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“We, too, have a seat at the table” — Law students reflect on Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s historic confirmation

Mariam Aburdeineh — Sun, 10 Apr 2022 21:43:08 +0000

“We, too, have a seat at the table” — Law students reflect on Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s historic confirmation Mariam Aburdeineh Sun, 04/10/2022 - 17:43

Of the 115 judges who have served on the U.S. Supreme Court, 108 of them have been White men. This summer, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson will spark a change, as she becomes the first Black woman to serve as a justice in the court’s 233-year history. She was confirmed by the Senate on April 7.

“I’m beyond thrilled that she got confirmed to serve on the Supreme Court, and I look forward to seeing the court one day becoming even more representative of what this nation looks like,” said Sally Alghazali, a third-year law student at ��ӽ紫ý’s Antonin Scalia Law School.

Several students of color, including leaders of Mason’s Black Law Students Association (BLSA), said Judge Jackson’s accomplishment gives them renewed confidence that there is a place for them.

Here’s what they had to say:

Sahara Shrestha

“When you see someone so qualified, like Judge Jackson, achieve success and get the recognition she deserves, it is incredibly inspiring and encouraging,” said Shrestha, a third-year law student and first-generation Nepalese-American.

“It makes me want to dream bigger about the possibilities of where my legal career could take me and other young women of color…. I still walk into legal spaces, whether it be the classroom, courtroom, or workplace, feeling like I am the only person who looks like me or thinks like me. Judge Jackson becoming a Supreme Court justice is a step toward ensuring that the legal field, including the highest court in our nation, is representative of all of us.”

Chinyelum (Chi-Chi) Olele

Vice President of BLSA

“Seeing another Black woman reach the mountaintop of her career and shatter the glass ceiling is exciting,” said Olele, a first-year law student from Nigeria who grew up in Virginia Beach.

“Watching her navigate the hearing poised and with a smile was inspirational. Judge Jackson's confirmation is a representation of what America is. America is a country of possibilities, and as an immigrant, I know that the possibilities are endless.”

Bianca Hancock-Siggers
President of BLSA

Bianca Hancock-Siggers

“Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson being on track to become the first Black woman to sit on the Supreme Court is not a ‘small favor’ from heaven, this is faith with work!” said Hancock-Siggers, a third-year law student from Indianapolis, Indiana.

“I often look around my law classes and ask myself, ‘Am I supposed to be here, am I good enough?’ Judge Jackson has helped to me answer that question in the affirmative. I look at her and know, although I am underrepresented in this community, I am not lesser. I do not have to conform my views or alter my appearance to find success.

“I am looking forward to seeing the diversity in experience that Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson will bring to the Supreme Court of the United States.”

Sally Alghazali

“Judge Jackson’s confirmation gives me hope and drives more determination in me to continue in this field,” Alghazali said.

Alghazali, who moved to the United States from Baghdad, Iraq, in 2013 as a refugee, said Judge Jackson’s confirmation gives her hope and determination to continue in the legal field. She said she was struck by Judge Jackson’s anecdote about another Black woman approaching her in the hall at Harvard and telling her to persevere, and that in turn was what Jackson said she would tell other Black American youth trying to do what she did.

“As a first-gen and diverse law student, this is what her confirmation means to me: that no matter how much people doubt me for being different or not ‘fitting in,’ I can reach my goals with determination and perseverance. Judge Jackson showed me and all those who don’t fit the ‘typical’ image of an American lawyer that we, too, have a seat at the table.”

Shanessa Guidry
BLSA/Pre-Law Liaison

Shanessa Guidry

“A couple weeks ago, I considered quitting law school because I started to feel like I didn't belong, and when I look around, I really don't see anyone who looks like me,” said Guidry, a first-year law student from Rocky Mount, North Carolina, who spent 20 years working at U.S. Department of Defense.

