Law review digests-articles, notes and commentary

Journal of Law and Education, Oct 2003

Paula C. Johnson, Ad-In/Ad-Out: Deciding Victory and Defeat in Affirmative Action Legal Contestations, 66 Alb. L. Rev. 433 (2003). The Sixth Circuit, in Grutter v. Bollinger, upheld the University of Michigan Law School admission policy that allowed race to be considered as a factor when admitting under-represented groups. The author uses Venus and Serena Williams' affirmative action success story in the field of tennis as an analogy to the current discussion on race in higher education.

William C. Kidder & Jay Rosner, How the SAT Creates "Built-in Headwinds": An Educational and Legal Analysis of Disparate Impact, 43 Santa Clara L. Rev. 131 (2002). This article focuses on the fairness of the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT). The authors provide evidence that a racial and ethnic bias exists within the SAT in its current form. After an in-depth analysis, the authors conclude that for equity's sake, schools should end reliance on the SAT or choose to make the test optional.

Curt A. Levey, Racial Preferences in Admissions: Myths, Harms, and Alternatives, 66 Alb. L. Rev. 489 (2003). The Supreme Court has decided that using race as a factor is a compelling interest if it remedies past discrimination, but it has not yet decided whether diversity is a compelling interest. The focus of this article is whether diversity is a compelling interest which warrants some type of affirmative action. The author surmises that the University of Michigan's policy of awarding of twenty points to some minority groups is a racial preference and not affirmative action.

Risa L. Lieberwitz, The Corporatization of the University: Distance Learning at the Cost of Academic Freedom?, 12 B.U. Pub. Int. L.J. 73 (2002). This article examines the growing relationship between the profit-seeking private sector and universities. The author views this connection as potentially dangerous to academic freedom on college campuses. She contends that the private sector and universities have distinctly different objectives and internal structures. Furthermore, she asserts that the rights to research, to teach, and to speak freely are being threatened by corporate pressures born from universities' funding needs. The article calls on professors to organize and combat the infiltration of corporatization that endangers the true public mission of higher education.

Tomas A. Lipinsky, Legal Reform in an Electronic Age: Analysis and Critique of the Construction and Operation of S. 487, the Technology, Education and Harmonization (TEACH) Act of 2001, BYU Educ. & L.J. 95 (2003). This article provides an overview of current copyright law as it applies to distance education as articulated in Section 110 of the Copyright Act, as well as an assessment of recent legislation reforming that law. Also included is background of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998, including the prior legal climate and TEACH reformulation of 17 U.S.C. [sec] 110(2).

Gene Marsh and Marie Robbins, Weighing the Interests of the Institution, the Membership and Institutional Representatives in an NCAA Investigation, 55 Fla. L. Rev. 667 (2003). The authors discuss the unique relationship that exists between colleges and the NCAA. The note goes to great lengths to discuss the nuances of the relationship and gives advice on running an upstanding program. The authors also give insight into the NCAA investigation process. Their overarching message is that the administrators' job is not to confuse, but to seek and maintain truth, and to preserve the integrity of the athletics program and the institution as a whole.