Law Students Elect Council

After an election season marked by charges of fraud and racism, law students this week elected 15 of their peers to the Law School Council and it appeared that a liberal coalition maintained a majority of the seats.

Several of the victors were members of the "Anti-Status Quo Coalition," a group that is loosely related to the activist Coalition for Civil Rights.

The coalition, consisting of six minority groups and the Women's Law Council, dominated student activism at the school last spring. It called on Law School Dean Robert C. Clark to resign and even filed an unsuccessful lawsuit over the school's hiring policies.

Council members interviewed yesterday said they were concerned about preventing a divisive, partisan battle within the council. Tensions among students and faculty at the Law School over issues of race and gender were high last spring.

Raul Perez, the council's administrative vice president, said he was pleased the liberal coalition had retained a majority of the 25 seats.

Perez said he was disturbed by "racist" sentiments he felt the Non-Left Coalition professed during the campaign.

"A lot of their movement is sexist and, at times, racist," Perez said. "I question their integrity in supporting only very extreme candidates."

Perez said the Non-Left Coalition was created by conservative students who were concerned that the executive board was overwhelmingly Black. The board includes two white women, one Hispanic man, six Black men, and one Pacific Islander.

It is unclear whether any members of the Non-Left Coalition, a group of self-described moderates, won election this week.

Greg P. Taxin, co-chair of the Non-Left Coalition, did not return repeated phone calls.

At least three candidates of the Committee for Apolitical Student Government were elected.

Rich Wearing, a member of that group, said Perez's allegations of racism are untrue. "It's not white men against everyone else," he said.

Wearing said friction between factions on the council is already developing, but he was "hopeful that there will at least be an effort made" toward cooperation.

Mary-Louise Ramsdale, the council president, said she was "glad that the elections are over." She said the council's first task will be to improve student-faculty communication.

Elected members from the "apolitical" group include Christa Foster, Mike Sullivan '89 and Wearing. Other victorious candidates include Bill Candeleria, Brian Elmer, Spencer Overton and Diane Law, a CCR member.

Elected first-year law students, who have not yet affiliated themselves with one of the factions, are John Bates, Robert James, Leslie Janzen, Bo Schweibert, Chantel Tomas, Jonathan Unger '92, Eugene Wade and Lisa White '92.

The council will participate in a retreat this Sunday to set goals for the coming year.