“When I was thinking about quitting [law school], an African American colleague sent me the clip from Senator Cory Booker when he addressed Judge Jackson. [Booker] told her, ‘You got here how every Black woman in America who’s gotten anywhere has done. By being, like Ginger Rogers said, 'I did everything Fred Astaire did, but backwards in heels.’ He told Judge Jackson, 'You have earned this spot, you are worthy,' and 'Don’t worry, … God has got you.' I have those words in the back of my mind as I make it through my first year. Her nomination and her confirmation mean the world to me at this point, as a middle-aged woman who's choosing to pursue this degree.”

Topics

Students

law

African American/Black

diversity

Students support tribal nation justice reform in new Mason law program

Mariam Aburdeineh — Wed, 23 Mar 2022 17:58:32 +0000

Students support tribal nation justice reform in new Mason law program Mariam Aburdeineh Wed, 03/23/2022 - 13:58

Adam Crepelle had just started law school at the time of the 2010 BP Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico. As a citizen of the United Houma Nation, a historic Native American tribe, Crepelle felt that the consequences of the spill hit home hard.

“The Houma were getting spilled on quite heavily by BP, and everyone in Louisiana was getting BP money, except the Houma Indians,” he said. “I assumed my professors would know how to solve this problem—but I quickly realized none of my professors knew anything about Indian law, and I couldn’t find anyone who practiced Indian law in Louisiana either.”

Crepelle took it upon himself to start learning Indian law, he said, and published widely on the subject. Now the assistant professor of law at ��ӽ紫ý is also the director of Mason’s new Tribal Law and Economics Program (TLEP), which includes a federal Indian Law course and the Tribal Sovereignty Clinic, where students work directly with tribes.

Adam Crepelle is assistant professor of law and director of Mason’s new Tribal Law and Economics Program. Photo by Ron Aira/Creative Services/��ӽ紫ý

What is Indian Law?

“Tribes are separate sovereigns in the U.S. Constitutional order,” said Crepelle, who serves as an associate justice on the Pascua Yaqui Tribe’s Court of Appeals. “You have the federal government, state governments, and Indian Tribes.”

Because the 574 federally recognized tribes are sovereign governments, the presumption is state law does not apply on reservations, Crepelle said.

It’s a clash over who governs Indian lands, he said.

For example, according to Indian law, to arrest someone you must determine whether the victim and perpetrator are Indians, assess the type of crime, and the status of the land.

“This causes lots of public safety issues because nobody knows who can arrest who,” Crepelle said. “Law and economics study institutions and their efficiency…[the work of TLEP] is important because federal Indian law is anything but efficient.”

Working with Tribes

“Students benefit by being a part of this clinic because they get to work with tribes and implement policies that make a change in the real world,” Crepelle said. “They’re actually helping build institutions, writing laws for a sovereign nation.”

Eight students are enrolled in the clinic this semester, Crepelle said, with many working on projects related to tribal court development.

One project aims to implement the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA).

“The general rule is if a non-Indian beats his Indian wife on a reservation, the tribe can’t do anything about it,” Crepelle said. “By implementing [VAWA], now the tribe can prosecute him for domestic violence.”

“For too long [Indian nations] have been locked out, in many ways, from the opportunities and outcomes afforded to the broader U.S. population,” said Michael B. Miley, a third-year student from Vermont. “Federal Indian Law is an important and enlightening class because it precisely elucidated the myriad ways we have arrived at our current status quo.”

“Armed with this knowledge, students…are able to better meet, analyze, and resolve specific legal challenges that Indian tribes and tribal governments confront today,” Miley said.

It’s a unique opportunity for everyone involved.

“When else is a law student going to get an opportunity to write a code of civil procedure that will actually go into effect and see real cases?” said James Gray, a second-year law student who’s drafting code for an Intertribal Commercial Court about on-reservation investments and commercial disputes.

It’s more than a class assignment; it’s a responsibility.

