Repository: UIHistories Project: Board of Trustees Minutes - 1972 [PAGE 68]

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58

BOARD O F TRUSTEES

[September

16

Mr. George H. Bargh, Executive Assistant to the President. The report of the Committee, under date of July 16, is enclosed, together with an earlier document prepared by Mr. James Costello, dated November 18, 1969. (Ed. note: The report of the Committee is printed below.) I concur in the recommendation of the Committee that the appeal from the Chancellor's decision be denied, and that the Chancellor's action be confirmed. I further recommend that the University Counsel be requested to explore with the Chicago and Illinois Bar Associations, the Legal Aid Society, and the federallysupported legal aid programs as to appropriate ways in which legal counselling services may be made convenient and available to students.

(Signed) DAVID D. HENRY

President O n motion of M r . Swain, the statement w a s adopted a n d these recommendations w e r e approved. July 16, 1970 President Henry: You have requested the undersigned to advise you regarding the action of the Chancellor of the Chicago Circle campus in disapproving a proposal by its Student Government for a "Legal Rights Commission" to provide certain legal service for students at that campus. The Student Government at Chicago Circle appealed the Chancellor's decision to the Board of Trustees. At the May, 1970, meeting of the Board's General Policy Committee the matter was referred to you for study and recommendation after the Committee received a presentation from Mr. Kevin W. Cronin, a member of Student Government. In February, 1970, the Committee on Student Affairs at the Chicago Circle campus recommended to Chancellor Parker the approval of a request from Student Government for an allocation in the amount of $1,385 from the Student Activities Fund (a mandatory fee collected by the University) for a "Legal Rights Commission; funds for providing legal consultations for students and organizations (no lawyer's fees included)." Chancellor Parker requested further documentation on the nature and purpose of the item. Thereafter, Mr. Cronin submitted to the Chancellor's office a March 3, 1970, document entitled "Basic Modus Operandi, Legal Rights Commission," a copy of which is attached.1 The document describes the function of the Commission to be:

"PART I : FUNCTION

"This program was originally instituted to serve the following three functions: 1) To provide free legal defense to any student during the course of disciplinary proceedings. 2) To extend to individuals and student organizations the opportunity to consult with an attorney on their (its) legal problems. 3) To conduct an extensive review of questionable University policies in terms of their legality. "However, the overwhelming portion of the Student Government Assembly which met January 7, 1970, voted to expand the services of the commission to include: 4) The creation of a bail-bond system. 5) The extension to students of free representation in civil court actions." Under date of April 30, 1970, Chancellor Parker responded to Dr. Greenwald (Chairman of the Committee on Student Affairs) and denied approval of the "Legal Rights Commission" for policy and legal reasons. A copy of Chancellor Parker's April 30 response is attached.1 Under date of April 29, 1970, Mr. Kevin W. Cronin, as Director of the Student Government Legal Rights Commission, addressed a communication to Secretary Porter appealing the action of Chancellor Parker and requesting an appearance before the May, 1970, meeting of the Board of Trustees. It appears, however, that Chancellor Parker's April 30, 1970, response to the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Student Affairs and Mr. Cronin's April 29, 1970, letter to Secretary Porter were concurrently in the mails, and that each was

1

These documents are filed with the Secretary of the Board for record.