New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1872-05-02
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OFFICIAL JOURNAL Of THE UNITED STATES
OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF NEW ORLEANS
Meeting of the Board of Administrators of
the University of Louisiana,

tive and close application to their studies
as members, during the past and present
terms, and after in all respects cOnsci-
entiuusly striving to deserve the respect
and esteem of the professors of said law
department, have learned with regret that
a portion of the class have been rejected by
the faculty, and will be refused their de-
gree as Bachelors Of Law unless your
honorable board shall take some action on
their behalf.
Your memOrialists respectfully pray that,
while fully giving all due consideration to
the said action Of the faculty, yet believ-
ing, as your memOTialsts do, that some IN
usual exactness as to fitness has been re-
Quired Of your memOriaiists, and which
action Of the faculty is a source of deep
modification to all members of said class
as well those admitted as those refused adj
mission, and believing that with the re-
commentator of your honorable board, the
faculty may reconsider their action. and
appealing to you to take such action as NAV
appear just and proper in the premises:
respectfully petition your honorable board
to hold q special session and take into con-
sideratiOn this memorial, and take such ac-
ton as may be considered just right and
proper
Will Ed Todd, Morris Marks.
Charles j. Greene, Hector Z Durward,
y. w. VOORHEES,, Z. B. Mentz,
George w. Lane, j. w. Gurlev. Jr
Peter J. Kraemer, o. ProvOsty,
John n Healy, l.. A Burt6e.
After the reading of the above memorial,
and pending action thereupon, the board
adjourned until April l, 1872, at 10 A. NJ, at
which time the subject matter of the said
memorial being again taken up, and the
bOard having decided that it had iurisdic.
ton in the premises, after some discussion
the matter of said memorial was referred to
special committee to be appointed by the
chair.
Al another called session of the board.
held April "a, 1872, at 6 P NJ, the special
committee appointed as above, then re-
ported as follows:
To the Board of Directors Of the University of Lou
Isiana:
The committee of inquiry. specially ap-
pointed by the board Of directors of the
University of Louisiana to inquire into and
ascertain the reasons why more than one
half the whole class of the Law School of
Ebe University was rejected by the faculty
at It's last annual examinations fact made
known to the board by the petition of the
rejected Students to it addressed-beg
Weave to most respectfully report:
That your committee addressed a COM
municatlon to the faculty, desiring each
member thereof to meet the committee, and
to furnish the said committee, first, with a
copy OF the rules and regulations of the
faculty relating to the qualifications Of APP
pIcants for admission To the Law School, |
the course of study, the course of lectures, |
the manner of examination, and the method |
OF determining the fitness or unhtness Of |
students for graduation.
That the faculty declined to meet your |
committee but placed in its possession the |
resolution which is marked A and annexed |
to this report. The document marked B, |
styled Negotiations was at the same time |
delivered to your committee.
That failing to obtain from the faculty |
such information as would enable your
committee TO ascertain by that means (the |
means which your committee believe the /
board Of directors, through your committee,
had the right to require, as by the -
section of the act Incorporating the Univer-
.sity Of Louisiana, the exclusive right of
comforting, under their common seal, the
degree of Bachelor of Laws and diplomas
is vested in this bOard) the cause of the re-
jectiOns SO unusually numerous, your COM
mlttee had no other alternative than to
seek information elsewhere, and the result
of its investigation amounted to this, and
your committee so reports:
That the annual examination of candi-
dates for their degrees in the law depart
ment takes place in the presence of all the
professors composing the faculty. That
each of the professors casts a ball, white or
black expressive of his opinion as to the
fitness or unfitness of a candidate for gradu-
alton, and that one black ball sufices to I
cause the rejection of any applicant. This
mode Of determining the fate of an appli-
cant appears to your committee harsh
enc.
The decision of three out Of the five
judges composing the Supreme Court of
this State would suffice to entitle an appli-
cant for admission to claim his license or
diploma, if their decision was favorable to
him
BY the mode adopted in the law school
OF the university, no matter how capable
naturally a student may be-hOwever at
tentlve, industrious and punctual he may
have been, and well qualified for his de- !
gree however fit the majority of the
faculty who have heard his general eX-
animation may have deemed him, and have q
so expressed their opinion by casting each
white ball Tor hlm-any one professor
can, for any cause, defeat his graduation
by casting against him a black ball This
your committee deems an unfair and i'm A.,
polite mode of proceeding, and your commit
tee thinks that when three out of four of the
members composing the faculty, supposed
to be cOnversant with every branch of the
law after a thorough examination, are sat :
isfied, and deem an applicant fully com
Detent to receive his degrees, this board
ought to confer them upon him. otherwise
any one Of the professors might arbitra- {
rily, by simply prOpOunding abstruse,
vexed questions, which would puzzle any
old lawyer who had not made a special ,
study If it, permit his ever obtaining his de-
grees.
Your committee is far from intending to
attribute to any member of the faculty
any improper motive in casting his vote
against any of the rejected applicants. 1t
would rather attribute such action to per-
haps too much zeal in requiring too great
perfection from mere tyro.
Your committee does not pretend to pro-
nOunce any one of the petitioners qualified
for his degree as Bachelor of Laws bat the
case of one Of the applicants has been made
known to it, and yOuc COMMITTEES deems it
proper TO make it known to the board.
This applicant is a regular graduate of one
of our Northern colleges and occupies TIE
elevated position Of principal in one of the
high schools of our city. He is a verv
moral and studiOus person, and has been a
regular student Of the law school for the
last three years. He was considered by
l,ls fellOw-students in the law school the
very hest and most efficient among them,
and was selected unanimously as the one
yaost eminently lit to deliver the valedictorv
address, and this to the knowledge of and
without any objection from the faculty, and |
II was SO publicly announced. This was
one of the rejected applicants. There were
Others, perhaps, not AS cOnspicuOusly dis
tiu9uished, but, perhaps, as able.
YOur committee do not recommend any |
eourse of proceeding which will tend to
render the graduation of candidates for de-
arees in the law school of the university |
atrainabIe, without their thorough fitness