The work varied greatly from pulling weeds to painting, from cleaning toys to socializing with abandoned dogs. All work was done by volunteers from the Valparaiso University School of Law for the Valparaiso University Day of Caring that took place on September 20, 2008. The event was well represented with volunteers from each of the three classes. Third-year Jennifer Sheetz, President of the Valparaiso Law Democrats, did an informal count and estimated there were at least 60 Valpo Law volunteers. Sheetz, who helped organize the event in conjunction with the Porter County United Way, was happy with the turn out, believing it was larger than the previous year.

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The seventeenth annual 1L dinner was held at Avalon Manner in Merrillville, Indiana on September 12, 2008. The honoree at this year’s event was Richard G. Hatcher, former Mayor of Gary, Indiana. Among the other speakers were Dean Jay Conison, Professor Derrick Carter, Mark Heckler, the new president of Valparaiso University, and Alger Boswell, a recent Valpo Law graduate.

winner of the first annual Hilbert Bradley Scholarship.

support system people can find in family. Hatcher credited many of his accomplishments to his law degree from Valpo Law and pressed students to take advantage of all that is offered by their legal education.

was the first African-American mayor of a major U.S. city. After being elected in 1967, he served as mayor of Gary for 20 years. Following his five terms, Hatcher was involved in numerous political organizations, served as Vice Chairman of Jesse Jackson’s presidential campaign, opened his own consulting firm and started teaching at colleges including Valpo.

gave a reflective speech at the dinner. He had many positive experiences to share, and explained how it is difficult to fit three years of school into a short speech. Boswell instead listed a few negative things regarding the law school work load in law, but made sure to share helpful tips with the new students as well. “Study for Carter’s mid-term,” Boswell said. “I know you don’t think much of it now, but that test can save your life. I repeat, study for Carter’s mid-term.”

Hilbert Bradley Scholarship followed Boswell’s speech. Hugo Gamez, President of HLSA, and Bridgitt Anderson, President of BLSA, announced the winner together. First year law student, Mecca Anderson, was chosen from a group of students who submitted essays about race and politics. Anderson’s essay, “The Race: Color and the Run for the White House,” discussed race and the election in addition to the three roles that race plays in politics. The scholarship is named after alumnus, Hilbert Bradley, who was the first African-American student to graduate from Valpo Law. Bradley has been previously an honored guest at the 1L dinners on two separate occasions. The annual dinner began in 1992

as a small affair to welcome first-year BLSA students. Both Hatcher and Carter were instrumental in organizing the event. HLSA joined as a partner in 1998. Over the past seventeen years it has evolved to include all 1L students, school faculty, lawyers and judges in the community.

Since the 1970’s, California has struggled in the battle to grant marriage rights to same-sex couples. In 2005, California’s legislature approved a same-sex marriage bill. This catapulted the controversy surrounding granting basic rights to people who identify as Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgendered (GLBT) into the mainstream. The Governor of California vetoed the Bill, and left the decision up to the courts. In 2006, several same-sex couples petitioned the California Supreme Court to review their case. In April 2006, the California Supreme Court decided to consolidate and hear all same-sex marriage cases before the court. (In Re Marriage).

Perez v. Sharp, the California Supreme Court held that the state’s interracial marriage ban was unconstitutional. The Court found that equal respect and dignity of marriage is a basic civil right.

Furthermore, the Court held that it was unconstitutional to prevent same-sex couples from getting married because GLBT individuals are a protected class, and discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation should be subject to strict scrutiny under the Equal Protection clause of the 14th Amendment.

In Re Marriage opinion finally takes into account that all men are created equal and equality is the essence of freedom. In the midst of this historic decision, the faculty at Valparaiso University School of Law stood behind VU’s GLBT student organization and supported their efforts to attend the 20th Annual Lavender Law Conference in San Francisco, California held from September 4-6.

