MONDAY, AUG. 31, 2015 VOLUME 90 ■ ISSUE 5
ANSEL ADAMS
VOLLEYBALL
PG. 6
PG. 8
DODGEBALL
ONLINE
INDEX OPINIONS LA VIDA SPORTS CROSSWORD CLASSIFIEDS SUDOKU
4 5 8 6 7 5
CITY
LUBBOCK
COMIC CON By SARAH CUMMING Staff Writer
O
n Saturday, more than 1,500 festivalgoers came together to celebrate geek culture at the inagural Hub City Comic Con. The Exhibit Hall at the Lubbock Civic Center was full of cosplayers, or costume players, who make the characters from their favorite comics, TV shows, video games and movies come to life. Adam Ball, a sophomore geology major from Midland, said he attended for the accepting atmosphere Comic Con offers and to meet people with the same interests as him. “Everyone is positive and nice,” he said. “Nobody is hateful or rude.” One of the major influences in Ball’s interest in the geek universe started out when he was a kid playing the Pokémon video games and watching the anime series based off of the video game. Ball’s love for Pokémon became a staple in his life and has influenced him at Texas Tech, he said. Ball currently serves on the board for Tech’s Pokémon Club. Ball said his obsession rubbed off on his friends and he began to cosplay to continue the excitement in the Pokémon community, or “fandom.”
Marisa Carrión, a freshman global studies major from Houston, flips through a Dick Tracy comic collection book at Ralph Record’s booth in the Exhibit Hall inside the Lubbock Memorial Civic Center. Saturday, Aug. 29 was the second day of the first annual Hub City Comic Con. SARAH CUMMING / The Daily Toreador
SEE COMIC CON, PG. 6
SCHOOL OF LAW
School of Law announces new service requirement for first-year students By DAVID GAY Staff Writer
On Monday, the Texas Tech School of Law announced a service requirement for graduation for first-year law students. According to a Tech news release, first-year law students will be required to complete at least 30 hours of community service before being eligible for graduation. Students will have to complete at least 15 hours of pro bono legal service, meaning they work voluntarily for no pay, and the remaining 15 hours can be pro bono or nonlegal community service, according to the news release. Both faculty and students brought the idea of a community service requirement to the Dean of the School of Law, Darby Dickerson, director for pro bono projects Meryl Benham said. There has been a recent movement of encouraging lawyers to engage in public service and pro bono legal work. Pro bono legal work is services for indigent individuals, Benham said. These services are provided to people who would not be able to afford an attorney. Students will not be able to give legal advice because they are not licensed attorneys, Benham said, but they will be able to help the clients in other ways. “Even before the student gets their license, they can do some cool legal things,” she said. “Students can work in legal offices and help attorneys with research, draft motions and help observe court hearings. They can also help interview clients but they have to be careful
to say that they cannot give any legal advice.” Through the pro bono service, the goal is to exposed students to different aspects of law, Benham said. “Since they will be experienced in so many areas,” she said. “When they graduate they might have an idea of what area they want to practice in.” In the pro bono service, they will also learn how to apply their skills they learned in class in practical contexts, Benham said. Along with the pro bono service, students are required to participate in non-legal community service, she said. Non-legal is basic volunteer service including work with organizations such as Habitat for Humanity and Big Brothers Big Sisters. “The student does not need any legal training for this work, but it’s really great volunteer work,” Benham said. “The thought is that you are helping people who are disadvantaged in some type of way.” Andrew Smith, a first-year law student from Dallas, said there are many needs in the community, and non-legal work will help families in and around the community. According to the release, fulltime faculty will also be required to have at least 10 hours of service they can split between pro bono and non-legal work. Giving back to the community, whether it is in a pro bono or nonlegal way, is important, Teresa McGonagill, a first-year law student from Granbury, said. “I think that we should be doing this regardless of the require-
CITY
New Lubbock police chief introduced BY EASTON WOLLNEY Staff Writer
Doing pro bono and other community service is such a valuable asset as a lawyer, Darby Dickerson said. “We have an ethical and professional obligation to give back,” Dickerson said. “Students who start community service early in their career find out how valuable it is not only for the people they help out but for themselves. To instill a love for public service is definitely the goal we want to achieve.”
On Aug. 28, the Lubbock Police Department hosted a ceremony for Greg Stevens, the new police chief for the city. Stevens said his whole life he wanted to be a police officer, and his father was a police officer in Amarillo before, retiring in 2000. He vividly remembers his dad’s keepers he used to attach his police belt to his belt loops, he said, and still has them. Stevens has worked for several units of the police department since October 1992 and also served in the Navy Reserve from 1998 until March 1, 2015, according to a City of Lubbock press release. He served in the Air Force from 1988 until 1992. His wife was by his side during the ceremony and attached his new badge to his shirt, which Stevens said was significant because she also attached his Navy bars. When people tell him they could never do his job, Stevens said, in the back of his mind he agrees. “It’s a unique person who can do this job,” Stevens said. The new police chief has a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and received his MBA from Texas Tech, according to the press release. He is also a graduate of the FBI’s National Academy and the Law Enforcement Management Institute of Texas.
SEE LAW, PG. 3
SEE POLICE, PG. 3
EASTON WOLLNEY / The Daily Toreador
A group of Texas Tech law students gather trash from Canyon Lake for community service. Each student cleaned up about a bag of trash each. ment,” McGonagill said. “Whenever you give something, you get something. Out of this, you get to feel that you have given back to your community.” Even second- and third-year law school students participating feel it is critical to be involved in the community, Deontae Wherry, a second-year law student from Dallas, said. The second- and third-year students understand the importance and the value of all law students giving back to the community.