Law Student Gazette

1. Lunch with Lecturers – Information on Law Electives for 2012

This event will provide students with an insight into the Law electives offered in 2012 for semester 1 and 2. Elective lecturers will be available to personally address concerns of students and provide an outline of the course material covered in their subjects.

Venue: Monash University (Clayton), Law Library Basement

Date: Wednesday 21 September, 2011 (week 9)

Time: 12.00pm – 2.00pm

Price: Free, with pizza provided

RSVP: Facebook event ‘Lunch with law Lecturers’

This will be an excellent opportunity to determine what law electives you should do in 2012.

2. Sexting: Prevalence and Opinion in Adults

The Just Leadership Program invites you to participate in our survey, “‘Sexting’: Prevalence and Opinion in Adults”. The survey is a 10 minute inquiry on your attitudes to sending sexually explicit, suggestive or nude images via electronic communications. The survey further inquires into your opinion regarding the mandatory placement of adults on the Sex Offender Register for the sending of such images with minors. This area is very topical at the moment and the results will be used to create a reform submission to the Attorney-General and add to the Victorian Law Reform Commission’s submission regarding the Sex Offender Register.

To complete the survey please visit  http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/T3SPQLH

1. Research Practicum – New Unit

The Faculty of Law has established a new Unit to commence in 1st Semester 2012 – an externship for Monash Law students to undertake research work on placement at public sector agencies. Eligibility is for later year students with 48 credit points remaining to complete with strong academic results.

Students will undertake a formal 18 day placement at one of ten agencies
Victoria Legal Aid (VLA)
Judicial College of Victoria (JCV)
Registrar of Births Deaths and Marriages
Public Interest Law Clearing House (PILCH)
Office of the Victorian Auditor General (VAGO)
Collingwood Neighbourhood Justice Centre (DOJ)
The Red Cross
The State Trustees
Victorian Managed Insurance Authority (VMIA)
Office of Commissioner for Environmental Sustainability
Assessment includes a research project under the guidence of a field supervisor, with assistance from an expert member of Monash staff. Students will also participate in an assessed seminar program to support their work on placement.

Closing Date for applications is Wednesday 5 October, 2011

Enquiries email kathy.laster@monash.edu

http://www.law.monash.edu.au/current-students/study-opportunities/research-practicum/index.html

1. Research Practicum – New Unit

The Faculty of Law has established a new Unit to commence in 1st Semester
2012 – an externship for Monash Law students to undertake research work on
placement at public sector agencies. Eligibility is for later year students with 48
credit points remaining to complete with strong academic results.

Students will undertake a formal 18 day placement at one of ten agencies

• Victoria Legal Aid (VLA)
• Judicial College of Victoria (JCV)
• Registrar of Births Deaths and Marriages
• Public Interest Law Clearing House (PILCH)
• Office of the Victorian Auditor General (VAGO)
• Collingwood Neighbourhood Justice Centre (DOJ)
• The Red Cross
• The State Trustees
• Victorian Managed Insurance Authority (VMIA)
• Office of Commissioner for Environmental Sustainability

Assessment includes a research project under the guidence of a field supervisor,
with assistance from an expert member of Monash staff. Students will also
participate in an assessed seminar program to support their work on placement.

Information Session

Closing Date for applications is Wednesday 5 October, 2011

Enquiries email kathy.laster@monash.edu

http://www.law.monash.edu.au/current-students/study-opportunities/research-practicum/index.html

SETU Online Surveys Opening Soon

The SETU online surveys will be opening soon  – Sept 2nd for the T3-57 Units and Sept 30 for the Semester 2 Units. You will receive an email from the University’s Quality area once your SETU surveys are ready for you to complete  – so please don’t delete this email or filter it out. You can access these online surveys via your my.monash portal. We would really appreciate it if you could please complete a SETU survey for each Unit in which you are enrolled  –  we do really want to hear your thoughts about your Units and the teaching in them. The online SETU survey has 2 parts – one is for you to rate the actual Unit and the other part is about the teaching within that Unit. You may also make some comments about the Unit if you wish – but please can you give us constructive criticisms and  possible suggestions about how to improve the Unit.   Please don’t write any comments which are of an offensive nature, and/ or may breach the University’s Equal Opportunity Policy

http://www.monash.edu.au/equity-diversity/policies/equal-opportunity-policy.html and /or refer specifically to individual teachers.

