Commencement 2011

November 03, 2011

2011 Graduates

Juris Doctor

Mubarak F. Abdur Raheem

Matthew R. Abts¹

Adam Tyler Adkin

Kelvin Dana Adkins-Heljeson

Shidon Aflatooni

Anas Saad Albanyan

Scott James Aldworth

Elliot Randal Alford

Mika’il Abdullah Ali²

Salahudin E. Ali

Cary Lee Allen

Joshua Bishop Allen¹

Ali Hassan Altoukhi²

Dina Amira Anani¹

D. Adam Anderson

Mark Allen Apker¹

Meredith Theresa Armstrong

Corina Maria Armstrong-Turner

Holly C. Ashkannejhad

Vicky Kaur Bajwa

Jeff Thomas Balenton²

Scott Nelson Barbur

Michael Edward Barker²

Brenda Susan Barnhill

Emerald Liane Beanland

Joey Michael Beck

Gary Alan Becker Jr.¹

Erin Elizabeth Bennett

Valerie Marie Berg

Todd H. Berinstein

Emma Ellis Berman

Brent Davis Bielski

Jeevan Jyoti Bihari¹

Keir Evan Boettcher

Michael Walter Botthof

Ian Michael Brown

Lindsey Jo Burrows

Brenden G. Byard

Amanda J. Caffall

Shannon K. Calt

Cristen Nicole Campbell

Benjamin Louis Cecil²

Bin Chen¹

Patricia Ann Clements

Bethany Lynne Coleman

Catherine Elizabeth Covelli²

Jeremy S. Craft¹

Leland John Daggett

Joshua Benjamin Dailey

Alexis Lee Davidson

Elizabeth Boucher Dawson

Adrianne Marie DelCotto

Daniel J. DiVittorio¹

Suzanne Marie Dolberg

Matthew Tyler Dominguez

Bryan M. Donahue²

Erika A. Doot

Jacob Cole Egler

Terrence Clifford Ehlers¹

Matthew Jeremy Erdman

Robert Glen Erickson

Jennifer Jill Esmay

Adele Catherine Ewert

Ryan Andexer Farmer

John Robert Farra

Frances Haley Farrar

Erin C. Fauerbach

Leora Fire

Jessica Ann Flint

Nathan W. Forbes

Alexandria Lee Forester²

Dewey Fowler Jr.

