Jan. 27, 2020 — Stetson University College of Law has selected Leland Ware as the recipient of this year’s William A. Kaplin Award.
The Center for Excellence in Higher Education Law and Policy
at Stetson University established the award in honor of Professor William A. Kaplin
to recognize scholars who have published works on education law that embrace
the intersection of law and policy.
Ware is the Louis L. Redding Chair and Professor of Law
& Public Policy at the University of Delaware where he also teaches
Africana Studies. He has a bachelor’s degree in history from Fisk University
and a Juris Doctor from Boston College Law School.
Ware’s research focuses on civil rights and civil liberties
law, employment law and constitutional law. His book, A Century of Segregation:
Race, Class, and Disadvantage, (Lexington Books 1998), explains how race and
class intersect in ways that uniquely disadvantage African Americans and other
racial minorities.
He has authored more than 100 articles in academic journals
and other publications on various aspects of civil rights law and co-authored
two books, “Brown v. Board of Education: Caste, Culture and the
Constitution” and “Choosing Equality: Essays and Narratives on the
Desegregation Experience.” Prior to his work in academia, Ware was a trial
attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice.
The award ceremony will take place as part of the 41st
Annual National
Conference on Law and Higher Education, Jan. 29-Feb.3, 2020, in Clearwater
Beach, Florida. The conference, now in its 41st year, is designed to provide
attendees with the vision, motivation, and intensely practical tools needed to
return to campus to meet the dynamic law and policy challenges in higher
education. It features the top thinkers, lawyers, and authors in the field.
The Stetson University College of Law Trial Team of, from left, Drew Trautman, Rachel Wise, Megan Tiralosi and Amy Trentalange won the 2020 Chester Bedell Mock Trial Competition.
Jan. 24, 2020 — The Stetson University College of Law Trial Team of Drew Trautman, Amy Trentalange, Megan Tiralosi, and Rachel Wise won the Chester Bedell Mock Trial Competition Jan. 22-24 in Tampa, Florida.
Megan Tiralosi also won the best advocate award. A second
Stetson team of Olivia Bergert, Justin Bell, Magner Tiuso, Molly Goodwill made
it to the quarterfinal round.
This marks the 24th time in 38 years a Stetson team has won
the competition. Hatters claimed the inaugural trophy as well in 1983. The
Trial Lawyers Section of the Florida Bar conducts the prestigious competition
for mock trial teams from across the state annually, and distinguished members
of the judiciary preside over the final round.
A Stetson University College of Law Trial Team of, from left, Justin Bell, Molly Goodwill, Olivia Bergert, and Magner Tiuso made the quarterfinal round of the competition.
All eight students sacrificed their winter break to prepare for the competition, and the winning team was ultimately made better by having practiced against their schoolmates, said Julia A. Metts, director of Trial Programs and professor of practice.
“Iron sharpens iron, and that is how Stetson stays consistent,” she said. “Together we make each other better. Together we push towards a goal of personal and professional growth. Together we advocate with a purpose!”
Stetson’s program in trial advocacy is nationally ranked No.
1 by U.S. News & World Report. To learn more about the advocacy program,
visit stetson.edu/law/advocacy.
Donation will provide security awareness training to employees, create scholarships and internships, and help develop the school’s cybersecurity law program.
KnowBe4, the provider of the world’s largest security awareness training and simulated phishing platform, today announced it will make a $250,000 donation to Stetson University College of Law.
The donation includes:
Creation of the KnowBe4 Cybersecurity Law Scholarship Fund that will provide $5,000 merit-based scholarships for the next five years;
Creation of the KnowBe4 Cybersecurity Law Program Fund to support the establishment and growth of the cybersecurity law program at Stetson Law; and
A subscription to KnowBe4’s diamond-level new-school security training platform to enhance security and data protection awareness with Stetson’s staff, faculty and students.
“We see this donation as a great opportunity to contribute to and build our community,” said Stu Sjouwerman, CEO of KnowBe4. “It’s also an opportunity to help fulfill the need to educate and train more cybersecurity talent. We’re excited to work with Stetson University College of Law to help develop an entire collegiate program that’s focused on cybersecurity in the Tampa Bay area.”
