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Yesterday’s symposium was very interesting, and not what we non-academics would have expected. When I think of arbitrating sports, I think of mega-contracts with major stars, but in reality the discussion involved athletes on the poor side – think Olympians in sports like women’s field hockey. There was lots and lots of talk about “doping” accusations, along with a myriad of references to the Floyd Landis (cycling, if you’ve forgotten) public arbitration that Pepperdine hosted a couple of years ago.
There was a “poor athlete” versus mean ol’ WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) vibe that ran throughout the day, partly because it seems WADA is a screwed-up organization, but mostly because there were lots of folks on the athletes’ side in attendance (read: their lawyers).
One of the major arguments is that testing labs are presumed correct in arbitrations over doping. In the Landis case, two labs came to diametrically opposite results (the Paris lab said “dirty,” and the UCLA lab would have said “clean”), and overcoming this scientific presumption is fairly impossible for an athlete – especially for athletes w/o funds to fight it.
It really should make us all think when we hear of someone testing positive for doping. We might ought to start with that crazy notion of jurisprudence that says “innocent until proven guilty,” and then go one step further and consider that several might be innocent even after being proven guilty.
Attorney Howard Jacobs mentioned a couple of prime examples:
#1: Zach Lund (skeleton), who was denied the opportuntiy to compete in the 2006 Olympics because of his positive doping test that came from taking Propecia for male-pattern baldness.
#2: Alain Baxter (alpine skiing), who was stripped of a bronze medal from the 2006 Games in Salt Lake City after picking up a Vick’s inhaler from a local convenience store and testing positive for methamphetamine.
But I especially enjoyed hearing Michael Lenard’s panel at the end of the day. Lenard is a board member of the International Court of Arbitration for Sport, and a straight-shooter. Without attempting to exonerate WADA (and its American version, USADA), he basically said What did you expect? Everyone wanted an independent agency to deal with these matters, created an international one, told them doping was bad, and set them loose on the world of sport. As he pointed out, the world doesn’t have an effective international body to deal with war crimes yet – do we expect a beautiful one to deal with doping issues in sport?
Then, after all was (practically) said and done, I found it most interesting when Lenard said that doping isn’t really the big issue on the horizon of sport. In his presentation on “The Future of Sports Dispute Resolution,” he said that “citizenship” is the biggie. He spoke briefly of countries buying athletes’ citizenship, and I remembered high school – moving the stud into town so he can play for your team. Lenard argued that “integrity of the outcome” is the most important value to protect because, if we think the game is rigged, we’ll quit watching.
All in all, it was in interesting day. I’m not really interested in pursuing a career in sports arbitration, but it was fun to take a break from studying law for grades, and engage in a study of law just for the sake of learning something – which is a novel idea all by itself.
* I don’t have a favorite law school course, but at least I have a least favorite. LRW is important, I know, but that doesn’t mean I find it enjoyable. And it’s just different, too. The others have a final exam worth 100% of your grade, but LRW is divided up into sections. This semester, our grade comes from three different sources, and yesterday afternoon was the first one – a two-hour exam that will count for 20% of our grade. I literally have no idea how I did on it, but at least it is over.
* Today, through the grace of God, our section only has one class (Criminal Law). Instead of enjoying today as basically a day off, I’m going to spend it all at a symposium. I would question my sanity, but the symposium is on Sports Arbitration, hosted by the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution here at Pepperdine. Straus is the main reason I chose Pepperdine, and I have always loved sports, so I’m looking forward to today. You can read about the line-up HERE. I’ll try to give a report tomorrow.
* Speaking of sports, it has been nice the last couple of days to see that Spring Training has begun. The Cardinals are playing down in Florida – tied the Marlins in their first game, and lost to the Orioles yesterday. You’ll probably be subjected to Redbird updates from time to time.
* For those who knew our Erica’s first car (that she fondly named, Bertha), it has now been sold. Kinda weird how losing a lump of mint green metal can make you feel like the family dog just died.
* Hillary told us that the choreographer of the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics taught dance in her P.E. class yesterday. Another “only in Malibu” moment.
* With all the job cutbacks around campus, we are ecstatic to discover that Jody sort of got promoted. Her position had been funded by a grant, but now it has been made a permanent position. And she is getting relocated within the Tyler Campus Center so she can interact with the public even more. I’m a little biased, but I think it’s a smooth move on Pepperdine’s part.
