South Texas College of Law Annotations (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 39, No. 2, Ed. 1, October, 2006 Page: 1 of 8
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The Student Newspaper of South Texas College of haw
ANNOTATIONS
October 2006
Volume XXXIX, Number H
Yamamoto: Leave your laptops at home
Professor forbids students from using computers in Federal Income Tax
By Melanie Fordyce
StaffWriter
The click, clack, click, clack of almost 70
students typing is missing from one section of
Federal Income Tax this fall. Professor Kevin
Yamamoto has forbidden students from using
laptops in his classroom.
Although professors at other schools across
the country have banned laptops in class,
Professor Yamamoto is the first South Texas
College of Law faculty member to do so.
"I was getting too many students, when I asked
them a question, they were looking at their
computer screen, when there was only one place
to look for the answer- the code book," he said
"I didn't know if they were looking at notes
they prepared themselves or some former
student's outline."
Professor Yamamoto made the decision after
a few semesters of consideration and discussions
with his tax students this summer.
'I asked them to come up with a reason, other
than taking notes, why they thought that
computers were necessary in the class, and no
one said anything," Professor Yamamoto said.
Professor Yamamoto said he informed STCL
Dean James Alfini in July of his decision to ban
laptops in Federal Income Tax. Dean Alfini was
supportive, although he did suggest Professor
Yamamoto bring up the topic at afaculty meeting.
'The main [faculty] concern was whether the
ban would apply to the exams," Professor
Yamamoto said. "I'm not talking about exams.
Students can still type their exams if they choose
to do so. [The laptop ban] is in class only."
Dean Alfini said faculty members at STCL and
around the nation are in a "taking stock phase"
on the impact of laptops.
"The use of laptops in the classroom has been
one of the major innovations in legal education
over the past decade," Dean Alfini said. In
addition to the concerns about student misuse,
m
Dean Alfini
said faculty
members also
worry about
students who
type mindlessly
and stop
thinking
critically.
For the
most part,
Professor Yamamoto is pleased with the way his
class is proceeding without computers.
"Students are moré engaged," he said. "I'm
getting many questions - more than I have
experienced before/'
He also said he is able to interact more with
his students and can determine much more quickly
whether he needs to explain something differently.
"If they're bored, I can see they're bored,"
he said Please see Laptops on pg. 6
Congressman Culberson hasn't stopped
since winning his first office at STCL
By Tracee Evans
StaffWriter
When you go to the polls next
month, don't be surprised to see
many South Texas College of Law
alumnae on the ballot running for
judgeships, governor and congress.
Twenty years ago, -John
Culberson ran for - and won - a
seat in the Texas House of
Representatives. This fall, the
Republican is campaigning hard for
a fourth term in the U.S. Congress.
The West Houston lawmaker took
a few moments out his schedule
to share his memories of reading
hundreds of pages of cases a night
while campaigning for a seat in the
Texas Legislature.
"It was an immense amount of
work," Culberson said by cell
phone as he ran errands with his
wife, Belinda, and their fourth-
grader.
For his first foray into public
service, Culberson said he had
"zero money" but prevailed in
District 125 against "three multi-
millionaires" thanks to "a terrific
network of friends and
volunteers" that "ran a grass-roots
campaign that just outworked
them."
"It was especially difficult
because I was in law school, had
no money and was trying to keep
up with my classes and my
campaign. At the samé time, I was
a law clerk at Lorance and
Thompson."
Culberson doesn't recommend
anyone try to follow precisely in
his footsteps, but does say he's glad
he did it. %
"Although it's better to wait
until you graduate, the door to
opportunity may only open once
in a Hfetime, and if the doors open
you need to go for it and don't
. hesitate," he said. But he said not
to expect a social life. "The time I
wasn't in class or keeping up with
homework I was campaigning or
raising money."
Nothing in the US. or Texas
Constitutions says you need to
understand laws to draft them, but
Culberson said his "legal education
helped immensely with my work
in the legislature and now in
Congress, because I understand
how it all works."
What's been called Culberson's
Crusade began in the law library
where he researched what became
House Bill 124 in 1991. That bill
set the legal foundation for the
Prison Litigation Reform Act,
which the US. Congress, with the
help of Culberson's predecessor
Bill Archer, passed in 1997 Then-
State Rep. Culberson used these
John Culberson, U.S. Representa-
tive, runs this Fall for a Fourth Term
two new laws "to intervene in die
Rjf/'Z Prison lawsuit ... and
essentially sue Judge [William
Wayne] Justice in his own court to
terminate his permanent
injunctions that controlled the
prison system."
Culberson gives a lot of credit
for that successful effort to the
guidance and assistance of STCL
Dean of Advocacy T. Gerald
Treece. He says Dean Treece
helped immensely with briefs and
filings and he is grateful to have
had his help because "no one in
the United States can equal Dean
Gerald Treece on Constitutional
Law." See Culberson on pg. 6
Founders'
Day activities
By Heather Busby
StaffWriter
On Thursday, Oct 26, South
Texas College of Law will
celebrate Founders' Day with a day
of activities. STCJ- Dean James
Alfini will relinquish his office for
a day to SJ Davidson-Swanson, a
2002 graduate.
Davidson-Swanson, who won
the Dean for a Day privilege at the
Alumni Gala silent auction in
March, has a full schedule
planned. She will attend meetings,
teach a class with Professor Pamela
George and host Founders' Day
events.
At 4 p.m. in the Treece
Courtroom, Davidáon Swanson
will moderate a panel presentation
titled "What They Don't Teach
You in Law School"
After the discussion, Dean
Alfini will unveil the Partners in
Excellence Donor Wall on the first
floor. Davidson -Swanson will
then host a reception titled Raising
the Bar, an initiative Davidson-
Swanson has selected to support
bar passage and student-related
programs at STCL.
For more information see the
Alumni Web site at www.std.edu.
SBA President's letter pg. 2
Judicial Extemship pg. 4
INSIDE
Banned Books pg. 6
Minority Women Firm Harassment pg. 7
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Frazer, Jason L. South Texas College of Law Annotations (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 39, No. 2, Ed. 1, October, 2006, newspaper, October 2006; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth144577/m1/1/: accessed May 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting South Texas College of Law.