The agreement includes the creation of other initiatives, such as a weekend course on the topics of cybersecurity and data privacy for Stetson Law students, speaking events, student-led research, student organizations, internship opportunities for law students, and providing general support for business law initiatives at Stetson Law with cyberlaw course offerings and other resources related to cybersecurity law.
“We strive to be at the forefront of all that we do at Stetson Law – whether it is educating students in emerging areas of law or ensuring our faculty and staff are highly trained in new technology – so this collaboration with KnowBe4 is a fantastic opportunity to advance both our mission and theirs,” said Michèle Alexandre, dean of Stetson University College of Law.
About KnowBe4
KnowBe4, the provider of the world’s largest security awareness training and simulated phishing platform, is used by more than 30,000 organizations around the globe. Founded by IT and data security specialist Stu Sjouwerman, KnowBe4 helps organizations address the human element of security by raising awareness about ransomware, CEO fraud and other social engineering tactics through a new-school approach to awareness training on security. Kevin Mitnick, an internationally recognized cybersecurity specialist and KnowBe4’s Chief Hacking Officer, helped design the KnowBe4 training based on his well-documented social engineering tactics. Tens of thousands of organizations rely on KnowBe4 to mobilize their end users as the last line of defense.
Jan. 3, 2020 – Stetson University College of Law, as part of the annual Wills for Warriors event, will again partner with the Community Law Program in Pinellas County and the St. Petersburg Bar Foundation to prepare free simple wills and advance directives for low income veterans and their spouses aged 60 or older.
The event will take place on Stetson Law’s campus in mid-February. Walk-in appointments are not available. Veterans or their spouses must schedule individual appointments in advance by calling 727-562-7577 by Feb. 4, 2020.
The Wills
for Warriors program is designed to assist veterans and their spouses aged 60
or older who have low incomes and limited assets. Individuals who own real
estate outside the state of Florida are not eligible to participate.
Stetson
students and volunteer attorneys from the Community
Law Program will
assist Stetson Law’s Center for Excellence in Elder Law with this program. The Center for
Excellence in Elder Law was established to meet the increasing need for legal
education and research in the field of law and aging. The Center provides legal
education to law students, attorneys, and judges in the field of elder and
special needs law and produces scholarly research and writing on issues
impacting those who are older and/or have special needs.
Stetson University will launch an additional
layer of online security known as multi-factor authentication this month for
students, faculty and staff to log in when they are off-campus.
Stetson will be a pioneer in cybersecurity initiatives as it is the first higher-education institution in the country to develop its own multi-factor authentication for its online services. The multi-factor authentication process will require students, faculty and staff to verify their identity in two ways when they log in from an off-campus location.
For example, users will need their password and a numeric code texted to their mobile phone. The Stetson multi-factor authentication will offer the added flexibility to use biometrics, such as a fingerprint or facial recognition, to confirm one’s identity in addition to other options, such as passwords, tokens, text messages and push notifications.
The new security feature will go live on
Stetson’s four campuses in DeLand, Celebration, Gulfport and Tampa on:
Monday,
Jan. 20, for non-faculty employees
Monday,
Feb. 3, for faculty
Monday, March 9, for students
How to use Multi-Factor Authentication?
Stetson Authenticator icon
Users will be required to complete an extra step (typically on their mobile phones) after they enter their User ID and Password to log in while they are off campus. Users will be required to use two authenticators and will be prompted to download these to their mobile device when they log in:
• Stetson Authenticator –
for all Stetson services, such as myStetson, Banner and Blackboard
Microsoft Authenticator icon
• Microsoft Authenticator – for all Microsoft services, such as Outlook email, Office 365, OneDrive, etc.
There are five main options for these authenticator
apps:
A. Users receive a notification on their mobile
devices via the Authenticator app. They can then accept or decline it.
B. Users read a one-time-use token from the
Authenticator app and enter it on the screen provided.
C. Users receive a one-time-use token via text
message on their registered phones and enter it on the screen provided.
D. Users receive a phone call on their
registered phones and respond to it using the prompts.
E. Users receive a one-time-use token via a non-Stetson email that they will indicate during sign up. They will then need to enter it on the screen provided (This option is only available for Stetson Authenticator).
