former professor, and now judge, Michael Allen coached both Evans and Lambert while they were members of the Moot Court Board. Stetson’s Center for Excellence in Advocacy presented Judge Allen with an award for his support on Oct. 15.

Evans said she appreciated Judge Allen’s laid-back and relaxed approach.

“He’s a very understanding person and always made you feel at ease,” Evans said. “So I would like for myself to be able to adopt a similar approach, and to just be there to support the team and make them feel at ease with me.”

Diana Evans (left) helped her team win the south regional round of the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition and the best memorial award in 2012 in Houston, Texas. Evans also won the fourth-best oralist award. — Diana Evans (left) helped her team win the south regional round of the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition and the best memorial award in 2012 in Houston, Texas while she was a student. Evans also won the fourth-best oralist award.

Judge Allen, who recently joined the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims in Washington, said to this day, he remains closest with the former students with whom he dealt with on the Moot Court Board. He explained how when he went into teaching, he knew there were aspects he would enjoy, such as spending time in the classroom and writing about stimulating topics.

“Both of those things were true, but I never expected that the most rewarding thing I would do in teaching was coaching Moot Court teams,” Allen said. “Yes, it was ‘fun’ to watch teams win—which they did a lot—but the best thing was seeing how students really understood what they were talking about and grew as people.”

Evans explained the philosophy behind her easy-going, hands-off approach.

“We’re all adults here on the Moot Court Board, and I’m going to treat people like they are adults,” Evans said. “I’m going to do my job, but I want them to be independent too. I think that is a balance you want to strike—between letting team members grow and develop individually while providing enough guidance to help them succeed.”

Lambert sees his role as a coach as enhancing his students’ natural styles and bringing those better parts to the surface. He does not force students into a box because arguments that sound overly contrived or canned are unpersuasive.

“To be successful at Moot Court, I don’t think you can spoon feed someone how to say a certain thing or make a certain argument,” Lambert said. “You have to make it your own to be effective in competition…. My goal is to try to bring out the best ways they can present that, which is also genuine to their presentation style.”

(L-R): Judge Michael Allen with Julia Metts accepting his award. — (L-R): Judge Michael Allen accepting his award on Oct. 15 from the Center for Excellence in Advocacy with Professor of Practice and Director of Trial Teams Julia Metts.

Lambert thinks it is important to return to coach the teams because the difference he often observed between Stetson and other schools at competitions was the quality of their practices. He said that when he was on the board he appreciated the former judges and attorneys who attended his practices because they always provided a different perspective. And now as a coach, Lambert reaches out to friends to attend his team’s practices.

Evans sees moot court as a broad life-based experience, rather than a means to acquire a specific legal skill. She learned useful skills and lessons, such as how to articulate yourself in front of an audience and use team-building skills, which have carried over into her professional practice.

“I’m kind of a shy person, so I found that being on Moot Court and having those opportunities to get up and speak in front of people helped me personally to overcome some of that shyness in my professional life,” she said. “When I know I have a weakness or I know something is a challenge, I like to push myself to overcome it.”

Lambert said there are many aspects of his Moot Court experience that he still draws from today as a commercial litigator.

“Most of what I do involves drafting pleadings that will ultimately end up in court, and then I go to court and argue,” Lambert said. “The vast majority of what I do is similar to what I learned in Moot Court, even if it’s just at the trial court level.”

Lambert said the experiences that still stand out to him today are the amount of preparation required for competitions and the intense training and stamina required to do Moot Court.

“In law school you have no limit on your resources or time, and the number of practices we had really impressed upon me the importance of preparation,” Lambert said. “Moot Court teaches you the skills you need to know to be successful later on when you do have time and budget constraints.”

Lambert recalled how emotionally and mentally exhausting competitions could be after a day of multiple arguments. Earlier this year Lambert had two jury trials that lasted all day, and he said knowing how to pace himself to get through that experience smoothly is important— a practical skill for which Moot Court prepared him.

“You have to have the stamina to go the entire day and be mentally sharp and be prepared for whatever is going to happen next,” Lambert said.

The advice Lambert gives to his students is that they will never have an opportunity like this again in their careers, so take advantage of it. He explained how the Moot Court experience teaches them how to perfect the nuances in their writing and oral arguments.

Evans said the Moot Court experiences that resonate with her today are the relationships she developed with her coaches and teammates. She said things such as learning the law and honing research and writing skills are all valuable, but in the grand scheme of life, the personal relationships are what she values most.

“In some cases I’ve made made friends for life—best friends,” Evans said.