Disgraced former Illinois governor (and Pepperdine Law alum), Rod Blagojevich, never gets mentioned around the law school. I got the strong feeling the past couple of days that the higher-ups would prefer Rick Caruso to be what people picture when they think of Pepperdine alumni.
Caruso is a billionaire and a rockstar in the world of real estate development. His “The Grove” is a mega-hit in L.A., and he doesn’t seem to be too affected by a spiraling economy. He arrived on campus in his $150k Bentley yesterday to speak to a packed house. Word on the street is that he will be mayor of Los Angeles whenever he decides to make that happen.
Business doesn’t pique my interest, nor does exorbitant wealth. Hearing Caruso explain how to get people to spend money wasn’t that fascinating to me personally, but I did find interesting what appears to be his secret. Caruso eschewed a lot of the traditional business advice and decided to focus on giving people a shopping “experience.”
The postmodern world craves an “experience.” This is why people pay crazy money for coffee at Starbucks. This is why Rick Caruso drives a shiny black Bentley.
As a preacher, I read a book or two and heard a lecture or two on how Christianity ought to catch on to this very idea – people want an “experience.”
I don’t have a real point to make, other than saying that the world has changed dramatically. And I thought that’s worth noticing.
Well, I decided on a summer job. I ended up with a few options, and after thinking through all the advantages and disadvantages, I decided to accept the internship offered by Public Counsel Law Center.
It’s kind of cool to say that I’ll be working for the largest pro bono public interest firm in the world. Public Counsel is the public interest arm of the Los Angeles County Bar Association and the Beverly Hills Bar Association, and it is also the local affiliate of the Lawyer’s Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. It serves around 27,000 needy people a year.
It has six project areas, and I will be working with the Homelessness Prevention Law Project. I’ve been told that there will be about a dozen interns working in this particular project. From what I understand, I will conduct trainings for practicing attorneys to teach them the in’s and out’s of the public benefits available to the people we will serve, along with doing field visits to our offices set up in various Los Angeles County Department of Public Social Services sites.
Ought to make for an interesting summer.
I get the picture that I will be doing most of my work in the Emergency Food & Shelter aspect of our project. Here’s the blurb about it from Public Counsel’s website:
Public Counsel operates the largest and longest established legal advocacy program on-site in multiple offices of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Social Services (DPSS), where impoverished, hungry and homeless individuals are most likely to need advice and advocacy assistance. Each year hundreds of volunteer law students and attorneys assist clients with shelter, food, health, transportation and social service needs through this effort. Without these volunteer advocates, many of Public Counsel’s clients would not receive the benefits and services to which they are legally entitled, and which play a vital role in preventing chronic homelessness by helping people stay off the streets and move towards self-sufficiency. The project also attempts to impact policy decisions affecting this desperately poor population through testimony before government agencies, dialogue with DPSS officials, and collaboration with community-based organizations.
I noticed that a Pepperdine 3L is featured on the website as one of the most valuable volunteers at Public Counsel. Aside from the Pepperdine connection, I really latched on to what she had to say about her work. I’ll leave you with that today…
“Legal problems were regularly cited as one of the most burdening hurdles for the homeless when attempting to reintegrate into society, especially in securing a job. With Los Angeles named as the capital of homelessness in the nation, much interest and publicity has been given to the arena. Now, in recognition of progress, usually rehabilitation, and in meeting other eligibility requirements, a homeless person can have their unresolved tickets dismissed for quality of life offenses through the court, but they need the help of volunteers supplied by Public Counsel to do this. Being able to work with so many different people, organizations and institutions through Homeless Court has exposed me not only to the public interest arena, but also to county systems and even politics, helping shape my career aspirations. And at the same time, working with the homeless population in Los Angeles (reminds me of) why I went to law school… Public service has always been a priority and passion in my life. But now, with my goal of law school reached, and the opportunity Public Counsel has given me, I am at a level to help in a unique and very significant way.”
Just offering a quick Happy Mardi Gras to everyone. Too bad no one cares here in Malibu.
Funny, we never really did anything for Mardi Gras while living on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, but I miss it today anyway. Just seeing the colors, eating some king cake, and everyone taking some time off from work and school (the taking some time off from school especially sounds good today).
