College of Criminal Justice Honors Academic Standouts

More than 200 people attended the College of Criminal Justice’s (COCJ) Honor’s Convocation Ceremony, where the College recognized their best and brightest. Adding poignancy to the event were the many alumni on hand, many of whom had endowed scholarships in memory of loved ones.

Dean Lyons led the proceedings, highlight the many accomplishments of the College and its storied history…

…before turning it over to Associate Dean Danielle Boisvert.

Dean Boisvert then introduced dozens of scholarships and more than 100 students who earned those scholarships, with faculty, staff, and alumni on hand to provide students with plaques and recognition.

The scholarships included numerous undergraduates, one of whom was President of LEAP Ambassadors, Jessica Cuevas.

Ms. Cuevas, in addition to being a Smith-Hutson Scholar, was awarded the O.B. Ellis-J.P. Gibbs Scholarship.

This was an apt scholarship, in that Cuevas occasionally volunteers at the J. Phillips Gibbs “Old Town Theatre,” providing a connection to the scholarship.

Graduate students were also recognized, including many in the Ph.D. program. Students such as Meghan Royle, Jazmin Polacios, and Cristal Hernandez-Avalos were recognized for the had work and accomplishments they have made while in graduate school.

Ed Owens, an SHSU alum and former Deputy Executive Director of TDCJ…

…was also on hand to congratulate Joaquin Padron, who was given the “Edward Glenn Owens” Scholarship.

Owens graduated from SHSU with a Criminal Justice degree, as did his wife, Rissie, who also teaches in the Criminal Justice Department, drawing on her expertise in pardons and paroles to instruct students.

It was a wonderful event, packed with students benefitting from the generosity of alumni, donors, faculty, and staff, and highlighting the best of Sam Houston State University.

All Rise: The 10th Court of Appeals

For the 12th year, the LEAP Center hosted the 10th Court of Appeals, allowing Sam Houston State University students and Huntsville residents to hear three appellate court cases in the Kerper Courtroom. The 10th Court of Appeals out of Waco, TX, which currently consists of Chief Justice Gray, Justice Johnson, and Justice Smith, serves 18 counties in Texas including Walker County.

We had a great showing for the first case, and we were happy to have Judges Moorman and Sorenson on hand to watch the cases.

One of the unusual things about these hearings is that each lawyer has three minutes to describe the facts of the case to the audience, after which they turn to the Justices and begin their formal arguments.

Attorneys have 20 minutes to make their arguments, which judges can interrupt for questions, and the appellant attorney gets a five-minute rebuttal after the appellee attorney has spoken. One of the enjoyable aspects about this year’s iteration of the cases is that we had the chance to sit in the jury box!

The second case, which involved deed restrictions, was unusual in that one of the parties was in the courtroom, as the attorneys argued their case.

After the 11 am hearing, the court was adjourned for lunch where LEAP Students were able to talk with the justices, community members, and even the Court Bailiff. I was lucky enough to be sitting with Justice Smith and Justice Johnson, who discussed their path to law school and their careers prior to being judges. We were able to ask questions about court proceedings and discussed how law enforcement and prosecutors work together. One question that I was excited to have answered was why attorneys always say, “May it please the court” before presenting their argument. Justice Smith informed us that it is a tradition and has no meaning or necessity. He also told us that he always wanted to say “It doesn’t” in response. The lunch was very valuable, allowing students to receive advice about their career paths and talk about their endeavors at school.

Court readjourned at 1:30 pm with another civil matter over a Lady Bird Deed, and the hearing turned out to be what is referred to as a “hot panel.” This Deed was drawn by a husband and wife to give land to the husband’s son. The wife revoked the deed after the husband’s passing and now the question is whether she is able to do that or not. There were a lot of questions asked by the judges and one very interesting point a student made to me after the hearing was the attorneys’ ability to be interrupted, answer the question, and go right back to their original point. This hearing raised a lot of questions about property ownership and intent, which was interesting to hear. At the end of the hearing, audience members were able to ask questions, and we learned much more about the justices, their workload, and the attorneys’ views on their careers.

After the audience and attorneys left, LEAP students were able to get pictures and have their brochures signed by the Justices. We helped clean up and continued to discuss different career paths within the legal profession, specifically discussing staff attorneys.