Evans said it is important to come back and coach because it is a cycle, a give and take—and coaching also just seemed like fun.

“I got a lot out of Moot Court. I honestly got a lot out of Stetson,” Evans said. “I think it was a great place that gave me a lot of opportunities, and any way that I can give back some small fraction of what Stetson gave me, I’m willing to do that.”

Evans advises Moot Court students to put in the time and take it seriously, because they will get so much out of the experience. She highlighted the importance of treating teammates with respect and being understanding, because remembering that Moot Court is a team effort will help elevate the experience.

“For me, being on Moot Court was an integral part of my experience at Stetson. It’s something that I look back on very fondly,” Evans said. “I hope Stetson continues to have such a great Moot Court Board and that people come forward and help the team because it is a community, and it’s a community experience.”

Go Green Committee hosts first zero-waste event during Foreman Biodiversity Lecture

Professor Lance Long introduced the Zero Waste concept at the Foreman Biodiversity Lecture. Photo by Merve Ozcan.

By Kai Su

The Go Green Committee hosted Stetson’s first zero-waste event during the Foreman Biodiversity Lecture featuring fish and wildlife biologist Tonya Long in the Great Hall on Monday, Oct. 23. To illustrate the impact of this approach, a pile of trash cans was moved into a corner and upended during the lunchtime lecture.

The lunch used reusable plates and silverware, rather than paper plates and plastic utensils, which cannot be recycled or composted. Attendees were instructed to leave everything on their tables after the event, and volunteers stayed to help rinse recyclable items and separate food scraps for compost by the local organization Urban Harvest.

Breanne Whited and Alexandria Avera, third-year J.D. students and co-chairs of the committee, said they were excited about this step toward making events on campus more environmentally sustainable. Go Green Committee faculty liaison Professor Lance Long proposed the idea of a zero-waste event modeled after practices he observed at his former university, the University of Oregon, where their cafeteria does not contain a single trash can. In the zero-waste model, every item is either reused, recycled or composted.

“Students—especially new students coming in—want and expect a university to be environmentally conscious and hopefully as sustainable as possible,” Professor Long said. “I think students recognize the importance of this. They recognize that they are growing up in a world that is suffering tremendous environmental degradation from former generations, and they want to do their part in helping to stop and reverse this.”

The Go Green Committee hosted the event to serve as a model for future events. Whited said several guests commended the sustainable lunch, which used real plates and silverware. Whited said she is looking forward to facilitating more zero-waste events on campus.

“The event demonstrated that sustainable, zero-waste events at Stetson are not only possible, but they are simple and extremely well-received by attendees,” Whited said. “Overall the response from guests, as well as setup and cleanup volunteers, was excellent.”

Committee members George Hiller, Haviland Kebler and Kai Su hope to implement more initiatives, including shifting the student culture to become more environmentally conscious and increasing recycling. Stetson Custodial Supervisor Mike Golladay has assisted the committee by ordering more recycling bins to place around campus and provide during events.

Student Bar Association President Dale Tan, a third-year J.D. student, decided to reinstate the Go Green Committee, which was inactive for a few semesters, after he was elected. He said that environmental initiatives should be at the forefront of SBA’s priorities.

“It is the student government’s role to provide students with a forum to address important issues like sustainability, and the resources to make it a reality,” said Tan.

“This is something I’m very passionate about,” Tan said. “And to be in a great state like Florida where sustainability is a focus of many communities, it doesn’t make sense for the Stetson community to not also be a part of that.”

Fish and wildlife biologist Tonya Long presents the Foreman Biodiversity Lecture at Stetson Law

Tonya Long delivered the Foreman Biodiversity Lecture on Oct. 23. Photo by Merve Ozcan.

Tonya Long, biologist with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, presented the Oct. 23 Foreman Biodiversity Lecture on “The Dark Side: Improving Sea Turtle Nesting Beaches Through Comprehensive Light Management.”

Long discussed how to reduce the impact of artificial lighting on nesting and hatchling sea turtles.

“Florida is a globally important nesting beach,” said Long. Five species of sea turtles nest in Florida.

Many of the most commonly used types of lighting are problematic to sea turtle nesting and hatching, Long explained. Sea turtle mothers and hatchlings can become disoriented by beachfront lighting, and hatchlings drawn to artificial lights on the beach can become dehydrated, exhausted and fall victim to predators, Long said.

Long, a fish and wildlife biologist, works with properties, local governments and the public to maintain wildlife-friendly beaches with healthy lighting. Long’s beachfront lighting model includes low, shielded lighting in long wavelengths using amber, orange or red.