“Mistakes could negatively impact the tribes and businesses conducting cases in the court,” said Gray, who is working with a judge from the Tunica-Biloxi tribe.

Gray said helping tribes use their sovereignty to advance their economies has been rewarding. He has also enjoyed learning from guest speakers, from tribal council members to Indian Law practitioners to former Senate advisors on Indian affairs.

“The Tribal Law and Economics Program is a really exciting opportunity for the school to grow into a field that law schools have under-invested in,” Gray said. “I think there's lots of room to make rapid progress.”

Topics

Law/Legal

Tribal Law and Economics Program

Native American

American Indian

experiential learning

Tribal Sovereignty Clinic

NSI webinar explores the conflict between the Winter Olympics in Beijing and human rights

Melanie Balog — Mon, 10 Jan 2022 19:53:47 +0000

NSI webinar explores the conflict between the Winter Olympics in Beijing and human rights Melanie Balog Mon, 01/10/2022 - 14:53

Wexton (l) and Waltz. Photos provided

Rep. Jennifer Wexton (D-VA-10) and Rep. Mike Waltz (R-FL-6), both two vocal critics of the upcoming Winter Olympics in Beijing—discussed China’s ongoing human rights violations in a December webinar hosted by ��ӽ紫ý’s National Security Institute (NSI).

The discussion, “2022 Winter Olympics: Standing up to China’s Human Rights Abuses,” was moderated by the institute’s Les Munson, former staff director of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Wexton is a member of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, where she has been a voice for Uyghur community. Waltz, a member of the House’s China Task Force, has previously called on the Chinese Communist Party to end its “systematic oppression” of Chinese religious minorities.

The Biden administration announced in early December that it will not send a diplomatic delegation to the 2022 Winter Olympics or Paralympics in Beijing. And on Dec. 23, President Biden signed the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, co-introduced by Wexton and Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA) in early 2021, underscoring the United States’ commitment to combatting forced labor, including in the context of the ongoing genocide in Xinjiang.

“Dictators love the Olympics,” Waltz said, noting that Russian President Vladimir Putin invaded Crimea two months after the Sochi Olympics.

“Major sports events should not be used to legitimize dictatorships,” said Wexton.

Wexton and Waltz also criticized the role of the International Olympic Committee in Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai’s case and hinted at the need for reforming international sports. In November, Shuai accused a top communist party official of sexually assaulting her three years ago. On Dec. 2, the Women’s Tennis Association moved to suspend all tournaments in China, in response to China’s censorship of Shuai.

“I’ve been frankly concerned that our approach to China was becoming a partisan issue. It should not be a partisan issue, human rights should be a bipartisan issue,” Waltz said.

The National Security Institute at Mason’s Antonin Scalia Law School is dedicated to finding real-world answers to national security law and policy questions. The institute's NSI 2020 project has focused on two of America’s most pressing national security challenges: the rise of China and preserving U.S. technology innovation leadership

Watch a recording of the event here.

Topics

Law School takes on 21-day racial equity challenge

Mariam Aburdeineh — Thu, 13 May 2021 20:48:39 +0000

Law School takes on 21-day racial equity challenge Mariam Aburdeineh Thu, 05/13/2021 - 16:48

Jina Hwang, JD ’05. Photo provided.

With racial tension high in the United States, and the need for equity growing ever stronger, students and faculty at ��ӽ紫ý’s Antonin Scalia Law School participated in a 21-Day Racial Equity Habit-Building Challenge virtually in March and April.

The challenge, created by diversity expert Eddie Moore Jr., focuses on the Black American experience and is "designed to advance deeper understandings of the intersections of race, power, privilege, and oppression, and guide participants in becoming more aware and engaged regarding racial equity."

“Wherever one might be in their diversity, equity and inclusion journey, there is always a new perspective to learn,” said Jina Hwang, JD ’05, an adjunct professor and attorney for a federal agency who proposed the challenge to the school after experiencing it herself.