The Lavender Law Conference takes place annually, and welcomes all interested legal professionals and law students. This year, the Valparaiso LAMBDA Student Organization was

able to send six students to the Conference in early September. Dean Conison and the faculty were very supportive of the organization’s efforts to network with other GLBT students and professionals. During the conference Valpo Law students were greeted by members of the National Gay Lesbian Law Association, and were introduced to one of California’s best Gay hot-spots, the Castro. The first day of the conference consisted of a career fair, where students had the opportunity to meet and greet with 167 law firms in their efforts to secure summer associate positions for 2009. The second and third days were dedicated to conducting workshops concerning the current legal battles facing the GLBT community. Valpo Law students attended Continuing Legal Education workshops led by many of the nation’s top legal scholars. Topics included marriage and dissolution, the Military’s “don’t-ask-don’t-tell” policy, how to come out on your resume, and ways to have a presence at your law school. The six students who attended the Conference were able to maximize the benefits of this conference by attending all daily workshops, and network with a large number of law firms. More importantly, students at Valpo Law School who identify as GLBT and their allies were able to celebrate the community’s success in the ongoing fight for equality achieved through the California Supreme Court’s decision to legalize same-sex marriage.

New signs and posters will begin showing up around Wesemann Hall in the coming weeks as Valparaiso University School of Law prepares to launch its new “Safe Space” mentoring program.

The Safe Space program is dedicated to providing a welcoming environment where students, faculty and staff can communicate with mentors regarding a wide variety of topics without fear of persecution. The program was originally designed by and for the gay, lesbian, bi-sexual and transgender (GLBT) community to identify “safe zones” where individuals could seek counseling on issues regarding diversity and equality.

The Safe Space program is committed to changing negative attitudes and fostering an understanding of diversity within our educational community. Catch phrases such as “that’s so gay” and the use of racial and ethnic slurs to jokingly address fellow classmates have become a familiar sound on many college and university campuses. While this language may seem harmless to some, it also serves to isolate those who already consider themselves different from the majority.

staff in recent years. The influx of students from diverse backgrounds has led to minor culture clashes and shown the need to be sensitive to inherent cultural differences. According to the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, Safe Space programs increase the visible presence of student and adult allies who can help to shape a school culture that is accepting of all people, regardless of differences.

In order to meet the needs of a diverse community, Valpo Law has chosen to expand its version of Safe Space to encompass an array of topics including gender, religion, culture, race and women’s issues. Moses Suarez, the President of Lambda stated that, “the roll-out of the Safe Space program symbolizes Valpo Law’s commitment to diversity and demonstrates a proactive sense of care to individuality.”

The goals of Valpo’s Safe Space program are to show visible support for diversity through the display of the Safe Space logo, the mobilization of individuals who are committed to promoting diversity through open dialogue and education, and to reduce discriminatory and retaliatory behavior that may occur in diverse communities.

Administrators and student leaders who choose to participate in the program are provided with resources to assist anyone who approaches them with concerns. The volunteers are trained to promote active listening and to work in conjunction with the University’s counseling services and other off-campus resources. Administrative personnel who display the logo are committed to overcoming discrimination through open dialogue and communication.

Participation in the program is strictly voluntary and will include select student leaders and many administrative personnel including deans, associate deans, student relations and admissions staff. While the details of the program are still being developed, the program has proven successful at other schools including Chicago-Kent and Loyola.

Additional training sessions will be held in the future and the leaders of student organizations and other administrative personnel will be invited to attend.

For more information on the Safe

Space Program, please see Joe Baruffi, Paul Kulwinski or Moses Suarez.

Some think that the right to vote is a privilege, duty and obligation of American citizens, but with rights come responsibilities. These responsibilities were the focus of this semester’s first Conversation Project, held last Wednesday at the Christopher Center. Members from Valparaiso University Law School and the Project on Civic Reflection Steering

Committee host two sessions a semester, called the Conversations Project. Their mission is to provide a non-partisan forum where people can discuss controversial issues from an objective standpoint.

In the words of Valpo Law Professor Jeremy Telman, “We wanted an alternative form of conversation instead of having one Republican hack and one Democrat hack screaming at each other.” The project focuses on all sorts of political issues, but ‘tis the season for a presidential election and what better time to discuss the right to participate in the upcoming election.