Thank you to everyone who came out to watch the cases today. Thank you to Chief Justice Gray, Justice Johnson, and Justice Smith for allowing students to have this opportunity and for being so welcoming and helpful to future law students.

Pre-Law Activities and Mock LSATs at SHSU

On Saturday, April 1, a beautiful spring day, the LEAP Center continued with a packed schedule of both community and academic events. While LEAP Center Ambassadors and volunteers assisted in the annual Wynne Home community Easter Egg Hunt, 17 Pre-Law Society students showed up at 9:30 am on Saturday to take a Mock LSAT, the Law School Admission Test.

Students applying to law school will take the actual LSAT in a fall semester, a year before they plan to start law school. Students who are freshmen through seniors are encouraged to take the Mock LSAT.

A Mock LSAT score provides helpful information to aspiring pre-law students early in a student’s academic career. First, a baseline Mock LSAT score allows students to see how close they are to their goal LSAT score. Then, students can work with a pre-law advisor at the LEAP Center to develop a study plan to prepare for the LSAT, an important first step in their journey to law school. Second, students experience taking an actual LSAT under LSAT timing conditions.

In addition to administering the Mock LSAT twice a year, the LEAP Center offers pre-law advising and various pre-law activities, such as the provision of a Mock law school taught by a law professor from Houston’s South Texas College of Law. These pre-law activities contribute to Sam Houston State University’s continued ranking in the top 200 nationally as a top law-school feeder among almost 3,000 four-year universities and colleges in the United States.

ChatGPT: PACE gets the conversation going

The higher-education community is reacting to ChatGPT with a mixture of consternation, trepidation, excitement, and a lot of anxiety. Inasmuch as it is the wave of the future, however, higher education needs to react, which is why the Professional and Academic Center for Excellence (PACE), led by the capable hands of Dr. Kevin Randall and Tiffany Terry, hosted a panel on the topic.

The panel kicked off (through Zoom) with a discussion by Dr. Xing Liu, who discussed the nuts and bolts of ChatGPT–focusing on how the software works. Dr. Mitchell-Yellin discussed the recent change in the University’s policy on plagiarism, highlighting the fact that while the policy used to prohibit using “another’s work;” it now prohibits using “work other than your own.”

(Ed. note: Mitchell-Yellin wasn’t sure if the policy change had officially occurred yet, but it is in process of occurring).

Dr. Nardone and Dr. Primm, from English and Biological Sciences, respectively, discussed the dos and don’ts of writing assignments “in the age of AI.” One factor the professors stressed is that ChatGPT has limitations, specifically: the inability to speak in a distinct “voice” and limited abilities to distinguish facts from anti-factual claims.

Apart from these limitations, of course, there is also the concern that students may become overly dependent on these technologies and become even weaker writers.

Accordingly, Nardone encouraged professors to consider: (1) using required sources; (2) pushing students to develop “point of view;” (3) asking students to explain other process; (4) having students reflect on their unique course experiences; and (5) developing a “reverse research process” approach, where students begin with a conclusion and have to reverse engineer the support and references for the conclusion.

Dr. Randall then highlighted some services and support (courtesy of Erin Owens) offered by the Library…

…before turning it over to Dr. Strubberg and Dr. Bennett, who discussed preliminary research they have completed regarding student use of ChatGPT and their (the students’) views of the ethics of ChatGPT use.

Dr. Ryan Zapalac anchored the panel, with a strong final presentation on the University structures and processes in place to consider the software and other matters of academic integrity.

The University, Zapalac noted, has recognized that academic integrity is an issue, and a committee has been in place since 2019 exploring these issues. Moreover, this committee is now a “standing committee,” and it is aware of ChatGPT and some of the challenges it will pose.

Because ChatGPT software is fluid and advancing rapidly, some proposed solutions to detecting or incorporating the software may be temporary. Accordingly, Zapalac encourages faculty to focus on the “motivation and writing process itself” and to refer to “Writing in the Disciplines.”

As noted by Zapalac, ChatGPT is less than a year old, and our speculations and current understandings may not hold up for long. Accordingly, Conversations with Administrators is currently planning a fall session that will continue this very conversation.

Many thanks to the PACE Center for bringing together talented people to start this conversation.