The challenge consists of 21 exercises, roughly 15 to 30 minutes long each, over 21 consecutive days. The exercises include articles, videos, podcasts, music, poetry, and other media that expose participants to perspectives on Black history, identity, culture, and racism. About 30 students and faculty attended.

Senior Associate Dean Alison Price

“The readings take a few minutes per day, but the awareness you get stays with you perhaps forever,” said Marissa Fariña-Morse, a juris master’s student at Scalia Law.

In addition to the personal growth that comes from empathy and learning about diverse experiences, Fariña-Morse said the challenge had professional implications.

“As a mental health professional working in the criminal justice system, racism has a large impact on many of those I serve,” she said. “Providing effective mental health services can only be done by better understanding the past of this country by becoming exposed to perspectives of Black history.”

“One of the most interesting things to me was learning how to be an ally and how to respond to micro-aggressions,” said Senior Associate Dean Alison Price. “I feel more comfortable speaking up when I witness a micro-aggression or talking with a colleague or student who has been the subject of a micro-aggression.”

Price said other exercises that resonated with her included an article on how to not accidentally raise a racist, a poem that painted a vibrant picture of the African American experience, and readings on what it is like to be Black and trying to get a mortgage, or living through homelessness.

Juris Master's student Marissa Fariña-Morse. Photo provided.

Mason launched the challenge with a virtual screening of “True Justice: Bryan Stevenson’s Fight for Equality,” which follows the attorney’s struggle for racial justice with wrongfully convicted inmates on death row. Hwang facilitated virtual discussion groups for participants to share and expand upon their learnings and experiences.

“My hope is that people have a desire to learn more, and more importantly, to share that information and experience with others,” said Hwang, adding that one student brought his 14-year-old daughter to join the discussions, and others forwarded the challenge to colleagues.

The challenge speaks to Mason’s values, which view diversity as a strength.

“[Mason and Scalia Law] are part of this global community, and it’s time for us to think about how we can do better together,” Price said.

It’s about providing renewed perspective.

“I’ll never know through my own experiences what it’s like to be Black in America, and the vulnerability that poses,” Hwang said. “But I can empathize and educate myself on the circumstances to be a better ally.”

Price said she hopes the school will repeat the challenge next year, as it’s a valuable opportunity for learning, self-reflection, and action.

“I may think I’m not racist,” she said. “This helps you realize we can all do better.”

Topics

Students

New dean ready to elevate the law school through innovation, supporting students

Mariam Aburdeineh — Mon, 07 Dec 2020 05:00:00 +0000

New dean ready to elevate the law school through innovation, supporting students Mariam Aburdeineh Mon, 12/07/2020 - 00:00

Ken Randall, Dean of Scalia Law School. Photo by John Boal.

Kenneth Randall has an impressive track record when it comes to using innovation to transform academia. The new dean of ��ӽ紫ý’s Antonin Scalia Law School said it all started from humble beginnings.

“We were a blue-collar family, and I first saw lawyers on TV,” said Randall, who started at Mason on Dec. 1. “Lawyers were people who could make a difference and could make an impact and could help others.”

Aspiring to have a similar impact, Randall became a first-generation lawyer—something he couldn’t have done, he said, without the support of teachers and mentors. That’s one reason he’s passionate about academia.

“I love working in education because of the students,” he said. “I am a teacher at heart.”

Prior to coming to Mason, Randall served for two decades as law dean at the University of Alabama. Under his leadership, Alabama’s U.S. News & World Report law ranking leapt from No. 96 to 21.

In addition to being named one of legal education’s most transformative deans of the last decade by Leiter’s Law School Reports, Randall is a successful entrepreneur. In 2013, he founded iLaw Ventures Distance Learning, which has become an industry leader, partnering with 25% of law schools nationwide. He holds doctoral and master’s degrees in international law from Columbia University, a master’s in law from Yale, and a juris doctor from Hofstra.

