Senator Arlen Specter, along with two other Republicans and three Democrats, has introduced legislation "to require the court to televise its proceedings."

I think this is a terrible idea? What do you think?

In addition to my misgivings (which include the typical arguments against televising the proceedings), I am skeptical that any legislation could force the Supreme Court's hand on this matter. Such legislation would implicate the separation of powers and the court would be the final arbiter over any controversy.

"This is a neat place. It has the potential to be one of the elite institutions. With the proper resources, the school can be as good as it wants to be. One of my goals is to increase the resources."

This statement made by Gary Roberts in his opening remarks to those gathered at yesterday's forum set the theme for the entire forum--a theme Roberts is sure to focus on once he takes over the Dean position next year.

When asked about his budgetary priorities, Roberts emphasized that the budget is not under the unilateral control of the Dean and the budgetary process must engage the faculty, students, staff, and alumni. He did mention one area of particular budgetary concern:

"Scholarship money has got to be increased. The amount we give now is almost criminal."

He also said that we need to increase funding to the school's various programs and increase the number and pay of the faculty, but he was frank in saying that the school can only spend as much as its able to take in. To that end he plans on engaging a capital campaign drive, including the addition of endowed chairs and professorships.

In response to questions regarding the school's ranking and reputation, Roberts said the school should hire a full time public relations official as soon as the budget allows. He pointed out that this approach helped Tulane's national reputation. For example, he stated that Tulane's PR official would contact numerous members of the press across the nation when a particular legal matter made the news, informing them of Tulane faculty that could speak on the matter.

Roberts also stressed that he did not want to become isolated from the students: "This place belongs to you much more than it does to me." He says he'd like to teach a class, hopefully on sports law, and he plans to send a bi-weekly e-mail to the student body keeping them up-to-date on the law school's developments.

Finally, when asked by SBA President Matt Morgan about communication, Dean Roberts described how Tulane was dealing with the issue. He says that Tulane actually prohibited mass e-mailings--realizing the inefficiency of that method--and had created a message board page on the law school's intranet for important postings.