Orientation Kicks Off With Law Student Oath, Mock Class, Welcome by PCBA, ABA Presidents
Monday, August 18, brought 154 new law students and their families to the first night of New Student Orientation at the UALR William H. Bowen School of Law. As the students arrived at 5 p.m. to receive their Orientation Packets, they were entertained with a reception sponsored by the Pulaski County Bar Association.
The mandatory four-day session intended to teach the new students how to succeed in law school began with Welcome Addresses by Dean John M. DiPippa, Pulaski County Bar Association President Judge Herb Wright, and Arkansas Bar Association President Rosalind Mouser, '84.
Dean DiPippa (above) and ABA President Mouser ’84 (below) address new law students.
The new group then watched a mock Constitutional Law class, with the Academic Success Mentors acting as students being taught by Dean DiPippa. The mentors are current law students whose excellence qualifies them to assist first-year students with their legal studies. The "class" was a demonstration of the Socratic method, used regularly in law classes, in which students face numerous complicated and thought-provoking questions from their professor. The worried looks on the new students' faces proved that the demonstration was informative.
Academic Success Mentors face Socratic method in demonstration law class.
Assistant Dean Aaron Taylor then took the lectern and, as he called each of the new students' names, they were presented with the gift of a hardbound copy of the United States Constitution. As all students stood with their Constitutions, Congressman Ray Thornton--the Bowen Public Service Fellow and a former Arkansas Supreme Court Justice, Attorney General, Congressman, and President of ASU and the UA System--administered the law students oath, shown below.
Congressman Thornton administers the Law Student Oath.
In the break before the Orientation sessions continued, dozens of students stood in line to speak with Congressman Thornton and have him autograph their Constitutions.
Thornton visits with new students, autographs U.S. Constitution gifts.
Law Student Oath
UALR William H. Bowen School of Law
August 18, 2008
I will exhibit, and I will seek to nurture in others, the high regard due our courts, judges, professors, and all other members of the legal and law school communities.
I will, throughout my years in law school, be respectful of my classmates and will strive to behave with courtesy to all.
As opportunities arise, I will offer my service to the cause of the impoverished, the defenseless, or the oppressed as a means to advance justice.
I will, to the best of my ability, abide by the Honor Code, and in those situations not specifically addressed, I will follow the spirit of the rules of ethics and the precepts of honor and fair play.
I will endeavor always to advance the cause of justice and live up to the high professional and ethical ideals of the legal profession and uphold the highest standards of academic honesty and ethical practice throughout my time in law school and throughout my career as an attorney.