Randall spoke recently from his home office over Zoom.

What drew you to Mason?

It’s a great university with an energetic new president with a successful track record at other fine schools. I do relate to a student body that has a lot of first-generation students. It has what I consider to be a top 20 faculty and a top 20 student body. The law school is distinguished by having academic centers, and several of them are the best, not only in the country, but in the world. It’s the best law and economics and antitrust law school anywhere. I like what’s happening in Arlington. With Amazon having its headquarters there, I think there’s real potential for interdisciplinary growth.

In my many trips to Mason, whether giving a talk, attending a conference, or interviewing, it felt right. I am really excited and honored to be at Mason.

What is your vision for the law school?

During COVID, our primary goals are to be sure the institution is stable and that we’re taking care of students, faculty and staff in their health, education and welfare.

One of the things that we’ll be working on is to have the law school recognized for what it really is—a top 25 law school.

How will diversity play a role in the strategic plan?

It will be significant, and to start, there are three initiatives:

First, we are initiating enrollment-pipelining programs with [historically Black colleges and universities] in the commonwealth.

Second, we have another program in place to help pipeline Mason undergraduates into law school. Mason has many first-generation students.

Third, we’ll be expanding the part-time evening program to increase inclusive opportunities. We’re going to use technology to make legal education more accessible for nontraditional and adult students. We’ll have a program starting in Fall 2021 that allows students to come to the law school just two nights a week.

You were named one of legal education’s most transformative deans. What is the key to such success and how do you see that coming into play at Mason?

That was a full team effort. Critical components of the success involved using technology, being innovative, being entrepreneurial, [and] taking some best business practices and applying them in an academic setting. For example, we were one of the pioneers in online programming. That provided resources that we wouldn’t have had to provide to faculty, staff and student initiatives, and gave more scholarships to students. We prioritized diversity at my previous school.

What advice do you have for aspiring lawyers?

Remember that ultimately the law is a service profession. It’s about how do we help the client. Ethics in law is absolutely critical. Students need to keep professionalism and ethics in the front and center of everything they do. They need to focus on long-term objectives.

Skills helping clients with counseling, strategy and problem solving will make a great lawyer in the 2020s.

Law/Legal

law

Faculty/Staff Announcements

Faculty and Staff News

Rosanne Cash speaks to Mason law students about music, intellectual property

Mariam Aburdeineh — Fri, 11 Sep 2020 05:00:00 +0000

Rosanne Cash speaks to Mason law students about music, intellectual property Mariam Aburdeineh Fri, 09/11/2020 - 01:00

Acclaimed Grammy-winning singer/songwriter, author and advocate Rosanne Cash spoke with students at ��ӽ紫ý’s Antonin Scalia Law School during an online intellectual property conference held on Sept. 10.

Cash was the keynote speaker for the three-day Evolving Music Ecosystem conference, hosted by the school’s Center for the Protection of Intellectual Property (CPIP). She spoke on artistic copyrights, fair pay and support for artists, First Amendment rights, artist struggles during the pandemic, the artistic process, and memories of her father, Johnny Cash.

Grammy-winning singer/songwriter Rosanne Cash speaks with Mason law students over Zoom about music and intellectual property.

“Having the chance to listen to Ms. Cash share her insight regarding the music industry was a unique opportunity and a great experience,” said second-year law student Austin Shaffer. “She really put things into perspective by talking through her own personal music ecosystem and how many people are working behind the scenes to create the product that ultimately reaches consumers.”

“I never look at it as being all about me,” Cash said. “It’s about providing work for each other in this ecosystem.”

Sandra Aistars, director of copyright research and policy at CPIP, moderated the Q&A session. She said she hopes attendees recognize the value creative ecosystems bring to the community and that they’ll work to foster those ecosystems for everyone’s benefit.

