Law Faculty To Decide Student Role

The Law School Faculty will consider a report from the School's Committee on Governance today which recommends increased student participation at faculty meetings and proposes the establishment of a student-faculty Law School Council.

Abram J. Chayes '43, chairman of the Governance Committee, said Friday he will probably call for a vote on the report.

"There are a couple of points [in the report] that may be subject to lengthy discussion, but I think we will get most of what we're asking," he said.

The committee's report calls for ten permanent student representatives to act as "full participants (at faculty meetings) except they shall have no vote."

Five of the representatives, who will serve one-year terms, would be chosen from the proposed Law School Council by a vote of its membership.

The others would serve as the representatives of five Law School standing committees which the council designates each year "on the basis of the importance to the committee of continuing familiarity with the work of the faculty."

Also, the report provides that the student members of any committee which has business on the faculty's agenda may attend a particular meeting as full participants (except voting) as to that ?tem.

Under the Governance Committee's proposal, the permanent representatives would have the option of requesting, within 24 hours of any faculty meeting, reconsideration of any action other than appointments taken by the faculty.

The matter would automatically be placed on the agenda of the next scheduled faculty meeting.

The student representatives would be excluded from meetings during consideration of appointments; when actions are being taken affecting named students who request that no other students be present; or "in any cases in which the dean shall determine that the best interests of the School would not be served by the attendance of students at a particular meeting."

The general function of the proposed Law School Council-other than selecting students to attend faculty meetings-would be to consider "any matter of Law School policy or practice touching the interest of students" and to serve "as a forum for the expression of student views and concerns on such matters."

The council would establish committees of its own members to "handle grievances. complaints and requests of students with regard to the administration of the School."

The proposed council is made up of five students from each class, five faculty members and one teaching fellow chosen by the dean, one graduate student, and up to four students chosen later by the council to "represent organized and identifiable student groups."