Thank you very much for your assistance with this matter and we do use your feedback to continually improve the Units that we offer.

1. Call for Papers – You Me Unity

The Panel of Constitutional Recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples was established by the Australian Government with the support of the Opposition, Greens and Independent members of Parliament to lead the national conversation about constitutional recognition, and to report on options for change by December 2011.

To progress the national conversation, we are pleased to distribute the (PDF Panel’s Discussion Paper).  The discussion paper is a starting point for Australia-wide consultations on the constitutional recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians. It sets out background information about the Constitution why constitutional recognition is important and the potential benefits for all Australians from constitutional recognition. It also explores some possible ideas for constitutional recognition. These ideas are just a starting point for discussion and development of them during our community consultation. We would also be interested in hearing about ideas for constitutional recognition that have not been included in the Discussion Paper.

Further information about the constitutional recognition and Do It Yourself consultation material you may wish to use can be found at http://www.youmeunity.org.au

Submissions must be made by Friday 30 September, 2011.

2. Daffodil Day Cancer Council Merchandise for Sale

Pens are available for sale at the Law Student Services counter to help raise funds

to make a difference to the 76 Victorians diagnosed with cancer every day.

Please support the Cancer Council

3. LSS Elections

The faculty strongly encourages all students to consider running and voting in the upcoming LSS elections. The LSS provides an important means of communication between the faculty and the student body. This is a great opportunity to increase your participation in helping shape the Monash Law School Experience. More information can be found below in the LSS notices.

4. Monash/Rowville Rail Community Forum, Tuesday 30th August @ 1pm, Airport Lounge, 1st Level Campus Centre Clayton

One of the lead stories in Monash memo this week was an article by the Vice Chancellor discussing the importance of the proposed Monash/Rowville Rail study currently been conducted by the State Government.  The study is looking at a train line from Huntingdale Station to Rowville with a station at the Clayton campus.  The Vice Chancellor highlights a rail extension will deliver a transformational change to the Clayton campus.

The story also promotes the Monash community forum to be held on the 30 August at 1.00pm in the campus centre.  It is vital that the university community attends this forum in large numbers to demonstrate how critically important we see the provision of improved public transport to our Clayton campus.

We have a goal of 1000 staff and students attending the forum as a clear demonstration of how important this is to Monash.  It would be fantastic if you and your colleagues could attend this forum.

http://www.monash.edu.au/news/show/community-forum-for-rail-line

.: End of Student Gazette 29.08.2011 :.

1. Daffodil Day Cancer Council Merchandise for Sale

Pens are available for sale at the Law Student Services counter to help raise funds

to make a difference to the 76 Victorians diagnosed with cancer every day.

Please support the Cancer Council

2. Parliment of Victoria – Law Reform Committee – Call for Papers

Inquiry into access to and interaction with the justice system by people with an intellectual disability and their family and carers.

For further information please see Call for Papers and Terms of Reference

The closing dates for submissions is Friday 9 September, 2011

3. Inter-campus exchange to Monash University Sunway campus, Malaysia – Semester 1 2012

Webpage including application form:
http://www.monash.edu.au/students/studyabroad/apply/intercampus.html

Applications close 15 October 2011 for Semester 1 2012

• Free accommodation
• Free airport transfer
• Free $1500 Travel grant

For further information:
Visit:  Monash Abroad @ 1st Floor campus centre, Clayton
Contact:  03 9905 3041 or
Email:  jowey.lim@monash.edu

This exchange opportunity has nothing to do with the Law Malaysia International program

4. International Students Work Essentials Forum

Venue: Building 63, Central 1 Theatre, Clayton Campus
Date: Wednesday 7 September 2011
Time: 4.30 – 7.00pm

Are you an international student looking to build your skills and career?

If so, come to Employment and Career Development’s International Students Work Essentials Forum.  At the forum, you will hear from industry professionals and past international students about what employers look for in international candidates, and how to best succeed in Australian workplace culture.