“Mason students in multiple disciplines can learn from [Cash’s] experiences as a creator, business person and policy advocate,” Aistars said. “Her writing practices, whether applied to lyrics or prose, can teach us all to be ruthless editors of our own work; and the discipline, dedication and fearlessness she lives her life with is worth modeling at any stage in one’s career.”

“Musicians are in a service industry,” Cash said. “We service the heart and the soul.”

Rosanne Cash strums her custom Martin guitar for Mason students during the keynote session.

“Songs are really critical right now,” she added, noting that music that seems complex or includes unexpected lyrics serves a purpose. “This is what art is about, partly to make you uncomfortable, and make you think, but also to arouse your feelings.”

Cash also recognizes her role as an advocate for fellow artists.

“I consider myself part of a chain of what came before and the next generation of musicians,” Cash said, expressing her concern for supporting legacy artists and those just starting out.

Students said hearing from Cash was an experience they will not forget.

“[Cash] really reaffirmed my decision to study law and be an advocate for these exact issues,” second-year law student J. David Ward said.

“Since the pandemic has tremendously changed the economic and creative landscape for many artists, it was important to hear from a real artist about the struggles artists are going through and how we can all support the artistic community,” said LLM student Yumi Oda.

The entire conference has been worthwhile, the students agreed.

“Each panelist is a well-respected expert that provides invaluable insight into the topic at hand,” Shaffer said. “The fact that Scalia Law offers these types of opportunities is one that I don’t take for granted.”

From left to right: Rosanne Cash, Sandra Aistars.

*This conference continued a dialogue on music ecosystems begun by CPIP Executive Director Sean O’Connor while at the University of Washington School of Law in Seattle. In its inaugural year in the Washington, D.C. area, the conference aimed to bring together musicians, music fans, lawyers, artist advocates, business leaders, government policymakers, and anyone interested in supporting thriving music ecosystems in the United States and beyond. The conference is also a companion to The Oxford Handbook on Music Law and Policy, which is edited by O’Connor.

Center for the Protection of Intellectual Property (CPIP)

Select Mason grads can attend the Scalia Law School without the LSAT

Melanie Balog — Tue, 26 May 2020 09:25:22 +0000

Select Mason grads can attend the Scalia Law School without the LSAT Melanie Balog Tue, 05/26/2020 - 05:25

Topics

coronavirus; covid-19

coronavirus; COVID-19; News; Editorial

Schar School of Policy and Government Terrorism Transnational Crime and Corruption Center (TraCCC)

This Mason alumnus lost a friend due to ISIS. Here’s how he’s fighting back.

Mariam Aburdeineh — Wed, 29 Apr 2020 00:05:00 +0000

This Mason alumnus lost a friend due to ISIS. Here’s how he’s fighting back. Mariam Aburdeineh Tue, 04/28/2020 - 20:05

When Haider Semaisim works on the federally mandated database of global incidents of terrorism with ��ӽ紫ý’s Schar School of Policy and Government, he does so with pride. It is not only an educational and professional endeavor, he said. “It’s personal.”

“Iraq is one of the countries that suffered a lot from terrorism,” said Semaisim, an Iraqi-American. “[My friend, Zaid] was killed in 2011 by ISIS.”

Haider Semaisim is part of a Mason team analyzing terrorist incidents around the world for the U.S. State Department. Photo provided.

Zaid, who Semaisim said was working as a first lieutenant for the Iraqi Army, responded to an order to liberate hostages in a home. Tragically, the house was booby-trapped and exploded, he said.

“It was very devastating,” said Semaisim, who earned his master of laws from Mason’s Antonin Scalia Law School in 2017. “This project is giving me retribution in a way, that I am fighting terrorism through the keyboard.”

As Semaisim analyzes terrorist incidents for the database from open-source media, he helps trace terrorist trends and strategies.

“When we look at a terrorist organization holistically over one or two years, we notice something that a real-time follower would not notice,” Semaisim said.

That’s one reason the database provides critical insight for policy makers, he said.

