August 22, 1997

Law school and students fight to end violence

The School of Law joined th eLouisiana Center for Law and Civic Education to sponsor a week-long teen leadership camp on violence reduction and conflict resolution.

Nearly 120 Orleans Parish public school students and their teachers were trained in the methods and processes for achieving peaceful resolution to disputes. By participating in class discussions, role plays and field trips, the students learned that disagreements not be resolved with the fist.

Participants will take what they learned in the training session a step further by creating a conflict resolution class in each school where they will mediate and resolve conflicts for their peers. It is hoped that by teaching young men and women about the legal system and giving them the tools to conduct conflict resolution in their schools that they will become better citizens and juvenile delinquency will be deterred.

Several prominent legal and civic figures served as mentors and instructors to the attendees. They included Chief Justice Pascal F. Calogero, Jr., L'54, of the Louisiana Supreme Court; David F. Bienvenu, president of the Louisiana State Bar; Honorable Eddy J. Jordan, Jr., U.S. Attorney; Mel Kohn, M.D., Tulane Hospital for Children; Erika Schwarz, L'96, former Miss Louisiana; Sheriff Charles C. Foti, Jr., criminal sheriff for Orleans Parish; Camile G. Buras, first assistant for District Attorney Harry Connick; and Councilman Oliver Thomas, New Orleans City Council.