“We have come through an entire election cycle since beginning the Conversations Project and thought we’d come back to the issue that is at the heart of our democracy,” said VU Professor Jennifer Hora. Hora was the moderator at the meeting last week.

There are three phases to the project, a small group discussion, panel discussion and a session for questions of the panel by participants. Last week’s panel included the Mayor of Valparaiso, Jon Costas, Jane Henegar, a member of the Indiana Bar Association who works for the Obama campaign, and Zora Ludwig. Ludwig came to the U.S. as an immigrant when she was six years old and became a citizen at the age of 19. She provided a different perspective on the right to vote and what it means to those who do not have that right.

the Project on Civic Reflection Steering Committee. Facilitator and 2L, Arriel Stevens, asked one group about voting in the upcoming election and the conversation quickly moved from voting to issues regarding the Iraq war, health care, women’s rights and the economy. All of these issues were important to each person, but their responses were informational versus emotional.

In the second phase, the panel introduced themselves and discussed both their experiences with voting and what the right to vote means to them. A common theme amongst the panel was the problem of people not voting.

It became evident to Mayor Costas during his election campaign while going door to door just how many people would say they do not vote. The most common responses were, “My vote won’t affect the results,” and “Politicians are all crooks.” This motivated him to encourage more people to vote. He worked to send absentee ballots to students from Valparaiso who had left for college, but after sending 90 absentee ballots the problem became more apparent when only seven were mailed back.

rificed to give you this gift. The pain and suffering they endured is enough of a reason for everyone to vote.” He also listed his 10 benefits of voting. Some were the ability to engage, become more unified, setting a good example and most importantly, it will help the Cubs win the World Series.

Panelist Jane Henegar is also a big advocate for voting because it shows those were electing that we are paying attention. “Voting is a privilege and a right, but with rights come responsibilities. Use it or lose it,” Henegar said. “The Founding Fathers strongly believed that without voting democracy will die. It is essential people exercise control over those we give power because if we don’t, we allow abuse of that power.”

The process by which we are governed and how we are governed is the only thing that sets us apart from the rest of the world. Agreeing from experience was the third panelist, Ludwig. The sincere and severe realization of the importance of voting, which many take for granted, washed over the room while Ludwig told her story. Her parents brought her to the U.S. so she could have all the rights and privileges many who grow up here take for granted.

“The group sitting in this room had grandparents and great grandparents who died so you could have the right to vote,” she said. “Voting is your chance and my chance to change our government, or keep it the same. The point is, it’s our choice. Think of the obstacles people go through to become citizens and apart of this country’s future and many born and raised here do not even participate.”

sion, the floor was open for questions.

The panel provided in-depth responses about getting to know representatives, multiple party systems and how technology innovations have changed the political process as well as the degree of integrity in voting.

An issue regarding movements keeping people from voting was brought up by Valpo Law Professor, Edward Gaffney. According to Gaffney, “keeping someone from voting is fundamentally one of the worst violations of this democracy. Whether Republican or Democrat, I hope what comes out of this is a commitment to empower the franchise of voting. Encourage others to vote.”

Eleven years ago The Verve was poised to become the next great band out of England to stake their claim as the mainstream rock band of the moment. Riding high off the success of the smash single “Bitter Sweet Symphony,” the future held big things as the album spun off several other mildly successful singles in “The Drugs Don’t Work” and “Lucky,” but things went awry. A lawsuit over a Rolling Stones sample used in “Bitter Sweet Symphony” reportedly took away all of the money generated by the song and album, “Urban Hymns.” The band broke up due to turmoil between singer Richard Ashcroft and guitarist Nick McCabe and would not reunite until the summer of 2007.

In the meantime Ashcroft released three solo albums, which were met with mixed reviews but sold well in England and Europe. The album “Forth,” released in the United States on August 26th, proves two things about The Verve: if the band had never existed Coldplay would likely never have formed, and that the band will make music on their own terms.

is a power anthem that draws its power from Ashcroft’s emotional vocals, backed by a band fully in sync with their musical abilities. Other standout tracks on the album include “Rather Be” and “Valium Skies.” Though this album is about nine years late, there is little doubt that “Forth” seems eerily to be the album the band would have recorded as a follow-up to “Urban Hymns.”