Options in Stetson Multi-Factor Authentication, such as “Send push to Phone,” and “Enter Token from App.”
Although the multi-factor authentication is designed by default to be used off-campus, users have the option to choose to use it on-campus, as well. They will need to indicate their preferences during registration or subsequently through their settings page on the MyStetson portal. Certain users with access to confidential and sensitive information like Banner administrative users and IT users will be required to use this security feature irrespective of their location.
Users will also have the option to trust their frequently used browsers, so that they will not be prompted to use multi-factor authentication for 30 days while using those browsers.
Options in Microsoft Multi-Factor Authentication
In addition, since the Stetson Authenticator mobile app has biometric authentication capabilities, users can use their phone’s TouchID or FaceID (fingerprint and face recognition capabilities), if applicable, while responding to the notifications received (Select Option A above: “Send Push to Phone”).
Go-Live dates for Multi-Factor
Authentication
Starting in fall 2019, both the Stetson and Microsoft multi-factor authentication systems were tested on a pilot basis by users in IT and by students in a Management Information Systems (MIS) class, taught by Vikram Ahmed, EdD, director of Stetson’s Enterprise Information Systems (EIS).
The first group to go live was Banner administrative users on Nov. 4. The security feature will be launched to the three remaining groups of users on all Stetson campuses starting Monday, Jan. 20, for all non-faculty employees; Monday, Feb. 3, for all faculty; and Monday, March 9, for all students.
When users log in on or after the go-live date for their respective group, they will receive a prompt to download the Stetson Authenticator Mobile App and the Microsoft Authenticator Mobile App (available on Apple App Store and Google Play) on their iOS or Android phone, set up their preferences (including phone numbers to receive text messages and calls, and an external non-Stetson email address for the Stetson multi-factor authentication); and follow the instructions to complete the login.
They also have the option to enroll to use this
feature before the respective go-live dates. The link: https://my.stetson.edu/apps/mfainfo/
has all the details and instructions.
IT will continue to send updates as the launch dates approach, as well as dates for trainings and demonstrations. For any questions or concerns, please contact I.T. at [email protected].
One of the first steps of cybersecurity is access
control, which involves the identification and authentication of users. There
are three common factors used for authentication:
Something users know (such as their
passwords)
Something users have (such as their mobile
phones)
Something users are (such as their
fingerprints or face recognitions)
Identification occurs when users indicate their identity (such as with a username), and authentication occurs when users prove their identity. For example, users are authenticated when they provide both their username and their correct password. Permissions, rights and privileges are then granted to users based on their proven identities. Among the three authentication factors indicated above, passwords are the most commonly used, but are also the least secure. As Verizon’s 2018 Data Breach Investigations Report noted, “Eighty-one percent of hacking-related security breaches leveraged stolen and/or weak passwords.”
Multi-factor authentication is a method in which a user is granted access only after successfully presenting two or more of the above factors for authentication. For example, users may enter a password (something they know) and respond to a notification on their phone (something they have) to complete the login process. The idea behind this approach is the understanding that a perpetrator may somehow obtain a user’s password, but is very unlikely to have access to the user’s phone as well. Thus, the security of the authentication process is enhanced.
Vikram Ahmed, director of Stetson’s Enterprise Information Systems (EIS), watches as Matthew Samuels, Applications analyst/developer, demonstrates the new Stetson Multi-Factor Authentication process. Samuels was the chief architect of the Stetson Multi-Factor Authentication system.
Multi-Factor Authentication at Stetson
University
Over the past 18 months, the Stetson Information
Technology (IT) department has been researching Multi-Factor Authentication
solutions to increase security, as well as to address IT security audit
suggestions.
After the research was completed, the department received proposals from a couple of vendors of multi-factor authentication solutions that included an annual price in the range of $25,000-$30,000 to cover all of the university users. Additional research showed that a common practice in academia is to separate Microsoft products (email, OneDrive, Office365, etc.) from the institution’s enterprise systems.
For Stetson, those systems include Banner, MyStetson,
Blackboard, Slate and many others. Following this design, the IT department
took advantage of the university’s existing Microsoft License to deploy
Microsoft multi-factor authentication for the Microsoft products at no
additional cost to Stetson.
