News and Announcements
A blend of classroom learning, teamwork, and real-world problem solving has earned the LSSC Program mention in several news articles-and word continues to spread. Please click the links below to read what the press has been saying about this innovative and unique Northeastern School of Law program.
- Read about LSSC in the spring 2008 issue of Cornerstone
- Read about LSSC in the fall 2007 edition of the ABA’s Syllabus
Restorative Peer Justice System Milestone:
On Tuesday, October 6, 2009, SJA student Travis Medley, SJA Director Winston C. Cox, and Professor Susan Maze-Rothstein of Northeastern University’s School of Law joined Senator Spilka at the Statehouse in support of Senate Bill #68, an effort to reform the state’s Child in Need of Services (CHINS) policies. Thanks to the hard work and partnership between SJA and NU’s Legal Skills in Social Context program lead by Maze-Rothstein, a portion of this innovative bill has restorative justice interventions and language in it. Travis spoke eloquently about his experience of restorative justice at SJA. Cox and Maze-Rothstein argued that restorative justice can offer a diversion from CHINS and its burdens on the court system. See Travis’ comments attached:
Statehouse Testimony by Travis Medley, Student, The Social Justice Academy, October 6, 2009
Good Morning/Afternoon, my name is Travis medley and I go to the Social Justice Academy at the Hyde Park Education Complex. I am doing what I can to spread the word of restorative justice. I can see that it does work. I was skeptical myself of it working but so far it has made a difference in our discipline rate. Not many students have been in trouble since we introduced it last year. As a result of this method, more students were able to stay in school and keep receiving their education instead of traditionally being suspended. They got the chance to work out their problems.
As students, we need to come together and understand each others problems so we can help each other and be closer. If we are the future, then we should be more friends than enemies. The traditional discipline system doesn’t allow students to be friends or even allow a foundation for a friendship. However, through restorative justice, we can get students to become more in touch with each other and that provides for a better learning process. Also with students getting to remain in school they are more likely to succeed. Since my sophomore year, the MCAS scores have dramatically increased and I believe it is because students went threw the restorative justice process. They were able to solve their problems, have an understanding of who was harmed and who was responsible and also understand where they were coming from and what was going through their minds when it happened.
This process is a great way to get students through problems and keep them in school. I believe if it can work in my school it can work in others. It all depends on the determination of everyone who’s involved. You need advisors who train teachers to train students how the process works. I already know of some schools that use restorative justice and it can adapted to many schools.
I believe the further restorative justice gets the better it’ll be for our future for helping us as teens and soon-to-be leaders become closer and more understanding of the human mind.
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2006 LSSC Law Office #6 Project Makes News!
Under the leadership of Law Office 6 in 2007/2008 – the Northeastern University School of Law and the Legal Skills in Social Context Program (LSSC) has something to be quite proud about.
The Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University has just received permission to use the LSSC student report from Law Office 6 (May 2008) on the failures of the Road Home Program and the Louisiana Recovery Authority as a basis for a case study for a new class being taught this fall at Harvard University.
One of the fellows at the Kennedy School, Doug Ahlers http://www.hks.harvard.edu/about/faculty-staff-directory/doug-ahlers/(page)/faculty ), who founded the Broadmoor Project (http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/project/54/broadmoor_project.html?page_id=125) will be teaching a class this fall on disaster recovery management (see synopsis below), and was hoping to use the NUSL LSSC document as a foundation for a case study.
Professor Ahlers, along with the entire leadership team at the Broadmoor Improvement Association, found the students' report to be excellent. He said that the report that the law students generated in 2008 was by far the most comprehensively researched and best presented document that he had found on the Road Home Program and the Louisiana Recovery Authority.
Professor Doug Ahlers has stated that he is excited to use the report as the basis for a case study for use in his class. He thinks his students will gain tremendously. Doug Levine, our client contact on this project in 2007/2008 from Broadmoor Improvement Association (douglevine@post.harvard.edu) said that authorship credit will remain with the Northeastern University School of Law and the Legal Skills in Social Context Program, and it will be accredited to LSSC Law Office Number 6 (May 2008).
Professor Ahlers wanted to reiterate how impressed he was with the report. He said, “The analysis is definitely the best I have seen. It is an excellent piece of research and of analysis.”
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Harvard Kennedy School Course HUT-206:
Disaster Recovery Management and Urban Planning: Rebuilding New Orleans
Course Description: The course presents disaster recovery theory and practices and examines (in detail) the recovery from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in New Orleans. Disaster recovery management is examined at the federal, state, city, and neighborhood/community levels to present a full understanding of disaster recovery in general, and the recovery in New Orleans in particular. Coupled with a January practicum in New Orleans, this course applies community disaster recovery skills in field-based team projects working in the flood-damaged Broadmoor neighborhood of New Orleans. Concepts covered in this course include: principles of disaster recovery management, the economics of disaster, risk management, hazard mitigation and land use planning, disaster recovery planning, community development, community-based recovery, repopulation dynamics, federal and state recovery programs, and housing and capital projects reconstruction and finance. This course can best be thought of as the anatomy of a disaster and its recovery – a mega case study (or suite of cases) that dissect the recovery of a city from the largest natural disaster in U.S. history. This course will meet twice weekly during the fall semester and include a 2.5 week practicum in New Orleans during the January term to work on, and complete, field-based team projects begun during the fall semester. The field-based team projects are real recovery management projects that assist the residents of Broadmoor (the Client) with their recovery efforts. The goal of this course is to apply classroom learned skills in a real-world, high-stakes situation.
