International Justice
Kenyon's summer legal scholars in England
Six Kenyon students chosen as 2009 Summer Legal Scholars are honing their thinking about legal issues in an extraordinary study-abroad opportunity. As participant fellows in an intensive program at the University of Oxford, England, June 29 through July 11, the students are attending seminars focused on issues of legal thought and practice. All expenses for transportation, housing, and food have been funded by the Foundation for Law, Justice and Society. The scholars also receive funding and a stipend to engage in a mentored research project on Kenyon's campus during the summer.
The Kenyon students will be joined in the two-week program by undergraduates from Oxford University, Rutgers University in New Jersey, and the Central European University in Budapest. The seminars are taught by leading legal scholars and faculty members from a range of institutions, including Kenyon's Ric Sheffield, professor of sociology, director of the interdisciplinary program in Law and Society, and associate provost. Seminars engage a broad range of legal issues, including crime and criminology, comparative constitutions, law and social change in America, British law, and contemporary governance in the European Union.
"We are extremely grateful to the Foundation for Law, Justice and Society for providing this extraordinary opportunity for our students to engage in socio-legal study abroad," says Sheffield. "I am certain that they will benefit immensely by participating in a seminar with students from another U.S. institution as well as university students from across Europe. At Oxford, they will engage cross-cultural and comparative legal issues in ways that they could not have done sitting in a classroom at Kenyon."
Excursions further enrich the legal scholars' experience abroad, including visits to Blenheim Palace, London's Inns of Court with a tour of the High Court, and Stratford to see a Royal Shakespeare Company production of Julius Caesar.
The 2009 Kenyon Summer Legal Scholars and fellows in the Oxford program are:
Travis Cook, Class of 2010, of Los Angeles, California. American studies major with concentration in law and society.
Project: "The Constitutionality of the Controlled Substances Act: Can the Commerce Clause Be Applied to Anything? "
O'Neill Cushman, Class of 2011, of Bethesda, Maryland. Philosophy major.
Project: "Morality and Law: The Geneva Convention in the Age of International Terrorism."
Martin Marcinko, Class of 2010, of Mikulas, Slovakia. Double major in economics and political science.
Project: "The Sicilian Mafia: Law and Morality."
Lindsay Stevens, Class of 2010, of Kingston, Pennsylvania. Political science major.
Project: "Intersections of Youth, Sexuality, Poverty, and Government: The Impact of Abstinence-Only-Until-Marriage Programs."
Raluca Toma, Class of 2010, of Bacau, Romania. Double major in Modern Languages and Literatures and political science.
Project: "Trapped in the Trade: Human Trafficking and Prostitution in Western Europe."
Desiree Vodounon, Class of 2012, of New York City. Major undeclared.
Project: "Cultural Impact of Plagiarism in American Colleges and Universities."