For more information and to book, visit: http://tinyurl.com/work-essentials.

1. LSS Survey About the Curriculum Review

The Law Faculty is currently undertaking a Curriculum Review, details of which can be accessed at  http://www.law.monash.edu/current-students/combo-review-page.html

In order to best represent UG students’ views, the Monash LSS warmly invites all UG students to participate in their survey which can be found at  http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/lsscrsurvey.   This survey, which will take about 10-15 minutes, will be open until midnight Sunday 21st August. Please don’t miss out on having your say in this important submission to the Law Faculty as many of the issues will significantly affect current UG students.

Please note: The LSS JD representatives are collecting the JD student responses separately.

1. Daffodil Day Cancer Council Merchandise for Sale

Pens are available for sale at the Law Student Services counter to help raise funds

to make a difference to the 76 Victorians diagnosed with cancer every day.

Please support the Cancer Council

2. LSS Survey About the Curriculum Review

The Law Faculty is currently undertaking a Curriculum Review, details of which can be accessed here: http://www.law.monash.edu/current-students/combo-review-page.html.

In order to best represent UG students’ views, the Monash LSS warmly invites all UG students to participate in their survey which can be found athttp://www.surveymonkey.com/s/lsscrsurvey.   This survey, which will take about 10-15 minutes, will be open until midnight Sunday 21st August. Please don’t miss out on having your say in this important submission to the Law Faculty as many of the issues will significantly affect current UG students.

Please note: The LSS JD representatives are collecting the JD student responses separately.

3. Marie Wallace Equity Bursary Applications Open Soon

The Marie Wallace Equity Bursary was established to assist students from the City of Knox area who are experiencing financial difficulty. Marie Wallace was Mayor of the City of Knox 3 times and a Councillor for over 20 years.

Applications Open Monday 1 August

Eligibility

To be eligible, applicants must be:

• An Australian citizen or holder of an Australian permanent resident visa or permanent humanitarian visa, and
• A commencing or continuing undergraduate student, and
• Enrolled or intending to enrol in a full-time undergraduate degree in the Faculty of Law at a Monash campus in Australia, and
• Able to demonstrate financial disadvantage.
• A resident of the City of Knox

Selection criteria

Awarded on the basis of need to eligible applicants.

Value and number available

$2500 one off payment. In 2011 one bursary was awarded.

Retention

Recipients will be required to submit a report to the donor by the end of the year.

Deferability

This bursary cannot be deferred.

For application information and to apply please see:
http://www.adm.monash.edu/scholarships/opportunities/marie-wallace-equity-bursary.html

4. Melbourne East Disability Advocacy (MEDA) Seeking Volunteers

Melbourne East Disability Advocacy (MEDA), is looking to recruit volunteer advocates to provide spokesmanship, practical advocacy, community inclusion and friendship to one person with an intellectual disability in the local community. If you believe in social justice, would like to use your problem solving skills in a practice setting then come and make a difference!  For further information contact phone: 9808 8633 or email: office@meda.org.au or visit our website: www.meda.org.au.

For further information please see MEDA Seeking Volunteers

5. Performance@law  – Mindfulness for Academic Success

Less stress. Better grades.

The MAS program, consisting of 5 weekly sessions, uses the latest mindfulness techniques to help students lower their stress levels and improve their grades. Mindfulness is an attention training practice which has been shown to improve concentration and enhance wellbeing.

The program uses specific mindfulness practices to:

• Reduce stress and anxiety
• Overcome procrastination
• Maximise brain performance
• Learn how to learn better

The program is free for all Monash law students and commences 11 am Friday 26 August. Further information can be found on the attached Registration Form and applications close Friday August 5.

Any inquiries to Lloyd.england@monash.edu or telephone 9905 3385.

To register please see Registration Form

1. 2011 Sydney Law School Postgraduate Students Conference – Call for Papers

Participation in the conference will provide an opportunity to present research projects to students and academics from a diverse range of backgrounds. The conference will also act as a forum to explore broader issues around the research process, including research methods and theory, critique and the culture of law.  Day one will include the keynote address and concurrent presentation sessions. Day two will run as a half day and involve discussion sessions on the PhD experience facilitated by leading academics.