“It takes partnerships,” Long said, illustrating the importance of developing a wide and diverse network of partnerships to impact change.

More information about the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission’s work with sea turtles is available at www.myfwc.com/seaturtle.

Stetson’s Foreman Biodiversity Lecture series is coordinated through the Institute for Biodiversity Law and Policy, which is the recipient of the 2016 American Bar Association’s Distinguished Achievement Award in Environmental Law and Policy. All lectures in the series are complimentary and open to the public.

To learn more about environmental law programming and the Institute at Stetson, visit www.stetson.edu/law/biodiversity.

Texas Tech wins National Pretrial Competition at Stetson

A team from Texas Tech won first place in the National Pretrial Competition at Stetson.

A team of law students from Texas Tech University School of Law won the National Pretrial Competition at Stetson University College of Law on Oct. 12-15 in Gulfport, Florida.

Texas Tech student Brian Burkhart won Best Advocate in the final and semi-final rounds of competition.

Baylor Law School placed second in the competition.

Mississippi College School of Law won the Best Plaintiff Brief and Golden Gate University School of Law won the Best Defense Brief.

Devon Gawley of University at Buffalo School of Law received Best Advocate Round One, Kristen Gavigan of Texas Tech University School of Law received Best Advocate Round Two, and Lindsay Joanov of Chapman University Fowler School of Law received Best Advocate Round Three.

(L-R): Judge Michael Allen with Best Advocate Brian Burkhardt. — (L-R): Judge Michael Allen with Best Advocate Brian Burkhart.

The competition, now in its 10th year, captures what attorneys do every day in offices and courtrooms across the U.S.

Teams receive a problem based on normal pretrial issue; write two memoranda of law that will be scored; make oral arguments; and shift to an evidentiary hearing during which team members are required to present evidence and make a closing argument.

Sixteen teams are invited to participate in the competition. Teams competed this year from California, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, New York, South Dakota, Texas, Virginia, and Washington, D.C.

Power comes from our collective effort: Gender equality pioneer Catharine A. MacKinnon tells audience at Stetson Law

Professor Catharine MacKinnon spoke to a packed Great Hall at Stetson Law in Gulfport on Oct. 19. Photo by Merve Ozcan.

Author and gender equality pioneer Professor of Law Catharine A. MacKinnon presented the Nichols Foundation Prominent Speakers Lecture on “Butterfly Politics: A Theory of Social Change through Legal Practice” at Stetson University College of Law in Gulfport on Oct. 19.

Through her talk, also the title of her new book Butterfly Politics, Professor MacKinnon explained how the butterfly effect can be applied to show how even extremely small civil actions in unstable political systems can have targeted effects leading to systemic transformation.

“Power comes from our collective effect,” Professor MacKinnon told the audience of students, academics and members of the public gathered to hear her talk. “What butterflies set in motion cannot be stopped.”

Professor MacKinnon described the importance of identifying the hierarchy that determines social strata in promoting equality. She described the impacts of prostitution and the sexual assault of children on preserving inequality.

“Inequality is about hierarchy,” Professor MacKinnon said. “Indignity is one result.”

MacKinnon, the Elizabeth A. Long Professor of Law at the University of Michigan and long-term James Barr Ames Visiting Professor of Law at Harvard Law School, is among the most widely-cited legal scholars in the English language and the most widely-cited woman.

In 2000, she won with co-counsel a damage award of $745 million representing Bosnian women survivors of Serbian genocidal sexual atrocities, the first legal recognition of rape as an act of genocide. As the first Special Gender Adviser to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court at The Hague, she helped implement her concept of “gender crime.” In 2014, Professor MacKinnon was awarded the Ruth Bader Ginsburg Lifetime Achievement Award by the Women’s Section of the American Association of Law Schools.

Professor MacKinnon pioneered the legal claim for sexual harassment, worked with Andrea Dworkin to create ordinances recognizing pornography as a civil rights violation, and proposed the Swedish model for abolishing prostitution. Her approaches to equality, pornography, and hate speech are widely followed by both domestic and international high courts.

Widely published in both the popular and scholarly press, Professor MacKinnon is the author of 13 scholarly books. Her latest book, Butterfly Politics, published in April 2017, proposes a theory of social change through law.

The Nichols Foundation Prominent Speakers Series was established at Stetson in 1995. The series namesake is Perry Nichols, among the nation’s most successful trial lawyers and past president of both the American Trial Lawyers Association and the International Trial Lawyers Association.

