Middlemarch

It has been an interesting and engaging week at NCHERM. I visited the University of New Hampshire. Great to see my old friends there. In the course of our dialogue, a tough question came up for us. If a student submits a conduct hearing appeal letter, including some things that form the basis for the appeal, and other things which should not (and might take the form of rearguing, new evidence, etc), should the appeals officers see the entirety of those letters, or should some “gatekeeper” redact them first, to ensure the purity of the appeal? Not sure there are right and wrong answers. What do you all think?


The tail end of the week found Scott and me in Los Angeles at Occidental College for our Threat Assessment event. Oxy is an oasis, and a truly beautiful campus. Unlike many campuses where the architecture is haphazard, the buildings at Oxy blend stylistically, creating an effect unmarred by the “Howard Johnsons looking res hall” in the middle of campus that so many campuses suffer from. Obama went there before transferring to Columbia, and apparently, “90210 – The College Years” was set there. I can see why. Jon and Emily were amazing hosts, and went well above and beyond for us. Thanks!


Unlike our previous four such events where attendance ranged as high as 175 people, the Oxy event was more intimate; 30 and change. We can thank the economy for that, but also thank the economy for a different kind of event, engaging on a level and depth that the larger events could not attain. And thanks to the attendees for challenging questions. We had risk managers, campus law enforcement, student affairs, counselors, auditors, registrars and case managers forming our diverse group.


Scott and I enjoyed dinner with folks from William Rainey Harper College, Alta Colleges and Southwestern Michigan College. I went to my first Churrascaria, a delight for the carnivorous. It is interesting to hear about Alta, and the truly innovative things that proprietary colleges are able to do.


Finally, the week ended with an unusual twist. Filmmakers producing a documentary about the rape and activism of Linor Abargil, the 1998 Miss World, contacted me. They wanted to talk about an event I have upcoming at Princeton University, but when they found out I was in LA, and they were too, we agreed to meet Friday after the seminar. Scott dropped me off on his way to the airport, and I felt some irony on heading to a discussion on a documentary about rape as we crossed Rockingham Rd. in Brentwood (OJ’s former and more capacious digs) and headed into Santa Monica.


Our meeting was at a private home, and upon entering I could not help but notice that pictures of Gregory Peck were featured prominently. I asked if Peck had once lived there, only to find out that the film’s producer is Peck’s daughter Cecilia Peck Voll. The producers wanted some insights on how rape is impacting college campuses, and I am pleased to be able to inform their project. I saw some clips of footage they have taken already, and it is compelling. For more information, visit www.linordocumentary.com.


The home was graceful and my hosts gracious. A word about Gregory Peck. There are probably many young men and women who were inspired to become lawyers by Peck’s portrayal of Atticus Finch in “To Kill a Mockingbird”. While that is true of me, it was Peck’s social activism that I admired most. Long before Clooney, Pitt, Penn and Robbins used fame as a tool of social justice, Peck was a great crusader. It is a pleasure to see his daughter carrying on this legacy with this film, and I am in awe of Linor’s strength and courage to speak out.


Have a great weekend.


Brett