Semaisim said he primarily analyzes incidents from Iraq, and his fluency in Arabic and understanding of Iraqi culture and politics allow him to bring a unique expertise to the project.

He describes the project as “the good fight,” but he is also passionate about making a difference in other areas.

Before coming to the United States in 2014, Semaisim said he was a lawyer in Iraq doing criminal and divorce law.

Semaisim became a U.S. citizen in 2018. Photo provided.

“I was not very optimistic about the future of Iraq, and the United States is a beacon of freedom,” said Semaisim, who became a U.S. citizen in 2018.

Some of Semaisim’s friends were not as fortunate, he said. Learning about their challenges in gaining legal status inspired him to switch his interests to immigration law.

“There’s a lot of people who deserve to be here, who would contribute a lot, who seek to have a better life to care for their children and want to be here,” Semaisim said. “With just the right type of help, they can live their lives normally.”

Thanks to his Mason education, Semaisim believes he will be on his way to helping after he passes the bar exam.

“��ӽ紫ý is an amazing university,” Semaisim said, adding that the law school professors, such as his favorite, Michael Davis, are respected lawyers who not only teach from textbooks, but from real-life experience.

Even when Semaisim would disagree with peers or professors, he said his Mason education instilled in him “respect of the argument and how to accept differences.”

“Haider is a hard worker, eager to learn, willing to give back, and fully appreciative of the education he received,” Davis said. “There are some students I think will do well in the future, and then there are those students like Haider, who I am sure they will do well. He was an asset to our law school and a model for other LLM students.”

Schar School of Policy and Government

Law and Policy Research

National Policy Issues

International Policy Issues

Students

Alumni share memories of Original Building, as innovation escalates on Arlington Campus

Mariam Aburdeineh — Thu, 27 Feb 2020 05:00:00 +0000

Alumni share memories of Original Building, as innovation escalates on Arlington Campus Mariam Aburdeineh Thu, 02/27/2020 - 00:00

Law students ride the escalator in the original building, 1983. Photo from "By-George," ��ӽ紫ý Yearbook.

Many people are familiar with ��ӽ紫ý’s Arlington Campus, but fewer know its unique history, including how it became the only law school with an escalator when the university moved into the old Kann’s department store in the early 1970s.

The Original Building will soon be coming down to make way for an innovative new space. Students will still rise to new levels—sans the physical escalator—at Mason’s new School of Computing and Institute for Digital InnovAtion. Mason already produces the most tech talent of any university in Virginia, and with the commonwealth’s recent commitment to Mason of $235 million as part of the Tech Talent Investment Program, the number of graduates in computer-related fields who will support the region’s digital economy will only grow stronger.

Before saying hello to the highly anticipated space, we asked alumni to take us on a stroll down memory lane and share their memories of the Original Building:

Students study in the library in Arlington in 1981. Photo from ��ӽ紫ý yearbook.

Law & Love

“I grew up in Arlington so I remember shopping at Kann’s with my mother and being excited to ride the escalator. My husband (William Brewer) and I met during law school when we worked on the ‘Urge to Merge’ campaign to convert the International School of Law into a state school as part of ��ӽ紫ý. We were part of an active group of students lobbying the Virginia legislature and working closely with Til Hazel to make the dream come true. One evening when Bill and I were taking a study break in an open area on the second floor of the building, he asked me to marry him. We were married during our third year of law school. We graduated from GMU School of Law in 1980, having taken all our courses in the old Kann’s department store building. After graduation, we moved to Morgantown, West Virginia, where we have had successful and active law practices and raised our family. Little did I know when I started law school that the Kann’s building would help chart out the rest of my life for me!”

— Susan (Slenker) Brewer, JD ’80

John T. “Til” Hazel and students in front of the ��ӽ紫ý School of Law, July 31, 1987.

