ASIA YOUNG
Staff Writer

This semester’s Politics on the PublicMind events, sponsored by the College at Florham Library and the PublicMind Poll, is covering “Law and Society.” The topic directly correlates with a Spring 2010 course taught by Bruce Peabody, chair of the Department of Social Sciences.
Peabody elaborated on the importance of this season’s theme: “Law is everywhere - it shapes everything from how they serve food at FDU’s cafeteria to whether your parents can know your grades to what constitutes sexual harassment in the classroom or the dorms. And yet, despite the ubiquity and importance of law, many students and citizens don’t know a lot about it. So the class is intended to shine a spotlight on law’s importance and meaning throughout our lives.”
Every Monday from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. until Apr. 19, a guest speaker will discuss “law in theory and practice in the context of important contemporary issues and controversies,” according to Peabody.
Each week after, the featured expert will offer professional and original insight on pressing topics for the audience to participate in and debate. These influential speakers are scholars, judges, prosecutors and attorneys. The showcase includes many FDU professors.
The series kicked off Feb. 8 in the Orangérie, featuring FDU’s David Rosen, professor of anthropology and sociology, who discussed “Child Soldiers and International Laws.”
According to Eleanor Friedl, curator and reference librarian, Rosen reviewed children as young as eight joining war throughout world history. Friedl said Rosen spoke about how Americans tend to be shocked by this truth because their society has a distinctive view of childhood.
Friedl recalled that Rosen said Americans today view children and youth as victims of war who are exploited by adults.
The following week, Roger Koppl, director of the Institute for Forensic Science Administration, examined “Forensic Science and Criminal Law.” Koppl’s presentation featured a slideshow titled, “That’s Not How It Works on T.V.,” which observed the errors in forensic science and the repercussions wrongly accused victims face. According to Koppl, these inaccuracies roughly contribute to over 33,000 false felony convictions per year. He pointed out unfortunate circumstances such as that of Josiah Sutton, who spent nearly four and a half years in prison after he was charged and convicted of rape, as a result of botched DNA testing from a crime laboratory. Koppl produced a picture of the laboratory, which showed a leaking gap over what should have been a sterile lab environment.
Another famous case mentioned was that of Brandon Mayfield and the 2004 Madrid train bombing. Rosen said the FBI initially made a “100 percent match” to Mayfield from fingerprints found at the scene. The FBI later had to retract its statement and apologize.
Koppl believes there are three main reasons for forensic flaw: forensic science is subjective, crime labs are part of “law enforcement” agencies, and crime labs have a twofold monopoly. He proposed some solutions, particularly random, independent, and multiple examinations, to avoid damaging miscalculations, such as “sequential masking,” which is allowing forensic examiners to know information in advance about the case or person in question, potentially leading them to form biases about the results.
Koppl also shared a saying he likes to use: “A chain is only as strong as its weakest link; a net may be stronger than any of its knots.” Overall, he believes television shows, such as “CSI,” hinder his efforts. “These shows [display] forensic scientists as the infallible wizard, so it’s frustrating,” said Koppl.
Peabody said Koppl’s solution is “a marvelously creative, ‘common sense’ set of checks and balances that keep forensic examiners accountable and practicing good science.” Towards the end of his lecture, Koppl said, “Humans need truth like they need water,” which could be the fuel for his cause.
The first two weeks of the series were well-received by students, faculty and members of nearby communities. According to Colleen DiGregorio, public relations and marketing coordinator for the University’s library, more than 100 people attended Rosen’s lecture and about 90 attended Koppl’s. Peabody said these events are good opportunities for the FDU community to interact and learn from one another. “I think our students like hearing from outside speakers, especially those who bring different academic and professional perspectives and expertise to our discussions,” he said.
Peabody’s students are required to attend, and he believes it is essential for students of any major to participate because it can be relevant to any academic discipline. He also said that the sessions could help students make professional connections and develop ideas about their career path.
“One of the most irritating depictions of the academy is its portrayal as an ‘ivory tower’ isolated from the concerns of the real world,” Peabody said. “The Politics on the PublicMind series is a great reminder that this is utter hogwash. Our speakers have taught us about current public policy, human rights abuses, how to protect the wrongly accused from unfair incarceration and death, and the state of crime in New Jersey.”