Stetson Authenticator using Face ID
Stetson Authenticator using Touch ID
At the same time, the Enterprise Information Systems (EIS) unit of IT developed a multi-factor authentication system using internal resources. This solution known as Stetson multi-factor authentication has been designed to be used with the university’s enterprise systems.
Stetson’s multi-factor authentication comes with a mobile app that has been tested and validated by both Apple and Android prior to being included in their respective app stores. In addition, this Stetson Authenticator app advances the security component by incorporating biometrics (fingerprint, face recognition) as an authentication factor.
Ahmed, director of Enterprise Information Systems, said, “Effective cybersecurity is a balance between convenience and security for the user. Stetson MFA combines the best of these two diametrically opposite goals to create an efficient, convenient and secure solution. Very few (if any) MFA commercial solutions offer the use of biometrics as a standard option, and the fact that this solution was completely developed in-house underlines the quality of talent available in EIS.
“In addition, since this solution has been built in-house, we have the flexibility to make required changes quickly and easily, something that would not be available with a commercial solution,” he added.
Matthew Samuels, Applications analyst/developer in EIS and the chief architect of the Stetson Multi-Factor Authentication system, shared his experiences working on this solution, “Developing Stetson MFA was a massive, ambitious project involving many different technologies, such as our single sign-on system (CAS), cloud services in Amazon Web Services (AWS), and various software frameworks.
“After quite a bit of research and development, our year-long endeavor has culminated in a system that provides a variety of methods to finish logging in using MFA and provide an extra layer of security to the Stetson community,” he added.
The late Wm. Reece Smith Jr. at Stetson University College of Law
Dec. 2, 2019 – Stetson University College of Law is currently accepting nominations for the prestigious William Reece Smith Jr. Public Service Award, which recognizes individuals who have provided outstanding service to the legal profession and community. This year’s award will be presented at the Annual Inns of Court Banquet in the Great Hall on February 5, 2020.
Nominations must be received by close of business on Monday, Dec. 17, 2019. Completed nominations may be emailed to [email protected].
Wm. Reece Smith Jr. served as a distinguished professorial lecturer at Stetson Law
The annual award is named in honor of legendary Florida lawyer William Reece Smith Jr. who served for decades as a distinguished professional lecturer at Stetson Law. Smith, who passed away in 2013, dedicated more than 60 years of service to the legal profession. He worked tirelessly to provide legal services to the poor. Smith founded and served as the first president of Florida Legal Services, served as a city attorney for Tampa, chair and trustee of numerous colleges and universities, interim president of the University of South Florida, and as board member of countless religious, charitable, civic and professional organizations.
Stetson established the William Reece Smith Jr. Award in 1990 to honor outstanding contributions to public service, the justice system and the community.
Dean Michèle Alexandre accepts the John Mercer Langston Legal Education Leadership Award at the 15th Annual National Black Pre-Law Conference and Law Fair in New York.
Dean Michèle Alexandre received the John Mercer Langston Legal Education Leadership Award at the 15th Annual National Black Pre-Law Conference and Law Fair at Columbia Law School in New York in early November.
The award is named for John Mercer Langston, the founding dean of the Law Department at Howard University and first black law school dean in 1869. Today, 150 years after Langston’s achievement, we have reached the largest number of black law school deans serving at American law schools in history.
Also during the conference, Stetson University College of Law was honored with a Diversity Outreach Champion Award. The award recognizes Stetson Law’s demonstrated commitment to recruiting black law students. The conference previously recognized Stetson Law as a Diversity Outreach Champion in 2014.
The National Black Pre-Law Conference and Law Fair aims to provide a powerful forum to help increase the numbers of excellent, strategic and competitive African American law school applicants, students and graduates nationwide.
Staff and students secure 100 percent disability for Marine with cancer; recognized for community service
Members of the Veterans Advocacy Clinic received community service awards at the Marine Corp Ball on Nov. 16, 2019. Veterans Law Institute Coordinator Shirley Booker, far left, Veterans Law Institute Director Stacey-Rae Simcox, second from right, and Stetson Law Student Mary Samarkos (2020), far right.