In order for listeners to fully understand the hypnotic power of this band, multiple listens are essential because many of these songs will not jump out and hook you, but rather will grow on you like a childhood best friend. While this album is short of perfection, it fully cements The Verve as a band to be reckoned with in the future. I give it an 8 out of 10.

he Stand Ins,” originally conceived as the second half of a double album (the first half, “The Stage Names,” was released last year), was finally released in early September to a long awaited sigh of relief from the indie rock faithful.

Singer Will Sheff does a noble job of assembling a group of songs that sound closer to having been recorded in your brother’s bedroom instead of a music studio. The songs are straight-forward, borderline sing-a-long material, and therein lies the album’s charm. Okkervil River is not out to change the world with their music, but to instead make it a slightly better place in which to live.

At various points the album takes on a jingle jangle of heartbreak in “Starry Stairs.” The next track, “Blue Tulip,” is a ballad in every sense of the word and checks in at 6 minutes and 18 seconds, by far the longest song on the album. Sheff sings with complete honesty on “Blue Tulip” when he belts out, “with every single cell of me, I’m going to make you mean the words you sigh, you lie.”

Aptly described as folk-rock, Okkervil River have continued to churn out well-calculated and honestly arranged albums. So often today many bands experience a morsel of success and their music never sounds the same as when people fell in love with it. Thankfully that is not the case with “The Stand Ins,” which utilizes the same formula as their previous album with enough subtle changes to strap listeners in for a new experience. I give it a 9 out of 10.

For those of you who do not know us, Gus is my better half. He works hard to support me as I struggle through the trials and tribulations of law school. Most days, I enjoy cooking for the two of us, but occasionally, I do not have the time or energy to make a healthy, delicious meal. When that happens, we go through the process of deciding where we should eat out in the thriving metropolis of Valparaiso. When we first moved to town, we had no clue that there were incredibly diverse dining choices available in town. Although Applebees and Fridays are great to go to on occasion, I soon tired of their selection, and we began to branch out to locally owned restaurants. One place I am happy to have discovered is Mezza, at 607 E. Lincolnway.

The word “mezza” actually means appetizer in Arabic. When you eat at this restaurant, you will quickly discover that the menu consists primarily of various “tapas,” or appetizers. Some of the menu options include an order

of five cold dishes and five warm for a table to share at approximately sixteen dollars a person. This may seem a bit pricey for appetizers, but once the food starts coming, you aren’t likely to miss having a main course. The only problem with this particular option is that the entire table has to agree on which ten items to order. This can be difficult, but it is more cost-effective if you can make it work. It also assists in the flow of the meal, as the food comes out in courses, and it is not particularly pleasant if some people at the table have to sit and watch the rest of the table eat because they did not order anything for the first course .

When evaluating a restaurant, I

find that there is a simple test for deciding whether I would recommend eating there to a friend or not. This test consists of four elements, none of which are decisive in my conclusion. These elements are: ambiance, service, cost and taste. In considering ambiance, I look to the decor, the table arrangements, whether there is music, and whether there is entertainment available. When I evaluate the service, I primarily consider both the speed and the accuracy of the wait-staff, but I must also consider whether the server is friendly and charismatic as well. Cost seems like a relatively simple factor, and it is, but quality plays a part in that consideration; I am unwilling to pay much at all if I feel the quality is low, but I may be willing to splurge on a high-quality restaurant experience. The final element in my analysis, taste, is given the most weight in my balance of elements. I may be willing to put up with poor service, bad ambiance, and high costs if the food is incredible, but if it is so-so, any one of the other factors may tip the balance away from the restaurant. In considering taste, I look to more than whether I simply enjoy the meal, but also to whether it is original or unusual. In other words, I want the food to be the main reason why I chose a particular restaurant. The application of this test to Mezza is as follows:

The decor of Mezza is lovely. There are shades of blue and yellow throughout the restaurant, suggesting the feel of the Mediterranean, without being obvious or overdone. The table arrangements are overcrowded indoors, but wonderful outdoors, where there are garden lights and tiki-torches burning. There was no noticeable music playing while I was in the restaurant, but there

was the exciting entertainment of a fire-dancer, Ian Jahnz. It was an extremely diverse way to spend an evening, and infinitely added to my experience at Mezza. Overall, the ambiance of Mezza is excellent, with the available entertainment and pleasant decor outweighing the crowded feel.