Dr. Dwight Pitcaithley presents on “The National Park Service After 100 Years: A Historian Reflects”

Dr. Dwight Pitcaithley, historian and professor at New Mexico State University, kicked off the Foreman Biodiversity Lecture series on Oct. 9 at Stetson Law in Gulfport with a lecture on the National Park Service history, challenges and opportunities.

“There is more to national parks than parks,” Dr. Pitcaithley explained to the audience of law students, faculty, staff and members of the public gathered in the Great Hall to hear him talk. “NPS manages programs that reach beyond national park borders.”

Dr. Pitcaithley explained that there are 1,744 national register listings in Florida alone, and more than 89,000 listings across the country of national historic landmarks.

He urged members of the audience to get involved in the future of the NPS and historical heritage.

Stetson’s Foreman Biodiversity Lecture series is coordinated through the Institute for Biodiversity Law and Policy, which is the recipient of the 2016 American Bar Association’s Distinguished Achievement Award in Environmental Law and Policy. All lectures in the series are complimentary and open to the public.

To learn more about environmental law programming and the Institute at Stetson, visit www.stetson.edu/law/biodiversity.

Stetson’s Black Law Students Association presents CLE on Black Lives Matter: The Media and the Law on Oct. 7

Stetson University College of Law’s Black Law Students Association presents a Continuing Legal Education program on Black Lives Matter: The Media and the Law from 10 a.m.-12 p.m. on Oct. 7 in the Great Hall on Stetson Law’s Gulfport campus, 1401 61st St. S.

The CLE program is complimentary and open to the public. Lawyers, legal professionals and members of the community are invited to attend and participate in the discussion.

Topics include the future direction of the Black Lives Matter Movement, the impact of the media and events like the Charlottesville incident on the movement, and how professionals should ethically and effectively express opinions on social issues.

The program begins at 10 a.m. with a panel of thought leaders including Delano Stewart, Hillsborough County’s first African-American public defender; Akile Anai, Uhuru Movement representative, chair of Communities United for Reparations and Economic Development and co-host of Good Morning Africa on Black Power 96.3 FM; and Paulette Bailey, retired internal affairs investigator for the New York City Department of Correction.

The discussion will be moderated by legal journalist Keith Long, followed by a Q&A at 11 a.m.

For questions about the program, please contact BLSA president Keongela Norton at [email protected].

Application will be made to the Florida Bar for 2.0 CLE Credits. For questions about the CLE credits, please contact the Office of Professional Education at [email protected] or 727-562-7898.

Public Service Fellows make more than 100 activity bags for Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital

(L-R): Alex Snowden, Evelynn Passino, Bea Sanchez, Yari Llerena, Morgan Macisaac, Elisabeth Ajluni, Jeff Eckert and Jenna Jordan. Photo by Justine Roof.

The Stetson University College of Law Public Service Fellows organized a group of students on Sept. 27 to make more than 100 activity bags for children at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg.

The bags included pages to color, crayons, markers, puzzles and stickers for the children.

The mission of Stetson’s Public Service Fellows is to promote the concept and awareness of public service legal work on our law school campus, involve fellows directly in public service legal assistance activities, and promote pro bono legal services by students on campus and by members of the legal profession.

Students learn about Pathways to International Law

Panelists (L-R): Mohamed Mohamed, Paul Suppicich and Alexandra Taylor. Photo by Merve Ozcan.

Stetson Law students learned more about opportunities and how to prepare during law school for the field of international law at a program on “Pathways to International Law” on Sept. 27.

The program featured a panel of attorneys from a variety of international law practice areas.

Panelists Alexandra Taylor J.D. ’15 of the Maxey Law Office presented on intellectual property; Paul Suppicich J.D. ’05 of Maney, Gordon, Zeller P.A. presented on immigration law; and LL.M. student Mohamed Mohamed, Fulbright Scholar from Egypt, presented on refugee and human rights work.

Complimentary forensic science webinar offered Sept. 26

Stetson presents a complimentary forensic science webinar for prosecutors and defense attorneys on Sept. 26 from 4-6 p.m.

The webinar, “Organization of Scientific Area Committees Essentials: Forensic Science Resources” is part of the free forensic science webinar series funded by the U.S. Department of Justice, Capital Litigation Initiative: Crime Scene to Courtroom Forensics Training.

The webinar offers a judicial perspective on admissibility of evidence and expert witness testimony. Using case examples, the discussion will explore what judges look for in determining whether expert testimony effectively demonstrates a logical link between objective facts and offered opinion. Topics will include published standards, research and development needs, and the impact of OSAC on the legal community. The OSAC is a valuable resource for forensic science standards and guidelines, representing more than 25 forensic disciplines.