Stetson University College of Law Veterans Law Institute received the Distinguished Service Award from the Marine Corps League of Florida at Major B.F. Hickey – Detachment 57’s Marine Corps Birthday Ball celebration on Nov. 16, 2019.
The award recognized the work of the students, faculty and
staff in the Veterans
Advocacy Clinic to prove that a terminally ill Marine had been exposed to
toxic water at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, in the 1980s and developed terminal
bile duct cancer. As a result of their efforts, the Marine won an appeal to the
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) administrative board and secured benefits
to care for him and his family into the future.
Clinic law students, staff and faculty spent two years
working to find evidence to support that their Marine client had been in
contact with the water. They collaborated
with environmental science faculty and students on Stetson University’s main campus
in DeLand, environmental law faculty at the College of Law, and sifted through
thousands of pages of environmental records received under a Freedom of
Information Act (FOIA) request.
A little help from an alumnus
Professor Stacey-Rae Simcox.
Joshua Magidson, a shareholder at Macfarlane Ferguson &
McMullen, Stetson Law alumnus and a Marine himself, helped connect the Clinic staff
with Florida’s Marine Corps League. The League was able to spread the word and
track down other Marines who could corroborate that this Marine was exposed to
toxic water. After speaking to dozens of
Marines, law students found three witnesses who could prove the exposure.
At first the VA denied his claim, but the Veterans Clinic
appealed to the administrative board that oversees the VA. In the end, the Marine was awarded a 100
percent disability rating for his cancer.
“It’s an incredible example of the collaborative environment
we have across our campuses, and it’s a classic illustration of the impact our
law students can have on the world and the individual,” said Stacey-Rae Simcox,
director of the Veterans Law Institute and the Veterans Advocacy Clinic.
Major B.F. Hickey – Detachment 57 also presented law student
Mary Samarkos (2020), Veterans Law Institute Coordinator Shirley Booker, and
Professor Stacey-Rae Simcox with Community Service Awards for their work on the
case. The awards were presented by
Detachment 57 member and Stetson alumnus Brandon Robinson.
Case Background
The Veterans Advocacy Clinic had been working on this case
since the summer of 2017 and logged more than 400 hours of student legal work. The
veteran’s main goal was to have the VA recognize that his cancer was caused by his
military service so that his wife would be entitled to ongoing widow benefits
after his death.
Simcox said in her nearly 15 years of legal practice, this one was
case she feared was not winnable initially because they had no clear way to
prove the veteran’s cancer was caused by service in the Marine Corps. They
had to get creative and seek out further expertise.
They tapped faculty and students in Stetson’s Institute for Biodiversity
Law and Policy as well as biology and chemistry department faculty in
Deland for help deciphering the meaning of FOIA’d chemical records, aquifers,
ground water tables and myriad other environmental law terms that were foreign
to many of the staff in the Veterans Advocacy Clinic. Others involved
included: Law Professor Royal Gardner, Law Professor Paul Boudreaux, Dr.
Kirsten Work (professor of biology in Deland), Dr. Danielle Devoney (visiting assistant
professor of environmental toxicology in Deland), Christine Martin (a Stetson
DeLand employee and grad student in environmental studies), and law students Oscar
Sugranes (’18), Katherine Pratt (’19), Dane Petersen (’19), Brian Paul (’19),
John Pilz (’18), and Erica Eddy (3L).
The VA had already
recognized the water at Camp Lejeune was toxic and a contributor to bile
duct cancer, but the clinic staff had to factually prove that the veteran had
been physically exposed to the water there. While the veteran said his
job as a truck driver required him to drive back and forth to Camp Lejeune from
his actual duty station, the clinic had no proof he had ever actually been to
Camp Lejeune besides his word.
Students William Cocarro (’18) and Julie Munderback (’19) spent
hours poring through military historical records and trying to locate any
witnesses who might have been able to corroborate his travel between the two
installations. Finally, in the spring 2019 semester, the veteran remembered
that he had been sent to a small training facility called Bogue Field for
almost a month. Bogue is geographically in the middle of Camp Lejeune and
another Marine Corps installation. The students learned that Bogue had no
potable drinking water from the 1950s to the early 2000s and that water had to
be shipped in, but no one could verify where the water originated.
