Students Meet With Clark

Professor of Law Robert C. Clark and roughly 200 students yesterday attended a reception given by the Law School's student dean search committee in honor of Clark's recent appointment to the deanship.

Although last week's appointment of the highly outspoken critic of Critical Legal Studies (CLS) has met with considerable opposition from much of the faculty, most of the students attending the reception yesterday said they anticipated that he would make a good dean.

Other students, however, questioned Clark's commitment to increasing the numbers of women and minorities on the faculty and said they feared that his appointment will deepen an already serious dispute between the school liberal and conservative wings.

Lisa C. Ferrell, chair of the student dean search committee, said the reception was held "as an opportunity [for Clark] to meet with students. Through these receptions students will become aware" of the role of the dean in student life, said the second year student.

While some students outside the reception displayed apathy toward the event, many of those who attended praised Clark's style of teaching.

Kevin T. Watkins, a second-year student who has taken Clark's course on corporations, said the new dean "is the only person who has the right to talk about raising academic standards. He teaches in such a clear, understandable and well-organized style. And the book he wrote was the best law book I have ever read."

Another student said he respected Clark for his receptiveness to student opinion. "He listened to us, talked to us and really cared about what we had to say."

In addition to praising the new dean for his accessibility and concern for students, several who attended the event also pointed out that Clark should be a successful fund raiser.

"He will be able to raise a lot of money because he's tied up in corporate America," said third-year student Jeffrey C. Levy '86. "Not only does he know corporate lawyers from wealthy firms, but he knows the executives too. And the most important thing a dean can do is raise and spend money wisely."

But several students said they believed that Clark's controversial appointment will fail to heal the rift between the conservative and leftist faculty members. Clark has been an outspoken critic of Critical Legal Studies (CLS), a radical school of thought that characterizes the law as an instrument of social injustice.

Some students at the reception also raised concerns about Clark's commitment to increasing faculty diversity. Although Clark has said he will consider hiring more women and minorities to the faculty, critics point out that as chair of a committee to appoint women to the faculty, he added only one woman.

A member of the Black Law Students Association (BLSA), who asked not to be identified, said that she feared that any initiatives toward hiring more minority and women to the faculty would have to be forced on Clark.

But many who raised these concerns said they remain optimistic. "He should be supported so that he can do the best job he can," secondyear law student Franklyn Ayensu said. "We don't want to make him insecure--it will only hurt him."

The Law School Council had written Clark a letter last week expressing concern about academic freedom, housing and the Low Income Protection Plan, which allows students to write off their financial aid debts to the Law School if they take lowpaying, public-service jobs after graduation.

But council president Brian R. Melendez '87 said students are more concerned about having a greater voice in future dean searches. "We thought that the selection process had been unfair," said the second-year student.

In an interview before the reception, Clark said he was excited about his appointment and said he thinks it has been well received by faculty members and alumni. "Most of the faculty has been extremely warm and supportive," he said. "And there have been no negative comments among the alumni."