Webinar panelists will discuss OSAC’s well-defined process to develop technically sound forensic science standards and familiarize attorneys with OSAC resources, including the OSAC Registry and Newsletter. Panelists include Professorial Lecturer in Law at the George Washington University Law School Kenneth E. Melson; Deputy Director of the Special Programs Office at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, U.S. Department of Commerce Mark Stolorow; and California Imperial County Superior Court Judge Christopher J. Plourd.

Attendees who complete the course will be eligible for free CLE credits (2.0). Stetson’s Office of Professional Education will work with each individual participant for reporting specifics. CLE applications will be made to Florida and other states per individual requests. Please email [email protected] for further information and state specific requests.

For more information, and to register, visit https://www.stetson.edu/law/conferences/homepages/.

Stetson’s lecture series on the environment heats up in the fall

Stetson University College of Law continues this year’s Foreman Biodiversity Lecture series in September with lectures on wildlife conservation, national parks and the future of the Great Barrier Reef and Australian mangroves. All lectures in the series are complimentary and open to the public in the Great Hall on Stetson Law’s Gulfport campus, 1401 61st St. S.

The fall lecture series includes:

Oct. 9, 12 p.m.: Dr. Dwight T. Pitcaithley, historian, New Mexico State University, presenting on “The National Park Service After 100 Years: A Historian Reflects”

Oct. 23, 12 p.m.: Tonya Long, a fish and wildlife biologist with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, presenting “The Dark Side: Improving Sea Turtle Nesting Beaches Through Comprehensive Light Management”

Nov. 9, 12 p.m.: Dr. Max Finlayson, Institute for Land, Water and Society at Charles Sturt University in Australia, presenting “Climate Change Impacts on Coastal Ecosystems— Evidence from Australia’s Great Barrier Reef and Mangroves”

Stetson’s Foreman Biodiversity Lecture series is coordinated through the Institute for Biodiversity Law and Policy, which is the recipient of the 2016 American Bar Association’s Distinguished Achievement Award in Environmental Law and Policy.

To learn more about environmental law programming and the Institute at Stetson, visit www.stetson.edu/law/biodiversity.

Campus Update

Friday, Sept. 15, 11:31 a.m.: Power is now restored at both the Gulfport campus and the Tampa Law Center. It will take us a little while to get back up and running, cool the buildings, and bring up all IT systems (including VPN, file servers and WiFi). We will be opening campus at noon today for students, staff, and faculty. Except for our facilities staff and public safety staff, we expect to have minimal staff on campus so please be patient. The Tampa Law Center remains open. As a reminder, all classes and activities at the Gulfport campus and the Tampa campus remain cancelled through Sunday; we will do our best to have everything ready for the resumption of classes on Monday.

We will reopen our dorms at 2:00 p.m. today. We are aware that a few of our Stetson-owned houses are still without power — please check with Duke Energy about their expectation for the restoration of service. We did have one complication — a roof in F wing collapsed between F302 and F303 and our staff is cleaning up the debris to ensure safety. There are no structural issues that will impede the opening of campus at noon (dorms at 2:00 p.m.)

As you have read from my updates, our facilities staff and our public safety officers have been simply extraordinary in preparing for Hurricane Irma and ensuring the campus would be ready for your return. If you see them, please say thank you.

As a reminder, the events for next week if you are interested —

Tuesday 9/19 — Breakfast Without Irma. Everyone (students, faculty, staff) is welcome (Crummer Courtyard from 8:45 – 10:15 a.m.)
Tuesday 9/19 — Faculty and staff meeting (update on Irma and its impact on campus; academic calendar for the remainder of the semester; answer questions) (Great Hall at noon)
Wednesday 9/20 – Student meeting (update on Irma and its impact on campus; academic calendar for the remainder of the semester; answer questions (Great Hall at noon)
Tuesday 9/26 – Faculty meeting rescheduled

Thursday, Sept. 14: 6:03 p.m.: The Gulfport campus still does not have power. We have two alternatives that we fully expect will take place tomorrow. Duke Energy fixes power — they have promised by midnight Friday night. If that happens, all is good. Alternatively, we have generators on campus that we have been running intermittently to accomplish three priorities — making sure that our systems are ready for when Duke Energy restores power, keeping freezers and refrigeration for food services at acceptable levels, and keeping as much humidity out of our buildings as possible, especially the library because books don’t like humidity.