Ivy Newman Fredrickson

Todd Lawrence Friedman

Edward T. Fu

Cynthia J. Gaddis

Tara Colleen Gallagher

Eleanor S. Garretson

Marcel Joseph Gesmundo

Natalie Jane Giller

Robert Lowery Gillette II

Scott Michael Gitler

Raymond John Gradale

Kathryn Grado

Tanya Marie Green²

Virginia Grace Griffin

Ian James Griswold¹

Alexander L. Gund

Christine Sabile Almerido Gunn¹

Nickholas Francis Harrell

Nathaniel Jacob Hausman

Terence Michael Hegarty

Stefan Onno Heller

Nicholas James Hennemann¹

Jennifer M. Herbst

Paul A.C. Higa

Erin Y. Hisano

Theodore Joon Hong

Michael Hsu

Todd Tomita Jackson

Jordan Thomas Jacobson

Lisa Janicki²

Tania Rana Jarjur

Mi Joo Jeong

Jessica Su Johnson

Michael Allan Jolliffe

Shara Renee Jones¹

Mark Allen Jordan

T.K. Keen

Anne Marie King

Michael Brent Kittell¹

Taylor Smith Kittell¹

John Travis Krallman

Bret David Kravitz

Sarah Mae Kutil

Maiya Elaine LaMar²

Adam Lane²

Gabrielle Rebecca Lang¹

Eric Peter Larratt

Jill Catherine Leary¹

Heather Rachel Lee

Sungjin Lee

Henry David LeSueur

Jason Daniel Levine

Hala H. Lewis¹

Elizabeth Ann Lieberknecht

Michelle Beth Lisa

Michael Liu

Caroline J. Livett

Jeanette Pauline Lockey

Hollie Marie Lund

Ashley Adrienne DeBoard MacKenzie

John B. MacKinnon

Ian David Macleod

Debra Cohen Maryanov

Jeffrey James Maslow

Jessica Elizabeth Mason

Brittany Sharie Mathis

Laura Marie Maurer

Charlene Justine McCarthy

Toby Allen McCartt

Michael Patrick McGrath¹

Erin Leigh McKee

Brandon Wayne McNamee

Ann Elizabeth McQuesten

Megan E. McVicar

Amber Dera Miller²

Jacob A. Miller

Dennis Joseph Mooney

Jessica Lauren Morgan

Mark Allen Morozink

Ayman Mourad

Phuntsok “Jimmy” Namgyal

Ashley Lauren Nastoff

Emiliano Zapata Navarrette²

Alex Marie Neill¹

Erik Walter Nelson

Uyen Nguyen¹

Jennifer E. O’Brien

Oliver Thomas O’Brien

T. Fabiana Ochoa

Jordan M. Odo

Kieran Delaney O’Donnell

Rachel Frances O’Neal

Joshua Ryan Orem

Caitlin Ann Overland

Shawn Michael Overstreet

Anne Marie Palm

Leif Arod Palmer-Burns¹

Jovanna Lenore Patrick¹

Truda L. Peters²

Kimberlee Marie Petrie Volm

Gray E. Petty²

James David Pollock¹

Lauren Ann Posten

Erin Eileen Pounds

Karin Alice Power

Thomas W. Purcell

Adam Ballantyne Rankin

Misbah Rashid²

Kristen Paulene Lantz Reichenbach

Gabrielle Diane Richards

Christian Templeton Richmond

Crystal Reneé Roberts¹

Nasim Rodd²

Yeun Roh

Alexander Reinagle Roome

Emily L. Roth²

Elizabeth A. Rothman

Daniel Larson Rowan

Mikelle Lynn Rupp¹

Sakae Samuel Sakai

Miriam Bea Saunders

Dirk Wesley Schouten²

Christina M. Schuck

Stephen A. Schwindt

Robert T. Scott

Troy Garrett Sexton

Danielle Emily Shaw²

Robb Stuart Shecter

Eric Steven Sheets

Robyn Shelby¹

Benjamin Frederic Shelton

Anthony Tung-en Shiao

Stephanie Ann Short

Surinder Pal Singh

Travis Grant Smith

Donald E. Soderstrom

Jason Allen Sol

Joshua Paul Soper

Laura Jane Stadum

Jennifer R. Stocks²

Joel J. Strong²

David James Susens

Randall Aaron Szabo²

William Patrick Taaffe

Michael Yutaka Tabata²

Siu-wah Tam

Michael James Tanner

Megan Elizabeth Telleria

Samuel Damon Terpstra²

Joseph Dominic Terrenzio

Daniel Thomas Toulson

Roberta Susan Traverso/Estes

Christopher Joseph Truxler

Amy Luisa van Saun

Kimberly Lynne Villanueva

Ella Moran Wagener

Jason Fielding Walker

Zachary Blay Walker

Erin Aspen Walkowiak

Lauren Wallace

Chenyu Wang

Andrew T. Weiner

Alexis K. Westenhaver-Loretz

Claire S. Westenhaver-Loretz

Timothy J. White

Tara K. Williams

Christopher Matthew Wisdom

Tiffany H. Wong

Elektra Bianca Blue Yao

Sharon Arianna Sanam Yasrobi

Binah B. Yeung

James E. Yocom¹

Zachary James Zerzan

 

Master of Laws Environmental and Natural Resources Law

Tyler Todd Browning

Ji-Yoon Choi

Whitney Connolly Ferrell

Logan Lawrence Hollers

Matthew Brian Kurek

Johanna Lillian Lathrop

Cathy Damee Lee

Platinasoka Lin¹

Cathy Morales

Mary H. Mulhearn

Leslie Ann Rowley

Mark McKelvey Smith

Emily Beth Vann

Kenneth Robert Webster

Jotaro Yokoyama¹

 

Joint Juris Doctor and Master of Laws

Gary Alan Becker Jr.²

Elizabeth Hunter Zultoski

 

¹ December 2010 graduate.

² Student had not completed requirements for graduation by commencement date.

 

Cornelius Honor Society Induction

Twenty-eight graduates were inducted into the Cornelius Honor Society on May 27 during a special reception held at Frank Manor House. Members are selected by the faculty based on distinguished scholarship, leadership, and contribution to the Law School community. The society is named in honor of Dorothy L. Cornelius, who served the Law School for 20 years.

2011 Inductees

Adam Tyler Adkin

Gary Alan Becker Jr.

