Associated Student Government President Jonathan Webber's recent decision not to renew the contract for the ASG-funded lawyer and close the Student Legal Services Office is a prudent move.
ASG and the Student Activities Fee pay Patty Marinakis as a part-time attorney, footing her salary, parking permit, legal databases and office supplies. That accounts for $35,000 of ASG's $68,000 of the internal budget. The service offered full-time Northwestern students free legal advice, typically ranging from landlord issues to underage drinking citations.
Marinakis fulfilled a consult role for a fee of approximately $300 a pop this quarter. She did not represent students in court nor was she allowed to give advice in cases concerning other students, student groups or the university: not particularly helpful for the number of students who receive citations from University Police.
Paying Marinakis thousands of dollars a quarter for advice in petty disputes, some of them drinking related, out of an "activities fee," was doling out money better served elsewhere. Off-campus housing services are where the lack of available legal consult will be most problematic. The administration, not ASG, must replace Marinakis with someone who can focus on advising students involved in housing disputes with landlords.
Additionally Congress' most recent higher education bill mandates that universities and colleges pay for subscriptions to online downloading services, to offset campuses' prolific illegal downloading. Punitive measures for schools failing to comply could include the loss of federal financial aid funding. This is where NU needs to beef up its legal spending, not on parking permits for the attorney who can't get you out of trouble with the University Police for noise violations on a Saturday night.
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