Vermont law school is an advocacy warrior

By: Francisco Segura
In America today, two topics are guaranteed to arouse much spirited discussion and heated debate and these are the environment and the military. At the forefront of these issues is an institution who for the past 35 years of its existence has seldom taken the middle road. The Vermont Law School has taken the cudgels for two causes which are not only very much in the public eye, but may present America with some of its most difficult challenges yet.

Vermont Law School advocacies have never been easy as most advocacies usually are, but it is to the school’s credit that it has stayed on this course and offered a professional platform on which others with similar inclinations can use. Vermont Law School has championed a specialized study of environmental law and pioneered it to such an extent that the Master of Studies in Environmental Law (MSEL) it offers has been universally praised for its fluid blending of law, policy, science and ethics and other relevant interdisciplinary studies.

It has re-defined the boundaries of environmental practice and management and includes in its programs, crucial centers of study focusing on environmental law, energy, environmental tax policies, effective land use, natural resources and a legal clinic specifically for these areas of concern.

The Vermont Law School credo of "Law for the Community and the World" typifies the necessary perspective that environmental advocates believe would give everyone a true understanding of how environmental management can be crucial to humanity’s survival. Typical Vermont Law School programs, internships and academic immersions inevitably introduce students to the breathtaking vistas of the school’s South Royalton campus.

The stunning views and languid afternoons spent rowing on the White River that passes by the school serve to emphasize all the more, the urgency and significance of the school’s mission.

But the intensity of Vermont Law School causes in recent years has risen up a notch with the school’s refusal to adhere to the Solomon Amendment which was passed by the U.S. Congress to allow on-campus military recruitment in all colleges and universities. Refusal to cooperate meant losing federal funding.

Not surprisingly, the Vermont Law School became the only American law school to give up millions of dollars in funding as well as pursuing a legal case challenging the Solomon Amendment which it described as discriminatory. The school became a member of the Forum for Academic and Institutional Rights (FAIR) which took the case against the amendment all the way to the Supreme Court.

In March of 2006, the court ruled unanimously for the government citing that because the government can require campuses to allow military recruitment, it can withhold funding if that requirement is not followed.

But rather than see this as a set-back, the school continues on with its trailblazing efforts to be not simply controversial, but relevant to the needs and requirements of the community and the country. It also continues to expand its environmental advocacies, creating global partnerships with similarly inclined institutions and groups.

For its efforts, it is but fitting that the Vermont Law School has been hailed by the U.S. News and World Report as being one of 2008’s Best Graduate Schools in America and ranking first on the study of Environmental Law.


Francisco Segura owns and operates http://www.lawschoolreviews.net Law School

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