Amanda J. Caffall

Elizabeth Boucher Dawson

Erika A. Doot

Dewey Fowler Jr.

Tara Colleen Gallagher

Eleanor S. Garretson

Marcel Joseph Gesmundo

Stefan Onno Heller

Erin Y. Hisano

Michael Hsu

Jessica Su Johnson

Mark Allen Jordan

John Travis Krallman

Maiya Elaine LaMar

Hala H. Lewis

Elizabeth Ann Lieberknecht

Michael Liu

Ashley Adrienne DeBoard MacKenzie

Caitlin Ann Overland

Joshua Paul Soper

Samuel Damon Terpstra

Joseph Dominic Terrenzio

Roberta Susan Traverso/Estes

Amy Luisa van Saun

Chenyu Wang

Binah B. Yeung

Doug Newell Honored With Leo Levenson Award

The graduating class awarded the 2011 Leo Levenson Award for Teaching Excellence to Doug Newell, Edmund O. Belsheim Professor of Law.

“This is my sixth Levenson,” says Newell. “I was very pleased to receive it. The class was one of my all-time favorites—smart, funny, and fun to teach. I love my job and the award was a really nice added benefit.”

Leo Levenson (1903-81) was a distinguished attorney and member of the Oregon State Bar for 56 years. He was also a highly respected instructor at the Law School for many years. The award in his name is presented annually to a faculty member selected by the graduating class.

A Discussion With Stephen L. Carter

Stephen L. Carter, Yale Law School professor and the author of several influential books on religion, culture, and politics, received an honorary degree and spoke at Lewis & Clark Law School commencement exercises in June.

One member of the Lewis & Clark community who was especially interested in Carter’s visit and remarks was Tom Krattenmaker, associate vice president for public affairs and communications. In addition to his work at Lewis & Clark, Krattenmaker is a writer and columnist specializing in religion in public life and a regular op-ed contributor to USA Today, serving on the newspaper’s board of contributors. Krattenmaker interviewed Carter following his visit to Lewis & Clark.

Tom Krattenmaker: Professor Carter, given the role your work has played in my own writing life, it’s a real pleasure to speak with you. Your book God’s Name in Vain played a big part in my process of becoming a religion writer and a commentator on the role of religion in our politics and public life. It motivated me and crystallized things for me like no other book

I can think of. Thank you for coming to Lewis & Clark.

Stephen L. Carter: It was really my pleasure. I have known Dean Klonoff since we were students together at Yale Law School, and I was happy to accept when he asked me to come to commencement.

Krattenmaker: Listening to your address, I was particularly struck by the points you made about the way we engage with the people with whom we disagree. You expressed worry that your generation has perhaps not done enough to model the idea that politics at its heart should not be about winning, but about the process of democracy. Why do you feel it is important and necessary that we recommit to that ideal?

Carter: The point of democracy presupposes that people can be trusted with self-government. If they cannot, then we should not have democracy, and we should not have rights and freedoms either. But if we think people can be trusted, then we ought to treat them that way, and we ought to make serious arguments to try to persuade each other—and also listen to each other. If we behave in a way that suggests that the other side never really has a serious point to make, that the other side is composed of knaves or fools, then we are not serious about democracy.

If we are going to have a serious democracy, we cannot think that it’s only about winning. I tell my students that winning is not a virtue except in war. In the rest of life process is the great virtue, I believe, and so are fairness, equality, and justice, which have to do with process. When we treat politics as though all that matters is winning, we are treating it like war, which means we are treating those with whom we disagree as the enemy.

Krattenmaker: In your commencement address, you cited a special responsibility that lawyers have in this matter. Would you please elaborate?

Carter: I often say that we train law students to listen with their mouths.… The way law school is structured, a lot of what we are training students to do is simply to pay attention to the opponent’s arguments in order to find the flaws and pick the arguments apart. That is an important skill; advocacy has its place, particularly in the courtroom or in the negotiation. But in politics, mere advocacy is not enough.

As we know, lawyers as a class are respected in society, and we have a lot of influence. But it’s more than that. We are the ones who tend to be best trained in argument. We are the ones who know how to argue. The question is, do we also know when to argue?

