A Word From the President

Phil Barker, President

Welcome to 2008!

This is an exciting year of change around the law school with the first new-generation JD students beginning in the middle of February. By roughly 2011 the Melbourne Law School and as a result the Melbourne University Law Students Society (LSS) will be constituted of entirely postgraduates.  As a result of these changes it is imperative that the LSS focuses on remaining relevant and accessible to all students.

This first major focus is to ensure that our activities are relevant to the demands of law students. One way we will gauge these demands is through the introduction of a comprehensive student survey at the beginning of first semester. This will help us to ascertain precisely what it is that students want from their LSS. I’d strongly encourage you to jump onto our website (www.mulss.com) and complete the survey. Further, we are initiating a permanent feedback page on our website such that at any time throughout the year you will be able to give feedback to the LSS regarding our activities in the Law School.

Our other major focus is on being as accessible as possible. This ranges from minimising the cost of Law Ball while maintaining its excellent standards through to the implementation of a strict open door policy at the LSS office when committee members are present. Our aim is to maximise the number of law students who are able to participate in events run by the LSS.

Beyond those two primary aims, the LSS will continue to run a huge range of events and programs throughout the year. As one of the largest, best resourced and most dynamic student bodies in the country, the Melbourne University LSS is renowned for its breadth of activities. We have six broad categories of activities: Equality, Activities, Education, Careers, Competitions and Other Awesome Stuff.

Our Equality portfolio encompasses a wide range of interests including Mature Age, Environment, Queer,

Women’s and Social Justice. Further, it runs a series of programs including the important Living Book Scheme which enables students with a disadvantage to loan current law books for free or a semester. This wide ranging portfolio is one of the strongest and most innovative in the country and I look forward to helping foster its growth this year.

Our Activities portfolio involves all things social. In the hustle and bustle of the law school our Activities Vice-Presidents will be working to help law students relax, socialise, meet, greet, have fun, and so on.

Our Education portfolio’s primary responsibility is to represent law students on academic (and other) committees in the law school. If you have any complaints or concerns regarding the academic programs or any of the details therein, from word limit policies to forms of lecturer feedback, get in contact with the Education Vice-Presidents.

© 2008 Melbourne University Law Students' Society