The issue is that generators run on fuel and getting a fuel delivery has been a struggle. We have been promised a fuel delivery tomorrow (Friday) — that will allow us to run our generators more frequently, particularly if we can expect commitments for further fuel deliveries. That doesn’t make “all is good” but it makes it “all is better.”

I am sure that you have many questions, so here is the plan for when everyone is back on campus on next week. Please stop by if you are interested —

Tuesday 9/19 — Breakfast Without Irma. Everyone (students, faculty, staff) is welcome
(Crummer Courtyard from 8:45 – 10:15 a.m.)

Tuesday 9/19 — Faculty and staff meeting (update on Irma and its impact on campus; academic calendar for the remainder of the semester; answer questions)
(Great Hall at noon)

Wednesday 9/20 – Student meeting (update on Irma and its impact on campus; academic calendar for the remainder of the semester; answer questions
(Great Hall at noon)

Tuesday 9/26 – Faculty meeting rescheduled

Next update by 3:00 p.m. Friday.

Thursday, Sept. 14: 11:24 p.m.: Power has been restored to the Tampa Law Center — it is open and operational. Today, the Tampa Law Center will be open from 11:00 a.m.-10:30 p.m. Beginning tomorrow, the Tampa Law Center will be open during its normal business hours — 6:30 a.m.-10:30 p.m. and seven days a week. There will be limited technical support and our Public Safety Officer will be there during operating hours. The Tampa Law Center also has internet and WiFi, although not the faculty/staff network. To use WiFi on our Tampa campus, please use the Stetson Guest Network.

There is still no power in Gulfport, and no internet or phones.

There are no classes or activities in Tampa or Gulfport through Sunday. Classes and activities will resume on Monday, September 18 on both the Gulfport campus and the Tampa campus.

Next update by 6:00 p.m. Thursday.

Wednesday, Sept. 13: 5:15 p.m.: Stetson Law still has no power, no internet, and no phone service. We have been making significant progress on campus including the continuation of debris cleanup, removal of downed trees, verification that our chiller plants will be fully operational once power is restored, and testing of our IT infrastructure. The good news is all is good.

Still no timetable on the restoration of power — and we have been talking with Duke Energy continuously since Irma moved north.

Next update by 1:00 p.m. Thursday.

Tuesday, Sept. 12: 4:49 p.m.: We understand that Duke Energy, our service provider in St. Petersburg and Gulfport, continues to work on emergency services including police and fire departments, emergency operations centers, hospitals and nursing homes. At this point, they have not yet provided an estimated time for restoration of power, although we hear that they have committed to providing an estimated time for restoration in more detail later tonight.

As I mentioned in prior updates, we cannot resume classes and cannot open campus until power is restored. As a result, all classes and activities are cancelled through Sunday, Sept. 18 including weekend classes scheduled for this weekend. We are very confident that classes will resume on Monday, Sept. 18 and ask our faculty, staff and students to plan for a full resumption of operations on Monday.

We are currently working through the logistics for our academic schedule and expect to provide an update to our community as soon as possible. We certainly expect to provide an update to our community as soon as possible. We certainly expect to utilize the two hurricane days currently built into our academic calendar-Tuesday and Wednesday, Nov. 21 and Nov. 22.

At this time, power and Internet has still not been restored to campus and, as a result, we cannot yet open our campus or our dorms. We will continue to have our emergency facilities staff and public safety officers on campus but ask that our faculty, staff, and students not return until we let you know. If you need to reach our Public Safety Office, the temporary emergency phone number is 727-420-3611.

We are planning a welcome back “Breakfast Without Irma” (and yes, there will be coffee) for all students, faculty and staff on Tuesday, Sept. 19, from 8:45 a.m.-10:15 a.m. in the Crummer Courtyard-please stop by to share your Irma stories.

Next update at 5 p.m. on Wednesday.

Tuesday, Sept. 12: 12:04 p.m.: Both our Gulfport and Tampa campuses are without power and without Internet capabilities with no timetable about when power will be restored. We have learned that there are over 300 intersections in Pinellas County with traffic lights that are not operational and more than 200 deputies are helping with traffic control.

It is difficult to determine the number of power outages but we believe over 600,000 in Pinellas County and over 1.3 million that Duke Energy services (including Stetson). We know that their priority is hospitals and other emergency services. Our emergency team has been on campus all morning clearing debris and checking offices. All looks very good and we look like a campus again.

We cannot ask our faculty, staff, and students to return safely without power. We also understand that many in our Stetson community have evacuated to other parts of Florida and beyond. Providing our community with enough time to return safely is a priority.

