Presently there are no Student Legal Services being provided to students. Due to the resignation of attorney Beth George, the Student Senate is currently looking into replacing her position at Student Legal Services.
They are also looking to improve the quality of the service while staying on budget. “During tight financial times and an increase in student organizations [we’re looking to] improve the level of services and save money,” said Assistant to the Dean of Student Life Chris O’Connor, who is working closely with the Student Senate in the hiring process.
Since George left for personal reasons in late December, the Student Senate and O’Connor have explored many different avenues by which they could replace and improve the legal resources.
At first they looked to the Maine School of Law, here on campus, to see if there were any opportunities for them to help, but that did not yield results. Next, they looked into hiring a private organization, and found a program that would make a certain amount of local law services available to students, but the cost was estimated at $144,000. In order to provide this kind of service to students an additional fee would be tacked on to student bills.
“This was not a viable option,” said O’Connor.
The expense of Student Legal Services is being partially covered by the student activity fee and according to Political Science major, Joshua Force, a major issue is that “all student organizations are faced with a budget crunch” and that when the voting committee convenes at the end of March or beginning of April to decide on a time and location for elections it will be imperative that students vote on issues concerning the increase in student activity fees.
“(There is) not a problem with funding, Senate and Dean of Student’s Office is looking now for a replacement,” said Vice President Craig Hutchinson. According to Hutchinson the only real issue was that the Senate and the Dean of Student’s Office were “looking for a way to get more coverage…. Student Legal Services was only providing four to six hours of service.”
Although there have been no formal complaints about the lack of legal services on campus, O’Connor notes that there are approximately 30 students inquiring per month about gaining services. “There is definitely a need for [Student Legal Services]. The Student Senate’s voice is clear, they do not want to get rid of Student Legal Services,” said O’Connor.
To remedy the situation it seems that an attorney will be hired for a nine-month period of time as opposed to a full year. The University Business Service Offices will likely hire a contracted employee.
If students are looking for legal services, Pine Tree Legal is a community organization that provides free services to people 125% below the poverty line. For more information about Pine Tree Legal check out their website at www.ptla.org.
Erin Violette can be contacted at [email protected]