The LSA's Plan towards the change to J.D./B.C.L.

I apologize for the delay. Here's what has happened and what's going to:

The issue has been addressed at the LSA meeting. The LSA President has confirmed that more progress will take place in the Winter semester. The proposal to change the degree name to J.D./B.C.L., however, might be officially reported to the the LSA Council before the end of this semester if time permits.

The LSA plans to set up a research group by February 2009 in order to study relevant impacts and approaches undertaken by other schools. The LSA President explained that the research is necessary and information collected from the research will facilitate the process, especially after the referendum is held and the issue is raised before the Dean. Without concrete backup information, the LSA is concerned that the Faculty might hesitate to accept the proposal in a timely manner despite student's approval through referendum.

The LSA estimated that a referendum be held within the Winter semester. Because holding a referendum is quite costly (approximately $600-$700), the LSA wants to take a bit of time to make sure that students are familiar with the issue, and that the referendum meets a quorum.

In short, the steps that should be taken from this point on are:
1) The proposal for the change is reported the LSA Council,
2) A research group is set up by Feb 2009,
3) A referendum is held within the next semester
4) If a sufficient number of students approve the proposal in the referendum, the proposal will be reported to the Faculty

The whole process will take some time but I think that it's important to let the LSA does its job so that the change happens in a legitimate and meaningful way. A student like me also has a right to collect names through a petition and demand a referendum but the involvement of the LSA will reflect a greater consensus of the student community as a whole. What students have to do is to just come out and vote next semester.