Oh well, can’t have everything I guess. But I hope all my Mississippi friends enjoy Fat Tuesday. It has me thinking of you all today.
The Grand Finale (Hillary’s the Red-Headed Who)
Flowers from Grandmother/Poppee, Hank/Sue, and Kimberly/Chloe
Signing Her First Autograph
With Chloe (the sweet daughter of Jody’s co-worker/friend)
Hillary’s Youth Group Came to Watch!
The Crazy Shot
I thought last night’s performance was the best one yet. It’s sad that today is the last show, but I suspect it will be extra fun since several of our friends are coming to watch Hillary.
Here are a couple of pics taken after last night’s performance.
Hillary, with Ms. Leonard, the director of Seussical (and her Humanities teacher)
Hillary, with the Grinch (center) and the Cat in the Hat (right)
So Hillary was Seussed out after night two of the musical. But it was another great performance. And she is finally getting a chance to sleep in this morning.
Our friends, Nathan and Lauren, came last night and had a really good time. We had an especially good time talking to them in the parking lot after the show, in large part swapping stories of star sightings. We’re from small town Arkansas/Mississippi, and they are from small town Tennessee, so we share a common bond in this strange land called Malibu.
Our discussion was prompted because Jody spotted Pat Benatar at the musical last night. Jody is a Pat Benatar fan from way back (claims she got her through some bad relationships in the ’80s) and was pretty pumped about it. Jody noticed that she went backstage during intermission and then was talking to the director after the performance. Hillary was listening to Jody talk about her with Nathan and Lauren in the parking lot and asked who they were talking about. Jody described her, and Hillary said, “Oh, I know her.”
Turns out Pat Benatar is the costume alterations lady for the middle school musical! (She goes by her husband’s name, or we would have noticed it in the program!)
So Jody & I got on YouTube and Wikipedia as soon as we got home and had a little ’80s party. She’s known as the Queen of Rock. She’s a member of the Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame and was voted the best female rock vocalist of all time by Billboard magazine. Hers was the second video ever on MTV (right after “Video Killed the Radio Star”). And she’s our little girl’s costume alterations lady.
Turn up the volume and enjoy, Pat (Benatar) Giraldo.
Wow. The musical was simply AMAZING last night. The most unbelievable aspect to Jody and I was our constant need to remind ourselves that these were middle school students!!! It has got to be the best middle school production at a public school anywhere in the world. Not that I’m biased or anything.
The bad news for all of you is that we weren’t allowed to take pictures inside the auditorium, so I can’t give you any action shots. Musicals are such a big deal in Malibu, however, that they had taken pictures beforehand and were selling prints outside. Here’s a picture of the picture board, so maybe you can take a gander at that and get a feel for the beautiful sights of the show (and, if you look really close at #41 and see the girl in the crazy red-headed wig, that’s Hillary!).
I did get a picture after the show of Hillary with the amazing girl who played Gertrude in the show. She is an 8th grader and was so sweet to Hillary, just hugging on her and telling her how good she did.
And here’s one more pic of Hillary in the little marketplace set up outside where they were selling pictures, food, and Dr. Seuss hats.
There are four performances on four consecutive days, and the show was so terrific that I think I’ll be sad when we get to the last one Sunday afternoon.
Well, tonight’s the big night. “Seussical: The Musical” opens at Malibu High. My Hillary has been working so hard, and bless her heart, trying to juggle homework, too. Sleep has been her biggest sacrifice so far, so I’m praying she can hold out until Saturday morning when she ought to be able to catch up a little bit.
If you haven’t heard of the show itself, you can read about it HERE.
There are 22 sixth, seventh, and eighth graders in the cast, and since Hillary is one of the sixth graders and this is her very first musical, I think she is in on a cool opportunity. Malibu, as you might expect, takes its arts program seriously. I mean, Sabrina the Teenage Witch’s little sister is part of the cast. And the director has been freaking out because the clover she ordered from Hong Kong for the show hadn’t arrived yet. (Why clover from Hong Kong is beyond me.)
I’m taking my camera along for the ride tonight. And tomorrow night. And Saturday night. And Sunday afternoon. So you can expect some pictures.
