Asides

Law Schools Ask: To ChatGPT or not to ChatGPT?

ChatGPT was released for public use on November 30, 2022. Because law firms are starting to use ChatGPT, some law schools, such as the University of Tulsa College of Law, are incorporating how to use ChatGPT ethically into their law school required legal research and writing courses.

There is no consensus among law schools, however, regarding the issue of allowing applicants to use ChatGPT in the law school admissions process, especially in the personal statement requirement. Dean Sue Ann McClellan, Assistant Dean of Admissions at the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law, explains that the Memphis law school now asks applicants to acknowledge that the personal statement is their own work product and that the applicant did not utilize AI/ChatGPT. The University of Michigan University Law School bans ChatGPT in law school applications. In contrast, Arizona State University Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law allows law school applicants to use ChatGPT in their law school applications, including in their personal statements. Arizona State’s law school requires that law school applicants must disclose if they used AI tools, similar to the requirement to acknowledge if they used a professional consultant.

 Interestingly, Troy Lowry, Senior Vice President of Technology Products at lsac.org, compared law school applicants’ personal statements with the proctored, timed LSAT writing samples written by the same students. Lowry found that “AI managed to predict correctly better than two-thirds of the time whether the author was the same or not and provided reasons to support its predictions.”

Therefore, what are the best practices for a law school applicant regarding the issue of using ChatGPT?

First, an applicant should always review and follow the policy regarding use of ChatGPT for each law school to which the student is applying. Secondly, and most importantly, understand that your personal statement, written by you as opposed to ChatGPT, will be more authentic because it is your unique story. Your personal statement will allow the law school admissions committee to understand, and remember, the real you.

Just imagine, if Taylor Swift chose ChatGPT to write her songs instead of writing her own songs, would Billboard Magazine be announcing that Taylor Swift now holds the all-time record for the most #1 hits on Billboard’s Pop Radio Chart?

Texas Food Stop: Lone Star Bakery

A couple of years ago, I was making my way through Stephen Harrigan‘s terrific “Big Wonderful Thing…,” a history of Texas. Even it almost 1,000 pages, the book, by necessity, omits interesting events and facts about Texas. But on page 387, Harrigan manages to include this line, “Round Rock–currently a booming suburb of Austin whose amenities include the Lone Star Bakery, the home of the world’s great doughnuts…”

It is only one clause in a long book, but it caught my attention. How good must these doughnuts from Lone Star Bakery (aka Round Rock Donuts) be to be referred to as the “world’s greatest”?

How good must these doughnuts be for inclusion in a history of Texas, alongside the Alamo, Sam Houston, Lyndon Johnson, and Willie Nelson?

Pretty darn good, we learned. One of the Ambassadors had already tried the establishment. She interned in Austin in the spring, and lobbyists, it seems, ever eager to curry favor with legislators, use Round Rock Donuts as their go-to.

With good reason. Their items are baked fresh throughout the day, and they have extended hours for your day-long enjoyment. The eclairs melt in your mouth; the maple honey is almost worth diabetes. Their kolaches are made with real sausage. And their Texas Donut is bigger than you can eat.

We discovered this as a group yesterday (Sunday, September 25, 2023) as our take-home trip. After sampling the kolaches, apple fritters, eclairs, and honey-maple, all we can say is, “We understand Mr. Harrigan, we understand.”

Texas Tribune Festival: Big Ideas in Action

Olivia Discon

After a successful first day of immersing ourselves into the various subdisciplines within politics, LEAP students continued in their educational pursuits at The Texas Tribune Festival.

The Paxton Trial has been a hot-button topic recently; and who better to provide insight into the verdict than the lead prosecutors on the case? Dick DeGuerin, Erin Epley, Rusty Hardin, and Harriet O’Neill provided the crowd with the many dynamics at play during the trial. We didn’t know it yet, but this panel was the favorite of the day among the group.

Continuing the conversations, we were able to hear from Emergent 25, a pharmaceutical manufacturer (Amanda Becker), a U.S. Representative (Henry Cuellar), Texas Senator (Royce West), and the Attorney General of Oregon (Ellen Rosenblum) in the context of the Opioid Crisis and how the epidemic is being addressed. Ariza and I were able to speak with Representative Cuellar shortly after the panel and we were able to get a photo!

We took a brief break for lunch to meet with SHSU Alumni and former SHAIP intern Spencer Copeland, where we were able to talk about our educational goals and interests over Kerbey Lane, an Austin staple. 

Trying a new method of tackling the ‘Tribune, we split into two groups corresponding to our shared interests. Ariza and Ashlyn attended “El Paso Matters Presents: Texas and the Border,” covering the realities of border towns and upcoming legislation that could address immigration issues. 

Ashlyn noted; “I thought the legislation from Rep. Morales was innovative in the approach of documenting immigrants and providing a new citizenship process for a bipartisan effort.”

Ariza added; “As someone who was born and raised in a border town, all you see are problems. Rep Morales’ idea, which would alter how immigration is conducted and boost Texas’ economy, caught my attention.”

Morgan and I, who have a shared interest in collective community growth, were particularly interested in the future implications of the skill gap in children’s education on their surrounding communities. A one-on-one with Houston Independent School District Superintendent, Mike Miles, to cover innovative methods in maintaining equity, closing the skill gap, and “changing the culture” of education over time was a great way to understand how those issues will be addressed going forward. 

Many people find politics to be a frightening subject, so to continue with the theme, we headed to the Alamo Drafthouse Theatre to experience a supernatural murder mystery titled A Haunting in Venice.

Inspired by Agatha Christie’s 1969 novel Hallowe’en Party, the deceitful group, featuring our favorite retired French detective, Hercule Poirot, was left on All Hallows Eve in a haunted palazzo to reveal the true cause of Alicia Drake’s death. 

True to many of Christie’s works, the truth was impossible to anticipate. With elements of the other-worldly occurrences and hidden secrets, this film left the group anxious of what might transpire next.

Before leaving, we couldn’t help ourselves but to recreate the film poster just outside the theatre. Similar to the movie, it was impossible to distinguish the guilt and mischief from our demeanor. 

This two day adventure at The Texas Tribune Festival was a true delight, and allowed all of us to distinguish the aspects of politics and government that interested us. Our political immersion at the state capital complimented the excellent education we have in the classroom at SHSU.