LEGAL RESEARCH PUBLISHED

Undergraduate research is one of the cornerstones of the Franklin College experience, and Corbin Lee ’23 will have his examination of the Supreme Court Case Mahanoy Area School District v. B.L. (2021) published in The Georgetown University Undergraduate Law Review (GUULR).

Lee researched the case as part of his coursework for American Constitutional Law II: Civil Rights and Liberties, taught by associate professor of political science Allison Fetter-Harrott, J.D., Ph.D.

“We spent the whole semester going over a variety of cases involving issues such as free speech and law enforcement. Our final assignment was to choose one from a selection of modern cases and analyze it in terms of how different populations would be impacted and the future implications on other cases,” Lee said.

With guidance from Fetter-Harrott, Lee continued refining and strengthening his original research lawyer with a concentration in immigration law. Franklin College has allowed me to see various applications of helping people, whether it’s giving back to the local community or proposing solutions to worldwide problems.”

The “Realizing the Dream” program also provides a professional development grant to the teachers who inspired the scholarship recipients to pursue a college education. Garrido Portillo chose Katie (Rice) DeArmitt ’01, her former English teacher at Center Grove High School in Greenwood, Indiana. “She helped me so much in the four years I spent with her,” said Garrido Portillo. “She pushed me out of my comfort zone and became a friend in the process. She made me feel safe and constantly reminded me of my worth and what value I have to give back to the world.” J paper after the course ended in the spring of 2022. “Corbin wrote a fantastic undergraduate legal research paper,” Fetter-Harrott said. “I was excited to encourage him to share his work with others, as he had shown such initiative and skill in the writing process.”

“Dr. Fetter-Harrott worked throughout the whole summer with me and gave a whole lot of time she didn’t need to give, but I was so appreciative,” Lee said. The hard work paid off at the Education Law Association Conference in Orlando, Florida, a learning experience supported by Franklin College travel grants and the Elmon & Lucile Williams Chair in Law and Public Service. Lee and his classmates, Sierra Downey ’23 and Andrea Rahman ’23, were the first undergraduates ever to share their research in roundtable presentations at this national conference, and they earned high praise from many other guests, said Fetter-Harrott.

After the conference, Fetter-Harrott suggested Lee pursue publishing his work and gave him a list of journals to consider. Lee made three submissions, and the GUULR notified him with good news in February 2023, nearly one year after his initial project began.

“I was surprised and humbled,” Lee said. “It just wouldn’t have happened without Dr. FetterHarrott. Publishing would never have crossed my mind. She really tries and excels at creating special opportunities for students.”

Lee soon leveraged his accomplishment. “I put it on my grad school application and brought it up during my oral interview. The interviewers seemed impressed, particularly since I’m not majoring in law.” Lee majors in sociology and was accepted into the University of Indianapolis’ graduate studies program. J