The one problem I encountered while eating at Mezza was that the service was slightly slow. We arrived at the restaurant for our 7:30 reservation, but did not get menus until 8:00, and

were not served our first appetizers until around 9:00. However, we did watch the dancer during part of that time and later discovered that there was a shortage of wait-staff on that particular evening. Therefore it is uncertain whether service would always be so slow at the restaurant. Whether or not that is the case, I would recommend making sure you have the evening free if you are having dinner at Mezza, just in case.

As I stated above, you can share ten menu items for a price of sixteen dollars a person, which is not overly expensive for the food that is served at Mezza. If you choose to take a different route in ordering, the appetizers

range from five dollars to ten, depending on what they involve. Entree items are generally around fifteen dollars, and sandwiches are no more than eight dollars. However, Mezza does offer a student discount for lunches, which is any of six sandwiches with a beverage for only six dollars.

Our meal began with hummus, a spread made of chickpeas, and baba ganouj, a spread made from mashed eggplant, which we ate with warm pitas. We moved from there to falafels, which

are fried treats with a filling made of chickpeas and fava beans. Arguably, the best menu item we tried was the scallops. They were cooked to perfection, and delicately spiced. The item I would recommend to anyone carnivorous, however, is the kefta quesadilla. Gus’s response to his first bite was “Oh my God,” followed by delighted silence, which always means he believes eating is more important than talking at that particular moment. Kefta is grilled sirloin flavored with five-spice. It tastes exotic and familiar all at once. I felt that Chef Sarah Geary outdid herself with this appetizer, and I wanted to eat more.

I would recommend this restaurant to anyone who wants to treat their dining experience as an evening out of the ordinary. It provides a relaxed environment with delicious foods that are generally unavailable in small-town America. More importantly, I believe from what I tasted that everything on the menu is probably worth trying, and the more I try, the more curious I get about what else is offered.

Welcome back after a long summer of hopefully brewing and tasting. I certainly enjoyed mine, and was welcomed back to law school with a grand slam of a sample, this delectable Belgian Tripel.

As I have elaborated upon in the past, the Belgian Tripel is, if not THE king of all brew styles, at least among the kings in the brewing world (deliberately excluding an American “beer” that markets that title). As I have described in my previous columns, this whopping style utilizes candy sugar to produce both an ABV and a body that is unparalleled in the brewing world. Not only are many of these brews meticulously crafted by Christian monks, they are usually organic, bottle conditioned and corked in 750mL bottles. What makes this class so dominant in the eyes of many brewers and tasters is its pure simplicity of form and attention to detail that create such a depth of character and diversity in palette to leave you intrigued, wine bottle after wine bottle of this delicate goodness.

aged to find not only a unique selection of beers from around the world, but also an assortment of delectable cheeses to compliment such world class craftsmanship. I spent a good deal of time sampling the cheeses until I arrived at the cheese that was meant for this terrifically crafted beer: a Belgian abbey goat cheese fermented with organic, abbey-raised honey.

“hefe-like” presence as the light superficial froth hung on the edges of the crystal. I could have literally spent hours wandering through this beer’s aroma, as it permeated my nose with its very floral, peony or hibiscus essence, followed by a chamomile or apricot sweetness. A very balanced mouthfeel was evident upon taking the first grasp of this divine substance; the carbonation’s feel echoed its appearance—as a perfect champagne intensity, and it was relatively full. Its sweet body of concentrated apricot then engulfed my entire palette followed by a distinct sour and almost bitter aftertaste, distinctly evident of granny smith apples or German Gewurstraminer grapes. This sourness intrigued me well after this 750mL was split four ways (the mere cost of good company), and I was left with the mystery of a clean, dry champagne-like finish. The character and body of this beer was so complex that my only regret was not having an assortment of accompaniments to isolate each individual essence. I strongly recommend all of you readers (albeit three of you…) to take a journey over to Old World Market and give this one a try!