Call for Papers

We invite postgraduate research students in law and related fields from universities across Australia to submit an abstract for consideration. The conference will cover topics including:

• Climate & Environmental Law
• Commercial, Contract & Property  Law
• Constitutional, Administrative & Public  Law
• Criminal Law, Criminal Justice & Criminology
• Family & Child Law
• Health & Medical Law
• Indigenous Persons & the Law
• International & Human Rights Law
• Law in the Asia Pacific Region
• Legal, Socio-legal & Regulatory Theory

Keynote Speaker

Professor Gerry Simpson, Melbourne Law School, the University of Melbourne

Deadlines

• Submission of abstracts: Monday 29 August
• Early bird registration: Monday 19 September
• Submission of written papers: Thursday 13 October

Applicants will be required to complete an Abstract Submission Form available on the Postgraduate Conference website.

Prizes, bursaries and financial assistance

A prize of $500 will be awarded for the best written paper presented at the conference.

Financial assistance for travel, accommodation or fee relief is available upon application for students who demonstrate need. For further information please refer to the Postgraduate Conference website.

Registration

A light lunch and post conference drinks is included in the registration fee.  Please note there is no registration fee applicable for those presenting a paper at the conference.

• Early bird registration: $11 (inc GST)
• Full fee registration: $22 (inc GST)

Registrations and secure online payment can be made via the conference online registration form.

For further information

Conference details are available via the Postgraduate Conference website.

For further enquiries, contact Belinda Reeve: law.pgrc@sydney.edu.au

2. PASS program in Contract B

This semester, the Law Faculty is introducing Peer Assisted Study Sessions (PASS) to Contract B.  PASS is built around group discussion and active participation under the guidance of the PASS mentors, 2nd and 3rd year students who have been successful in the unit.  The goals of PASS are to help you develop both confidence in Contract B but also the study strategies that will assist you in all your units.  It’s all about effective and efficient study, and having the opportunity to talk to your peers about any concerns you may have with Contract B or more generally about being a successful uni student.

PASS is new to Law, but not new to Monash, and the evidence shows that regularly attending PASS sessions not only significantly improves your chances of achieving a high grade in the unit but also improves the quality of your university experience.

We will offer ten one-hour study sessions each week.  You will be able to sign up for PASS in Contract B from 9.00am on Monday.  Just go to the Contract B Allocate+ page and choose the PASS session that best fits your timetable.  PASS sessions start in Week 3, and will run through to Week 12.

Please see attached slides for more info!

For further information please see PASS program for Contract B

3. T2-58 Units -SETU Surveys Closing Soon

Could those students enrolled in the T2-58 Units, which are the Prato, Malaysian and T2 JD Units, please note the SETU surveys for these Units  which opened on the 22nd July will close shortly on Friday 5 August. Can you please ensure that you have complete all of your online SETU surveys for the T2-58 Units before this deadline? You can access these SETU surveys via your  my.monash portal.  You may not realise this but if the student responses in a Unit are below 5 then the University will not give us  a Unit evaluation report for that Unit  So if you really want to make your voice heard then you need to get online and tell us what you think!

We do appreciate you making some comments about what you thought about the Unit. However, this needs to be constructive praise and and criticism about things like the Unit design and not comments about the individual teachers please. We particularly do not want you to write any comments of an offensive nature that are in breach of the University’s Equal Opportunity Policy :

http://www.monash.edu.au/equity-diversity/policies/equal-opportunity-policy.html or comments that refer specifically to individual teachers. If you stick to just writing comments about the Unit design then you should be OK. Currently the SETU survey does not ask for any student comments about the teachers.

Many thanks for helping us with this as we do use your comments about the Units and the SETU reports to help us to continually improve the quality of our Units.

Don’t forget that you can look at the Unit evaluation reports for each Semester online at:
https://emuapps.monash.edu.au/unitevaluations/wr/uewr_rp1_public_yearseme.jsp

.: End of Student Gazette 01.08.2011 :.