Based on that information, 3Ls Mary Samarkos and Chesley Roberts,
with the help of Phillip Saul (’19), hit the ground scouring for witnesses who
might be able to corroborate that the water at Bogue was being shipped in from
Camp Lejeune. With the help of Josh Magidson, the students contacted dozens
of veterans and identified three major witnesses who provided corroboration
that: 1). the water at Bogue Field was, in fact, shipped in from Camp Lejeune;
and 2). the veteran’s job did require him to drive to Camp Lejeune quite often.
Collaborative learning that made a difference
Veterans Clinic staff attorneys Rocky Roodhouse and Jami Worley,
along with Simcox worked hard to help the students think through the issues. Shirley
Booker, Veterans Clinic office manager, made sure that the veteran was taken
care of – even hand-carrying flowers to him on behalf of the clinic when he was
hospitalized.
The VA found that the brief submitted from Stetson, “relayed a
thorough, well documented, and scholarly discussion about the various exposures
while on active duty that may have contributed to his development of the
cholangiocarcinoma. Stated in their conclusion was that the veteran had
exposure to carcinogenic chemicals in the drinking water at Camp Lejeune,
exposure to contaminated water at Cherry Point, Agent Orange in Okinawa, Japan,
and liver flukes in Pohang, South Korea. There is ample evidence that the
veteran had contact with the drinking water from Camp Lejeune many times during
his service. Other exposures in terms of chemical or parasitic infections are
considerations for the veteran’s development of the cancer.”
A 100 percent disability rating means that not only will the
Veteran receive several tens of thousands of dollars in benefits that the VA
owed him on this claim, but he will get almost $4,000 a month into the future.
When he passes away, his wife will be taken care of as he had hoped with
widow’s benefits.
“The students who worked so hard on this case remind me constantly
why it is such a privilege to work with them,” Simcox said. “I hope it also
helps them remember that one lawyer can make a difference.”
Dean Michèle Alexandre received the John Mercer Langston Legal Education Leadership Award at the 15TH Annual National Black Pre-Law Conference and Law Fair at Columbia Law School in New York in early November.
The award is named for John Mercer Langston, the founding dean of the Law Department at Howard University and first black law school dean in 1869. Today, 150 years after Langston’s achievement, we have reached the largest number of black law school deans serving at American law schools in history.
Also during the conference, Stetson University College of Law was honored with a Diversity Outreach Champion Award. The award recognizes Stetson Law’s demonstrated commitment to recruiting black law students. The conference previously recognized Stetson Law as a Diversity Outreach Champion in 2014.
Dr. Jason Evans spoke on Nov. 5, 2019, as part of the Foreman
Biodiversity Lecture series. Evans is an associate professor of
Environmental Science and Studies and the interim director of the Institute for
Water and Environmental Resilience at Stetson University in Deland. His recent
research focuses on sea level rise vulnerability assessments and adaptation
planning for coastal communities throughout the Southeast.
Evans kicked off his lecture with an explanation of some of the
data behind sea level rise. In Key West, the sea level has risen 9 inches in
the past 100 years. In Ft. Myers, it’s risen 12 inches in the past 100 years.
Sea levels rise as the climate warms, resulting in warmer water that expands in
volume. Melting ice also contributes, providing more water mass and volume.
However, the sea level is not rising equally everywhere: It’s rising in many
areas but falling in others because of rebounds from the weight of ice sheets
as they melt.
Dr. Jason Evans spoke on Nov. 5, 2019, as part of the Foreman Biodiversity Lecture series. Evans is an associate professor of Environmental Science and Studies and the interim director of the Institute for Water and Environmental Resilience at Stetson University in Deland.
Stark examples of saltwater flooding as a result of sea level
rise have occurred in the Southeast.
“This last
October there was flooding in certain areas [of the Florida Keys] for 45
straight days – where even at low tide there was still saltwater on the roads,”
Evans said.
