In response to the Dec. 4 Post story titled “Student Legal Services lacks funds,” The Center for Student Legal Services (CSLS) would like to address some misconceptions regarding our organization.
While it is true that CSLS, like many small organizations, has struggled during the economic downturn, we are meeting the challenges and we are in no danger of closing our operation. To paraphrase Mark Twain, “news of our demise is greatly exaggerated.”
The Center for Student Legal Services is a nonprofit organization that has served the OU community for 16 years. Included in our $12 per semester program is full court representation and unlimited office visits for OU students regarding issues such as identity theft, landlord/tenant disputes, consumer fraud, underage alcohol consumption, noise violations, traffic violations, conflict mediation and other common legal needs.
The cost of our fee remains less than that of an Athens County Public Defender’s application, and last year our organization saved/obtained $56,245 for students and their families on civil matters alone. While we believe that the recent decrease in our numbers is correctly attributed to the recent change in University software, we also believe that the value of our program continues to be evident to the OU community. In addition to our work with graduate and undergraduate students on diverse legal issues, our office is an invaluable resource for international students confronted by the complexities of American law, and as an ongoing educational resource for faculty, student organizations and dormitory residents.
Contrary to the story’s suggestion that we will close in five to 10 years, we can easily sustain our services into the future and are in no danger of closing our doors.
Although the recent loss in revenue has caused us to cut some expenditures, our ongoing efforts to increase awareness of our services through 15-20 public talks each semester and our expanded Internet presence have already resulted in a significant increase in our re-enrollment numbers.
Furthermore, this year we produced our first comprehensive landlord/tenant guide for students, funded through the support of University College and are actively pursuing grants and fundraising strategies to help us expand our operations and programming.
While the slow emergence from economic uncertainty has impacted small nonprofits such as The Center for Student Legal Services, we are actively increasing our services and outreach – and improving our financial strength in the process. We are confident that the services offered by CSLS will be available for decades to come and we encourage students to support our program and the peace of mind that our educational outreach and legal representation provides for the OU community.
Sincerely,
The Attorneys and Staff of The Center for Student Legal Services
Tracy Kelly is a graduate student studying public administration and serves as chairperson for the Center for Student Legal Services. She also served as president of graduate student senate.