Krattenmaker: Why do you feel this commitment to democracy, to a healthy democratic process, has taken a back seat to winning in our politics? Sometimes I wonder if the more vivid presence of religion in our politics might play a part in this—whether religious arguments have sort of upped the cosmic ante, have turned many issues into matters of good and evil. Does the strong presence of religion discredit the notion of compromise that is such a necessary part of politics?

Carter: I don’t know that I would blame religion in politics for that. Religion in politics has a lot of flaws, but I don’t think that destroying politics is one of them. I think the harm of religion in politics is largely harm to religion, not to politics.

I think it is disrespect for those who disagree with us that causes us to believe the stakes are so high. That’s one of the reasons why in every election advocates for both sides are always saying it’s the most important election in years, a history-making election!

Krattenmaker: Politicians say this to mobilize people and get them to vote a certain way.

Carter: As far as I can tell, these claims have almost always been nonsense. You can make the argument that 1860 was a history-making election, maybe 1864. Other than that, they are just elections.

Elections have taken on this exaggerated importance precisely because we have trained ourselves to believe that people on the other side are evil, that our side has to win the election because otherwise the evil people will take over. Well, I just do not believe that, and I don’t think you can run a democracy that way. What you have then is not a democracy, but a deeply reactionary society that happens to hold elections.

Krattenmaker: That’s a powerful statement. It rings true for me, though, when I think about an online dialog I’m having with an old high school friend who happens to hold much different political views than I do. In her view, compromise is dishonorable. To her thinking, the other side—my side, as it turns out—is bent on destroying the country.

Carter: There is great truth at the heart of liberalism and great truth at the heart of conservatism.… There are a lot of different political points of view that have deep and abiding truths from which all of us can learn. But when we treat elections as these Manichean contests, when we act as though we must win lest there be evil afoot in the world, then we lose sight of the possibility of learning from values that compete with our own.

Krattenmaker: The other thing I notice again and again in the political rhetoric is this notion that if we elect a certain set of candidates, we are going to fundamentally change America. I guess I can see the tactical reasons for this. You get people motivated to vote, and to vote a particular way.

Carter: The late Daniel Moynihan made a really good point when he said that culture is more important than government. I think that remains true. Certainly, politics can nudge culture in one direction or another. But elections do not change America, by and large.

Krattenmaker: In God’s Name in Vain you write about a fascinating figure named Fannie Lou Hamer, an African American woman who intersected in a revealing way with the Democratic National Convention in 1964. Those passages still stick in my memory—how little concerned she was for status and power, how unwilling she was to participate in the wheeling and dealing that go on in politics. This devoutly Christian woman stood firm on the principle of racial justice, which to her was a deeply religious principle. She seems to exemplify the idea of prophetic religious expression in the political arena. Can you think of more recent examples of this?

Carter: Not since the civil rights movement, and I will tell you why. It has to do with the way politics have changed. If you look at Fannie Lou Hammer’s ministry, what is striking about it is the willingness to lose. It was about bringing what she saw as the voice for Christ into the debate, and if she won, she won, and if she lost, she lost. She wanted nothing for herself. She was totally prepared to go back and be the former sharecropper she has been before. That is precisely what made her ministry prophetic, the willingness to be defeated.

Nowadays, it is my experience that people of faith who get heavily involved in politics, whether on the left, right, or in between, really become parts of political machines.

In the end, it becomes part of helping someone win. That is where C.S. Lewis’ caution from 60 years ago becomes so important, when he warned Christians that if they edit their ministry to fit the needs of the election, then their ministry ceases to be Christian…. Your faith becomes impure and compromised because of what you have to do in order to win and, indeed, you become concerned mostly about victory.

I am skeptical that politics can ever really call us to our better selves. People tend to look to political leaders to make us noble and I just don’t think that is realistic…. Let me give you an example of what I mean. Consider attack ads. All of us say we hate them and wish they would stop, but the only way they will ever stop is if voters decide to vote against candidates who run attack ads.

Krattenmaker: If we don’t want this behavior, we might need to vote against people who engage in these tactics—someone we would otherwise support. Is that what you’re suggesting?

Carter: If we will not make that sacrifice, then I think we are silly expecting nobility from politics. We ourselves are encouraging ignobility.

Krattenmaker: Was there a time in our politics when we had our sights set not principally on winning, but on a healthy democratic process?

Carter: I don’t know. Certainly, I am not claiming there was once a golden age. I am claiming that the current age is very dangerous for democracy, and if we go too far down this road I am not sure we will be able to turn away.