Bright Futures

“As a 1990 graduate of the law school and someone who has the opportunity to visit the existing structure from time to time, I know that the expansion will only serve to stamp the Arlington Campus as a go-to spot for future lawyers, innovators and public policy wonks.”

“It was definitely interesting and memorable to have attended law school over four years at night in the old department store.

“Truth be told, you kind of forgot what the physical plant was once you had to opportunity to interact and learn from incredible legal minds, both as professors and fellow classmates. I am definitely proud of my degree from the Scalia Law School, nee ��ӽ紫ý School of Law, and am excited about the direction the school has taken since my graduation and wouldn’t trade those years for anything.”

—Jeff Kramer, JD ’90

Students study in the law school library in 1981. Photo from ��ӽ紫ý yearbook.

Shadow of Segregation

“As one who would later go on to practice civil rights law, I distinctly remember on the bottom floor there being two men’s and two women’s rooms, all right next to one another; a constant reminder of how far we had come as a nation, and the gravity of the endeavor we had undertaken.”

—Mark D. Dix, JD ’98

Metro escalator, 1981. Photo from ��ӽ紫ý yearbook.

Monkeying Around

“All of my classes were in the Original Building, the former Kann’s department store. It was full circle for me.

“I grew up near Merrifield and my mom used to take me to Kann’s on a regular basis to buy two things, which apparently were only available at Kann’s. The first was Cub Scout uniforms. The second was Stride Rite shoes. So why does that third-grader remember this 49 years later? Because the Kann’s shoe department was unique. The second floor shoe department (yes, up the same escalator) boasted a large glass window cage/display with live spider monkeys. Whenever I’d complain about making the trek, I’d be reminded of the opportunity to see the monkeys.

“Little did I know that 25 years later I’d be back at Kann’s for a different purpose.”

— Steve Andersen, ’97

Securing a Law School

“I understood at the time, circa 1982, that the Kann building was leased, with an option to buy. Dean Ralph Norvell reached out to his former student Joseph Allbritton to sign and guarantee the note that purchased the Kann Building, whose property included the space upon which the later and current law school was built. The deal with Virginia provided that the state would get ownership of the Kann building property for one dollar, and in turn, Virginia would finance the yearly operation of the law school.

“During law school I got acquainted with an administrative clerk at the Supreme Court of the United States. He worked a second job at the library. On his own initiative, he invited me to visit him at the Supreme Court. … [I also remember] that the then-sitting Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. came to the law school for a ceremony that started a Phi Delta Phi fraternity chapter in his name.”

—James R. Becker, JD ’82

Dean Ralph Novell stands at the north side of the ��ӽ紫ý School of Law shortly after the building was acquired by the university in the late 1970s. Photo by ��ӽ紫ý.

A Strange But Compelling Link

“I have many vivid memories of the old Kann’s department store, having been a small child growing up in the ‘60s in the Clarendon section of Arlington County. I used to ride my wagon, and then bike, all around the parking lots of the Virginia Square Shopping Center. There was a Woolworth’s 5 & 10 right across the green from Kann’s, and a People’s Drug Store on the corner. These were magical places for an eight-year-old, especially at Christmas time! I remember being so surprised when Kann’s became a law school for a local university, and even more surprised when I graduated from that same university several years later. The law school building is a strange but compelling link to different periods of my life, and one I will always remember with great fondness.”

—Bill Pittman, BS Business Administration ’80

Mason law classroom in 1980. Photo from ��ӽ紫ý yearbook.

Floored With Memories

“I was a student at the law school from 1980 to 1983 in the old Kann’s Department Store. My first year the school only occupied two floors of the building. We did not realize there was a third floor to the building until they ripped down the wall board around the escalator going up there in the spring of that year. The paging system of the department store was still in use when I was a student to page the maintenance staff when needed.

“My graduation in 1983 was held in the large open area of the second floor of the building.”

—Judy Drazen Schretter, JD ’83

Institute for Digital InnovAtion (IDIA)

School of Computing