Temperatures are slowly dropping, leaves are beginning to turn and the end of September’s yellow jacket invasion is swiftly dissipating. Fall is here, and for baseball fans that only means one thing – the playoffs are here again. For Chicago Cubs fans, this is the second year in a row they have made it to the playoffs, the first time since 1907-08. Cubs fans carry a heavy burden, as their team has not won the World Series since 1908.

looking for their first. The Tampa Bay Rays have stormed through the regular season accomplishing many firsts for the young franchise that has been in the American League East’s cellar for most of their existence. The young talent of rookie third basemen Evan Longoria, combined with the veteran leadership of designated hitter Cliff Floyd, have vaulted the Rays to their first playoffs in franchise history.

missing the playoffs for the first time since 1993.

In the AL Central, the Chicago White Sox are looking for a repeat of their 2005 success. The White Sox will have the toughest road to travel in the AL, coming in with the worst record of the four. Young pitching and timely hitting, thanks to manager Ozzie Guillen’s July rant, has been the recipe for success on the South Side.

Out west, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim hold the best record in the majors. Angels closer Francisco Rodriguez broke the single-season mark for saves by accumulating 61, four more than the previous mark. The National League is packed with talented teams looking to march through October and on to the World Series.

record in the NL and were the first team to clinch. Manager Lou Piniella has his pitching staff headed in the right direction at the right time. Ace Carlos Zambrano and pitcher Ted Lilly are coming off a no-hitter and one-hitter respectively. General Manager Jim Hendry bolstered the lineup by picking up outfielders Jim Edmonds and Reed Johnson and pitcher Rich Harden. The Cubs have scored the most runs in the majors behind the offense of Alfonso Soriano and Aramis Ramirez. Their offense along with their pitching has transformed the Cubs from the “Lovable Losers” into the favorites in the NL. The Philadelphia Phillies have two former NL MVPs on their roster, shortstop Jimmy Rollins and first basemen Ryan Howard. Howard leads the majors with 46 homeruns and 141 runs batted in.

The other New York team, the Mets, come into the playoffs with a different manager than they started with, and a bullpen that has been beaten up, to say the least. Perennial All-Stars Jose Reyes, David Wright and Carlos Beltran, with the addition of pitcher Johan Santana make New York a team not to be overlooked. Reyes, always a threat to steal, had over 200 hits this season, only the second player to do so in a Mets uniform.

play of outfielder Manny Ramirez, who is already third on the team with 16 home runs. Veteran pitchers Derek Lowe, Brad Penney and Greg Maddux have each won a World Series and provide balance and leadership in the clubhouse. Not to mention manager Joe Torre’s experience is unparalleled to any other manager in the majors. This will also be Torre’s 14th consecutive post season as a manager, but his first with the Dodgers.

On November 5, 2008 the Valparaiso University School of Law Moot Court Society will host the 20th annual Judge Luther M. Swygert Memorial Moot Court Competition. Every year members of the Moot Court Society delve into areas of First Amendment law in this competition. This year’s topic involves academic freedom for professors, which is timely and of great interest to many.

Smith and Katie Staab). The field will be narrowed to the top four competitors who will perform in the final round on November 5th.

Judge John Tinder of the 7th Circuit, Justice Elizabeth Lacy of the Virginia Supreme Court, and Justice Debra Todd of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.

Members of the Moot Court Society include:

Gilfillan, Kirsten Haalboom, Brandon Hall, Sean Hatfield, Allison Horton, Milo Johnson, Jesse Lanshe, Joanna Lekkas, Elizabeth Madlem, Anthony Mayerhofer, Kathryn McEnery, Ashley Mills, Brett Mock, Amy Molloy, Erika Nelson, Steve Olsen, Nicholas Poteres, Abigail Rom, Heather Schaefer, Sameer Siddiqui, Jeff Speights, Arriel Stevens, Moses Suarez, Jessica Warren