Today by 5 p.m., we will make a decision about whether to resume classes on Thursday and Friday of this week.

Monday, Sept. 11: 3:22 p.m.: After walking the grounds of campus in Gulfport, our campus fared much better than expected from Hurricane Irma. The very good news is that we had a few trees down and there does not appear to be any structural damage or water intrusion. There is no power (or Internet) on campus in either Gulfport or Tampa and we do not yet have an estimate from Duke Energy when our power will be restored.

Tomorrow (Tuesday) morning, our emergency personnel will be back on campus to clear debris and ensure the safety of our campuses. While we are in very good shape, please do not yet return to campus. We will remain closed through Wednesday and expect to make an assessment for the opening of campus and the resumption of classes as soon as possible.

If you live in the Rosa Apartments, there appears to be no damage and there is power (at least for now). Some of our houses have power and some do not. If you have evacuated the area, please check with Duke Energy before returning. Finally, our dorms remain closed until at least Thursday morning. Should circumstances change, we will let you know as soon as possible.

We will provide another update by 8 p.m. tonight.

Finally, we hope Hurricane Irma has not disrupted your lives dramatically but we know that for some it has been devastating. Stetson is a strong community and we will care for each other. As the hours and days pass, we will do all that we can to help.

With our best wishes to you and your families.

Sunday, Sept. 10: 11:45 a.m.: In light of the severe impact that Hurricane Irma will have on the Tampa Bay area and the difficulties of many that will be trying to return to our area, all classes and activities at the College of Law (Gulfport and Tampa) are cancelled at least through Wednesday, Sept. 13. After the storm passes, we will be back in touch with further updates.

Be safe — our thoughts and prayers are with you — and your families.

Friday, Sept. 8: 12:08 p.m.: Based on the track of Hurricane Irma, the likely impact of the storm on the Tampa Bay area on Sunday and Monday, and the mandatory and voluntary evacuations in Pinellas and Hillsborough counties, all classes and activities at the College of Law (Gulfport and Tampa) are cancelled on Monday. We will continue to monitor the storm and its impact on our campuses and will update you as the weekend progresses about when we will expect to resume classes and open our campuses. As a reminder, the cancellation of classes on Monday also means you are not expected to attend local off-campus externships and clinics.

As you prepare for the storm, please know that there are a number of shelter locations published by Pinellas County including two shelters in Gulfport, Boca Ciega High School and Gulfport Elementary School, as well as a number in St. Petersburg including shelters that welcome pets. The Stetson University College of Law is not designated as a shelter for individuals or pets.

Pinellas County Public Shelter List: http://www.pinellascounty.org/emergency/shelters.htm

If you have not done so, I encourage you to download the Ready Pinellas App and register for text messages from the College of Law through My Stetson.

We will be communicating with you by text message, email, and the Stetson College of Law home page. Should you have any additional questions, please contact our Office of Public Safety at 727-343-1262 or [email protected].

We look forward to welcoming you back to campus when we are safely able to do so.
Our thoughts are with you — and your families.

Wednesday, Sept. 6: 3:43 p.m.: After consulting with state and local officials, all classes and activities at the College of Law (Gulfport and Tampa) are cancelled on Thursday, Sept. 7 through Sunday, Sept. 10 including the weekend classes. The current College of Law policy includes local off-campus externships and clinics in a cancellation of classes. As a result, students are not expected to attend their externships or clinics. Students are expected to conduct themselves professionally in terms of communicating with supervisors and professors so that assignments are completed and hours fulfilled.

We will provide an update about classes on Monday when we have a better indication of the path of Hurricane Irma and will do our best to provide as much notice as possible.

The Gulfport and Tampa campuses will be closed beginning on Thursday at noon and will remain closed through Sunday.

Importantly, safety remains our highest priority. In the event that conditions create individual difficulties for our non-emergency staff on Thursday, staff should please work with their supervisors and our Office of Human Resources. Because of anticipated power outages and emergency procedures, dorm students should be prepared to evacuate — our Student Affairs/International Programs staff will be reaching out to students soon.

As you prepare for the storm, please know that there are a number of shelter locations published by Pinellas County including two shelters in Gulfport, Boca Ciega High School and Gulfport Elementary School as well as a number in St. Petersburg including shelters that welcome pets. The Stetson University College of Law is not designated as a shelter for individuals or pets.

http://www.pinellascounty.org/emergency/shelters.htm

If you have not done so, I encourage you to download the Ready Pinellas App and register for text messages from the College of Law through My Stetson.