In 2015,
Tybee Island, Georgia, had the fourth highest tide on record and the only road
on or off the island became completely impassable. Saltwater flooding is not
only harmful to vehicles and homes but presents a public safety issue when main
roads are obstructed. We have experienced the fastest rate of sea level rise in
8,000 years – 8 inches over the past 100 years, Evans said. Climate projections
predict a maximum of 10 feet of sea level rise by 2100. More conservative
predictions expect an average of 2-3 feet by 2100. According to Evans, because
the Earth has a naturally unstable climate, exact predictions are difficult.
“When it
starts flooding, there is water coming out of a storm drain [and] the streets
are flooding, who are you going to call? You are going to call the mayor, you
are going to call city council, and those people are going to have to deal with
it and figure out what to do.”
Dr. Jason Evans explains that climate projections predict a maximum of 10 feet of sea level rise by 2100. More conservative predictions expect an average of 2-3 feet by 2100.
Evans
stressed the role of local governments in sea level rise adaption and planning,
because there is no national or even statewide policy capable of addressing
this problem. He then introduced an analogy of a garden shed versus a nuclear
power plant. With a garden shed in your backyard, you don’t really need to plan
for sea level rise. A shed is cheap and will likely be gone by 2100. With a
nuclear power plant, the stakes are much higher. There is zero tolerance for a
plant failure, and it needs to be resilient to even the slightest risks. In
that case, you need to plan for the worst.
Sea level
impacts on the built environment start with stormwater drainage and wastewater
infiltration, Evans explained. When the sea level rises, saltwater enters
stormwater drainage systems and forms a plug. When it rains, fresh water cannot
drain and just comes back up. For this reason, stormwater mapping is immensely
important.
Evans
worked to map high tide and flooding scenarios for St. Marys, Georgia, and the
city later implemented green infrastructure stormwater improvements to address
potential issues. Evans calls improvements like these “duct tape adaptation.” They
are temporary fixes and won’t help much if the sea level rises 6 feet, but they
can help avoid flooding in the meantime.
Students ask questions during the Foreman Biodiversity Lecture.
Evans wrapped up his lecture with a discussion of flood insurance and the Community Rating System (CRS), which is a voluntary incentive program for local governments to address climate change and sea level rise. By participating in the program and addressing sea level rise in their area, governments can receive a discount on flood insurance. Monroe County, Fla., was the first jurisdiction in the country to use sea level assessments to get a CRS discount. Programs like this can heighten the importance of sea level rise planning and risk assessment when larger policies are nonexistent or insufficient. Once the science behind sea level rise is accepted and governments start to address these risks, statewide and nationwide planning can begin.
About the Foreman Biodiversity Lecture Series
Stetson Law’s Institute for Biodiversity Law and Policy serves as an interdisciplinary focal point for education, research and service activities related to global, regional and local biodiversity issues. The Foreman Biodiversity Lecture Series brings to campus numerous experts in environmental law and environmental science. You can view Evans’s complete lecture on the Stetson Law YouTube channel.
Stetson University College of Law hosted the Inter-American Convention for the Protection and Conservation of Sea Turtles meeting of the Scientific Committee in September.
The IAC is
an international treaty that seeks to create balance between national
interests, regional customs, and international sea turtle conservation efforts.
It was created in 1994 by a group of coastal nations from North, Central, and
South America to reduce regional sea turtle threats. Under the treaty, member
states have a legal framework within which to act on behalf of sea turtle
populations. Today the IAC has 16 member states comprising Argentina, Belize,
Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, The Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala,
Honduras, Mexico, The Netherlands, Panama, Peru, the United States, Uruguay,
and Venezuela.
The IAC uses
data and education – while being mindful of each member state’s environmental,
socioeconomic and cultural characteristics – to protect sea turtles and their
habitats, as well as help recover turtle populations.
IAC efforts
are focused on the entire life cycle of sea turtles. The Treaty forbids the
capture of sea turtles, their shells, or their eggs. Restrictions are also placed
on human activities that may adversely affect sea turtles during their
reproduction, incubation and migration stages.
IAC Secretary Veronica Caceres speaks at the event.
“Nesting
beaches are much easier to protect than open oceans,” said Veronica Caceres,
IAC’s secretariat.
