Widener Journal of Law, Economics & Race

FAQ: Spring 2009 Closed Write-On and Superior Authorship Competition

Posted by Jody Roselle on April 29, 2009  |  No Comments

Who is eligible to do the closed writing competition?  Any student that has completed 1 full year, approximately 31 credits, is eligible to participate in the closed writing competition.

What is the Superior Authorship competition?  With the Superior Authorship competition students are permitted to turn in a previously written paper, a seminar paper or another paper that fulfilled the writing requirement, or they can choose a topic of their preference and submit a new paper.

Who is eligible to do the Superior Authorship competition? All students going into their final year, RD or ED. 

 Is it too late for me to submit a topic for the Superior Authorship competition?  No, the staff members on both campuses are still accepting topics.  The paper will be due by June 11^th, but we will continue to accept topics for the next couple of weeks. 

How do I pick a topic?  Pick a topic that interests you.  One thing to keep in mind that the topic needs to be narrow enough so there is a good thesis and analysis.

Does my topic have to fit into the scope of the journal?  No, at this time we are looking for good writing and bluebooking skills; our goal is not to publish these submissions.

How many students are you accepting?  We are looking for students with good writing and bluebooking skills, we are not putting a minimum or maximum number on acceptance; skills are assessed on an individual basis.

What does bi-campus mean?  Bi-campus means that there is one journal in two locations.  WJLER acts as a whole, it does not operate as two journals with the same name.  Decisions are made through the majority vote of both campuses and communications are kept open and are frequent between the campuses.  Staff meetings include both campuses.

I am an ED student, how difficult will it be for me to be an active member of the journal?  ED students are welcome in the journal.   The majority of your work will be done on your own time and most of the correspondence will be via e-mail.  As for the staff meetings, if you are unable to attend, alternative meetings can be scheduled or minutes can be provided.

How do I participate in the closed write-on competition?  Each student will be able to obtain the necessary sources for the closed write-on competition in 3 ways:  (1)  a student may come by the WJLER office in Polishook to pick up a packet on May 9^th between 10 AM and 2 PM, (2) a student may contact a staff member and arrange a pick up on either campus by emailing us at wjler@mail.widener.edu, or (3) a student may access the material through the TWEN page, and then look up the necessary cases on Westlaw or Lexis Nexis.  However, on the day that the student intends to begin the write-on competition they MUST add the WJLER write-on competition course through the TWEN page.  This will time stamp when you began the write-on and begin the 3 week time period each student has to finish the write on competition.

What is the timeline for the closed write-on competition?  The write-on competition will last for 9 weeks in total.  The first day to pick up the packet for student is May 9^th, the last day to pick up the packet is June 20^th, and offers for membership to the journal will go out on August 2^nd.      

frequently_asked_questions11.doc

Spring 2009 Write-on Competition

Posted by Jody Roselle on April 3, 2009  |  No Comments

The Widener Journal of Law, Economics & Race is pleased to announce the Spring 2009 Closed Write-On and Superior Authorship competitions. WJLER seeks students with strong writing and research abilities to join the staff of Widener Law’s newest law journal and help us reach our objective of joining and encouraging scholarly discourse and contributing to information available to policymakers as they seek to address issues on the tensions that arise in law, economics, and race. Specifically, this journal seeks to enhance the national dialogue by utilizing the Internet to publish articles, blogs, and commentary in addition to making audio and video commentary and discussion on law and race; economics and race; and law, economics, and race.

In order to reach that goal, WJLER seeks students who wish to help create and shape this new format of scholarly publication according to the high-quality, time-honored standards of legal research and authorship.

A TWEN site on WestLaw will be established for both write-on competitions.

Eligibility for the Closed Write-On Competition:

• Student must have a Cumulative Grade-Point-Average of 2.7 at the end of the Spring Semester (determined after grades returned from Registrar).
• Student must be a rising 2RD, 3ED, or 1ED who will be matriculating into the Regular Division in the Fall 2009 semester. 1ED students who will remain in the Extended Division must wait until their third semester before they can compete in one of the biannual write-on competitions.
• The competition packet will be made available on May 9, 2009, the day following the end of the 1L final examination period.

Eligibility Rules and Guidelines for the Superior Authorship Competition:

• Student must have a Cumulative Grade-Point-Average of 2.7 at the end of the Spring Semester (determined after the Registrar returns the grades)
• Must choose a topic and submit the topic for approval no later than 5 p.m. on Wednesday, May 13 (This is a deadline extension). Seminar papers will be accepted.
• Topics should be submitted to: wjler@mail.widener.edu, Att.: Editorial Board – Superior Authorship topic in the subject line.
• Submissions must be double-spaced in 12-point Times New Roman with one-inch margins. Page numbers must be centered at the bottom of each page. Footnotes in proper BlueBook citation format are required.
• Final submissions are due no later than 5 p.m. June 11. Details on format and submission method will be forthcoming.

The Business Case for Diversity

Posted by Jody Roselle on April 3, 2009  |  No Comments

Widener School of Law, Delaware, will host Dr. Jeff McKinney, president of the Chicago-based Angkor Group, for his talk, “The Business Case for Diversity: Why We Need It, How We Achieve It.” Dr. McKinney’s remarks will focus on the legal profession and why the legal profession should encourage diversity to enhance overall performance.

Specifically, Dr. McKinney will address the historically underrepresented groups within the legal profession: Hispanics, women, African-Americans, and diversity issues related to race, religion, ethnicity, sex, and sexual orientation. A floor discussion and Q&A will follow the presentation.

The program has been scheduled to start at 4:30 p.m., Thursday, April 16, 2009 at the Barrister’s Club.

This Diversity Week event is sponsored by: SBA, PALS, MLS

Dean’s Leadership Forum: “Diversity and Sports: The History, The Challenges, and The Future”

Posted by Jody Roselle on April 1, 2009  |  No Comments

This year’s theme brought scholars and experts from around the country to the Widener Law Harrisburg campus to address a myriad of issues related to minority participation in sports and the public eye. Symposium organizers chose the subject matter based on the recognized place of sports in culture and society.

To watch some of the presentations, follow the links below:
Daniel Frankl, Ph.D., California State University Los Angeles and Marie Hardin, Ph.D. Penn State John Curley Center for Sports Journalism