1. Marie Wallace Equity Bursary Applications Open Soon

The Marie Wallace Equity Bursary was established to assist students from the City of Knox area who are experiencing financial difficulty. Marie Wallace was Mayor of the City of Knox 3 times and a Councillor for over 20 years.

Applications Open Monday 1 August

Eligibility

To be eligible, applicants must be:

• An Australian citizen or holder of an Australian permanent resident visa or permanent humanitarian visa, and
• A commencing or continuing undergraduate student, and
• Enrolled or intending to enrol in a full-time undergraduate degree in the Faculty of Law at a Monash campus in Australia, and
• Able to demonstrate financial disadvantage.
• A resident of the City of Knox

Selection criteria

Awarded on the basis of need to eligible applicants.

Value and number available

$2500 one off payment. In 2011 one bursary was awarded.

Retention

Recipients will be required to submit a report to the donor by the end of the year.

Deferability

This bursary cannot be deferred.

For application information and to apply please see:
http://www.adm.monash.edu/scholarships/opportunities/marie-wallace-equity-bursary.html

2. Melbourne East Disability Advocacy (MEDA) Seeking Volunteers

Melbourne East Disability Advocacy (MEDA), is looking to recruit volunteer advocates to provide spokesmanship, practical advocacy, community inclusion and friendship to one person with an intellectual disability in the local community. If you believe in social justice, would like to use your problem solving skills in a practice setting then come and make a difference!  For further information contact phone: 9808 8633 or email: office@meda.org.au or visit our website: www.meda.org.au.

For further information please see MEDA Seeking Volunteers

3. Performance@law  – Mindfulness for Academic Success

Less stress. Better grades.

The MAS program, consisting of 5 weekly sessions, uses the latest mindfulness techniques to help students lower their stress levels and improve their grades. Mindfulness is an attention training practice which has been shown to improve concentration and enhance wellbeing.

The program uses specific mindfulness practices to:

• Reduce stress and anxiety
• Overcome procrastination
• Maximise brain performance
• Learn how to learn better

The program is free for all Monash law students and commences 11 am Friday 26 August. Further information can be found on the attached Registration Form and applications close Friday August 5.

Any inquiries to Lloyd.england@monash.edu or telephone 9905 3385.

To register please see Registration Form

4. A BIG Thank You to Pauline Smith

This week, Law Student Services celebrates the fact that Pauline Smith has been with us for 10 years. On behalf of the faculty, the students and the student services staff, we’d like to extend our sincere thanks to Pauline for the exceptional job she does – and for being such a highly-valued and well-loved colleague and champion of our students.

Please join with us in showing our appreciation when you see her this week (not that she likes the attention, of course!!)

1. Governor-General’s Undergraduate Essay Competition

The Governor-General’s Undergraduate Essay Competition is Australia’s most prestigious civics essay competition. It is open to Australian undergraduate students (including LLB, JD and Honours students) studying in all faculties at universities across Australia and includes questions that are related to law, politics and other contemporary issues facing Australia. Now in its eighth year, Australia’s most prestigious essay competition provides university students with the opportunity to be recognised for their academic skill, talent and research.

The 2010 competition final judging was held on July 12^th, 2011. Justice Virginia Bell of the High Court along with five other members of the judging panel interviewed the finalists at the High Court offices in Sydney.

The Constitution Education Fund Australia (CEFA) is delighted to announce the winners of the 2010 Governor-General’s Undergraduate Essay Competition, the media release can be viewed at:
www.cefa.org.au/wp-content/view/278/97/

The 2011 Competition is offering up to $33,000 in cash prizes to the winning authors of 2,500 word essays.

This prestigious competition provides students with the opportunity to be further recognised for their academic skill, talent and research. The Competition website is: www.essaycompetition.com.au

I have attached this year’s questions for your convenience. If you could distribute these to your students and invite them to enter the Competition, it would be greatly appreciated. If you would like additional flyers sent to your university campus, please let me know.

You are also welcome to set identical or similar questions as part of your teaching program for your students, and encourage them to enter the Competition. The Competition closing date is Friday 30^th December 2011 at 5:00pm AEST. Please direct all enquiries to CEFA Project Administrator, Phuong Van, at pvan@cefa.org.au

For further information please see Essay Competition Flyer