A Nicaraguan
native, Caceres holds a master’s in fishery and began working with sea turtle
conservation in Central America early in her career. One of the conservation
techniques she focuses on is the Turtle Exclusion Device, or TED. She explained
that the TED is put inside of shrimping nets and prevents accidental sea turtle
capture, leading to a reduction in turtle deaths.
Other
conservation efforts include restoring and conserving habitats, designating
protected areas, supporting research aimed at reproduction, breeding and re-introduction,
fostering relationships with governmental institutions, NGOs and the public at
large, and reducing the impact of fishing on sea turtle populations.
Film examines tension between humans and wildlife
As part of
the three-day meeting, IAC played the film, “Cacu: Un Cambio por la Vida”
(Cacu: A Change for Life) by Director/Journalist Marvin Del Cid and Marine
Biologist Omar Shamir Reynoso. The film explores the tension between the human
need to make a living and the value of protecting the environment. The
documentary follows Reynoso as he works with five Santo Domingo fishermen to
protect sea turtle nests in Santo Domingo.
Caceres said
this tension is one of the key challenges they face in getting communities to
participate in conservation efforts. They often get pushback from locals.
“It’s often
their livelihood,” she said, referring to egg poaching, “so you have to
approach it with the right attitude.”
Caceres
makes it a priority to understand community needs and the reasons why sea
turtle eggs are poached.
“Only
after we understand why, can we think about how to educate and encourage them
to change. It is important the community is recognized for their efforts.”
One way to
encourage local populations is through finding other avenues of income that
depend on a flourishing environment, such as tourism. Sometimes communities can
be incentivized for undertaking and closely monitoring conservation efforts.
For example, a community may receive funding for new schools or even stipends
in exchange for monitoring the sea turtle populations and preventing egg
poaching.
IAC members
aim to improve turtle mortality rate by increasing the number of communities
who monitor sea turtle population trends. They also are focused on mitigating
the impact of plastic pollution and climate change on sea turtles.
“As climate
change worsens, beach sand becomes hotter. This means the incubation
temperature becomes greater and, since incubation temperature determines the
sex of the turtles, more female turtles will be born,” Caceres explained,
“without males, sea turtle species will not survive.”
The
organization also wants to add more signatories to the treaty, including El
Salvador, Columbia, and Canada.
Stetson’s
role creates opportunity for students
Stetson
College of Law is an Accredited Observer of the IAC, meaning Stetson
representatives have the privilege of observing and hosting IAC meetings. Other
accredited observers include NGOs and scientific institutions.
Stetson Law Dean Michèle Alexandre and Professor Royal Gardner welcomed attendees.
Exhibit portrays persecution of Jewish lawyers and judges during Nazi era
“Lawyers Without Rights: Jewish Lawyers in Germany under the Third Reich” exhibit is on display at the Dolly and Homer Hand Law Library.
The highly acclaimed international exhibit, “Lawyers Without Rights: Jewish Lawyers in Germany under the Third Reich,” will be available for viewing in the Dolly and Homer Hand Law Library at Stetson University College of Law throughout the month of November.
The exhibit is sponsored by Jewish Law Students Association (JLSA) at Stetson Law in conjunction with the American Bar Association and German Federal Bar. It has been shown in more than 100 cities in Germany, the United States, and other parts of the world.
The concept was conceived in
1998 when an Israeli lawyer asked the regional bar of Berlin for a list of Jewish
Lawyers whose licenses had been revoked by the Nazi regime.
“The regional bar decided not
only to research a list of names but also to try to find out more about the
fates behind all those names,” said Axel Filges, past president of the German
Federal Bar. “Some were able to leave the country after the Nazis came into
power, but very many of them were incarcerated or murdered. The non-Jewish
German lawyers of those days remained silent. They failed miserably, and so did
the lawyers’ organizations. We do not know why.”
After the Berlin bar
transformed its research into an exhibit, other regional bars began asking
whether they could show it and add their own research.
“So, like a puzzle, a portrait of the fate of Jewish lawyers in Germany has emerged step by step,” Filges said.
The exhibit is spread throughout the first, second and third floors of the library and is available to the public during regular library hours. However, members of the public should call ahead for times to view, as the library will be closed for Veterans Day and during the Thanksgiving holiday.
