Bear Briefs

Moot Record—For an unprecedented ninth consecutive year, a moot court team will represent the UM School of Law in national competition. The National Moot Court Competition, sponsored since 1950 by the Association of the Bar of the City of New York and the American College of Trial Lawyers, will be held in New York City in January. Howell said the law school’s nine-year streak of making it to the national finals of the competition is by far the longest in the nation. At the regional competitions, UM teams have finished first five times and second four times. The University most recently won the national championship in 2000. Each year more than 1,000 students from 150 accredited law schools compete in 14 regions throughout the nation. The top two teams from each region advance to the national finals.

Negotiating Nationals—UM law students advanced to the final round in the American Bar Association Negotiation Team Region 10 competition for the fourth time in as many years and once again are headed to the national finals. Second-year law students Stephen Adamson of Manakin, Va., and Tara Keller of Sturgis, S.D., topped 20 teams from throughout the Northwest and Canada to win the regional competition held Nov. 4-5 at the University of Missouri in Columbia. The two overcame last year’s national competition winner, Seattle University, to take the final round of regionals. The focus of the competition this year was energy and natural resources. UM teams represented a small municipality in discussions with a wind-energy developer. In the final round, Adamson and Keller were assigned the opposing side. Increasingly complex contractual disputes were added to each successive round of the competition. “Tara and Stephen were just terrific,” said Klaus Sitte, who coaches UM’s ABA negotiation team. “That momentum carried them through the next day, when fatigue and energy could have drained them.” The competition will be held in Miami in February.

Speech Success—UM students brought home multiple awards from the 36th Annual Trapper Rendezvous Forensics Tournament held in Powell, Wyo., Nov. 10-11. The annual tournament hosts speech and debate teams from colleges and universities throughout the Rocky Mountain West. Svein Newman of Billings and Jessica Reynolds of Helena took second place in the tournament’s Open Division competition. Reynolds also received the Open Division third-place speaking award. Third place in the Open Division went to Sarah Clawson of Seattle and Jennifer Hudson of Helena. In individual speech events, Reid Reimers of Missoula advanced to the finals. He placed sixth in Impromptu Speaking, fifth in Prose Interpretation and fourth in Poetry Interpretation. The Forensics Team is sponsored by UM’s Department of Communication Studies, Davidson Honors College, Office of Student Affairs and Associated Students of UM. It also is supported by generous donations from University alumni. For more information, go online to http://www.umt.edu/dcs/forensics.

Professor Appointed—UM Assistant Professor Denise Dowling has been named to the Radio and Television News Directors Association board of directors. She was selected to serve a one-year term on the national board by the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication’s Radio-Television Journalism Division. Dowling joined UM’s radio-television department in 2000 after a 20-year career in broadcast journalism. During her term on the board, she will represent broadcast journalism educators to help bridge the gap between the academy and the broadcast news profession. She will connect educators with professionals on subjects ranging from technology and teaching to journalism ethics. Dowling also will work with news directors from around the country to produce panels for educators and professionals at the association’s national convention.

Class Schedules—Wintersession classes will begin Tuesday, Jan. 2, and run until Friday, Jan 19. Spring semester classes begin Monday, Jan. 22.

Service Opportunity—The Montana Campus Compact is now accepting applications for the January 2007 term of service in the AmeriCorps Volunteers in Service to America program. The program offers recent college graduates and others who are seeking fulfilling work the opportunity to serve for one year in communities throughout Montana. Volunteers receive a modest living stipend, health insurance and the option of receiving an education award or cash stipend at the end of a term of service. MTCC VISTA members serve from college campuses and nonprofits across Montana working to build community partnerships that address critical needs in the areas of school performance, housing, hunger and disaster preparedness. To apply for an AmeriCorps VISTA program, go online to https://recruit.cns.gov. MTCC, based at UM, is a coalition of state college and university presidents, chancellors and deans committed to the civic purposes of higher education.

Campus Closures—Campus will be closed Monday, Dec. 25, for Christmas and Monday, Jan. 1, for New Year’s Day. Campus also will be closed Monday, Jan 15, in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Blanket Benefit—Opportunity Ranch is selling Griz and Lady Griz wool blankets with proceeds benefiting a scholarship for UM students with disabilities. Disability Services for Students is UM’s student affairs office that assures program access for University students with disabilities. Currently 900 students (roughly 6.5 percent of the student population) are served by this office. Opportunity Ranch is a division of Opportunity Resources, Inc., which serves 350 individuals with disabilities on a daily basis. The blankets are woven by Faribault Woolen Mills in Minnesota. Griz and Lady Griz blankets are available at the ORI Office at 2821 S. Russell St., Missoula (across from the YMCA) or by calling 406-329-1709. The blankets are 50 x 70 and cost $99.

Greek Growth—The Greek Task Force is in the midst of its plans to cause a groundswell of new involvement in the Greek system, with a goal of 1,000 participants in the next few years. The task force, composed of UM Greek Alumni, plans to launch a press campaign to drum up interest in Greek Life and meet with Greek and UM officials to make going Greek a more viable and attractive option to students.