CUA Cover Winter 2004 final (Page 2) - Columbus School of Law

REMARKABLEEventsRemarkable Events Inspiring Tomorrow’s Leadersat The Catholic University of America Columbus School of LawA complete legal education should include the ability to think critically not only about the law, butalso about the social and political currents that shape our world. More than ever we need educatedcitizens who can clearly see, analyze and understand. Instruction at the Columbus School of Law helpsprepare these valuable leaders of tomorrow. It is a chief reason why so many leaders of today, scholars andthinkers of the first rank, come here to share their significant insights into human behavior.Promoting A Bridge to UnderstandingIn a world awash with political strife, American misperceptions about Islam make theproblems heartbreakingly worse, said one of the planet’s foremost Islamic theologians.During a Sept. 5 address, Dr. S.H. Nasr, university professor of Islamic Studies, GeorgeWashington University, said the media is largely to blame for fueling inaccurate images ofIslam as a religion populated by fanatics and jihad-obsessed martyrs. “Many of the oldermisperceptions are now threatening to undo 50 years of earnest, sincere effort by scholars, theologians and writersacross the various continents to create a better understanding among the children of Abraham,” he said.Examining Ethics and a Just SocietyDo we own our own bodies? That startling question defies an easy answer, according to oneof the sharpest minds in American jurisprudence. The Hon. Guido Calabresi, United StatesCourt of Appeals Judge for the Second Circuit and a former dean of Yale Law School, said asmedical technology advances and more body parts are transplantable, the question ofownership of one’s body may not be as settled as most people think. “I’m not so sure that alaw saying that you don’t own your own body would be unconstitutional,” he declared.Debating America’s Role in the WorldAmerica’s tug of war with the United Nations over Iraq last spring is just one example ofwhat Yale Law School Professor W. Michael Reisman considers a permanent up-and-downrelationship between the United States and various international bodies. During an earlyNovember address, the noted international expert said the United States is simply too powerfulto expect it to not occasionally pursue its own ends. “The most probable future is onein which the United States continues to be paramount and continues to stir controversy inits complex love-hate relationships with international organizations,” he concluded.34CUALAWYER /Winter 2004