We will be communicating with you by text message, email, and the Stetson College of Law home page. Should you have any additional questions, please contact our Office of Public Safety at 727-343-1262 or [email protected].

Wednesday, Sept. 6: 11:57 a.m.: We continue to monitor Hurricane Irma, along with state and local officials. There have been a number of developments since yesterday. The hurricane cone provides a likely path of the storm and the path or cone is more narrow or predictable the closer to the eye of the storm. Because of the eye of the storm will likely move onshore on Sunday, the current cone with potential impact to Florida is remains large.

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/refresh/graphics_at1+shtml/145752.shtml?gm_track

While the cone encompasses all of Florida, many of the spaghetti models that predict the actual storm track have shifted further east — this is good for the Tampa Bay area.

http://www.wtsp.com/weather/spaghetti-tracks-east

There will be further updates by the National Hurricane Center and the Pinellas County Emergency Operations Center this afternoon. With that information, we will make a decision about classes and campus closure for Thursday and Friday no later than 5:30 p.m. today.

Importantly, safety remains our highest priority. In the event that weather conditions create individual difficulties for students, please work with your professor and Dean Rozelle. At this time, our class attendance policies continue to apply. In the event that the weather conditions create individual difficulties for employees, please work with your supervisor and our Office of Human Resources.

As you prepare for the storm, please know that there are a number of shelter locations published by Pinellas County including two shelters in Gulfport, Boca Ciega High School and Gulfport Elementary School as well as a number in St. Petersburg including shelters that welcome pets. The Stetson University College of Law is not designated as a shelter for individuals or pets.

http://www.pinellascounty.org/emergency/shelters.htm

If you have not done so, I encourage you to download the Ready Pinellas App.

Finally, thank you for registering and updating your emergency contact information on the My Stetson page — our test yesterday was very successful. Should you have any additional questions, please contact our Office of Public Safety at 727-343-1262 or [email protected]. We plan to post another update this afternoon.

Tuesday, Sept. 5: 11:28 a.m.: At present, we are actively monitoring Hurricane Irma, a very strong Category 5 hurricane, and will continue to do so, recognizing that movements of hurricanes are very difficult to predict. In the next day or so, we will have a better idea of the path of the storm. At that time, we will be in a position to make a decision about class cancellation and law school closure. We expect to make a decision as soon as possible to provide our students, faculty, and staff with the necessary time to make individual decisions about preparation for the storm and/or evacuation. At present, it appears that any effect in the Tampa Bay area would principally take place this weekend — we will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates as appropriate. Any changes to the College of Law schedule will be noted on the school’s website in addition to email and text communications.

You can find current information about Irma’s predicted path at the National Hurricane Center and we urge you to monitor developments over the next few days. http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/graphics_at1.shtml?cone.

Now would be an excellent time to ensure that you are prepared. You can find information about hurricane preparedness at this link on the College of Law’s website: https://www.stetson.edu/law/communications/preparedness/home/index.php and also on the Pinellas County Emergency Management website — http://www.pinellascounty.org/emergency/.

In the event that there are significant issues with a storm, communication becomes increasingly important. Text messages will serve as a primary source of information and can be more reliable method of communication. The College of Law created an emergency text system. Please register now. Registration information is below from our Public Safety Office —

As the storm develops we will communicate with you in a variety of ways, the most important method being the Stetson Hatter Alert Emergency Notification System. This Emergency Notification System is used to keep individuals informed during emergency situations as it pertains to Stetson University and the various campuses. When a situation requires immediate attention, recipients will receive a phone call, a text message, and an email. If you have not registered to receive emergency notifications from Stetson, we strongly urge you to do so now.

In addition to the Emergency Notification System, the following means of communication may also be used:

Onsite Indoor-Outdoor Emergency Notification Speakers
Website via our Campus Docket announcements, which is available to the Stetson community and general public
Messages on class cancellation hot line (727-562-7816)

To register or update your enrollment in the Stetson Hatter Alert Emergency Notification System, a link can be found in myStetson within the Personal tab. You will be prompted to enter your contact information.

Here, you can provide a phone number and a number to receive texts (they can be the same). Please ensure that, when enrolling in SMS/Text alerts, a cell phone number is used. Your Stetson email will automatically be linked to this system (please note that registration or updates take one hour to sync with the Emergency Notification System).

We expect to run a test of the Emergency Text System at 4 p.m. today (Tuesday, Sept. 5) — you should receive a text message if you are registered.

If you have any questions or do not receive a text message and you have registered, please contact our Office of Public Safety at [email protected] or 727-343-1262 .

We will provide further updates as necessary.