“Playing Offense from the Center” Urged as a Step to Increase Civility in Governing

Keynoting the annual Restorative Justice Conference at Marquette University Law School on Friday, news commentator and author John Avlon called for those who want to see more civility and cooperation in government bodies to assert themselves.

“You have to play offense from the center,” said Avlon, a columnist for Newsweek and The Daily Beast and a frequent commentator on CNN. “Part of the problem with moderates is that they’re moderate.”

Avlon told a capacity audience in the Appellate Courtroom in Eckstein Hall that there is more that unites Americans than divides them, but some act like the opposite is true. He said people in both the Republican and Democratic parties need to take stronger stands against those who oppose working with people of differing views in reaching solutions to problems facing the nation.

“Principled compromise is the basis for a functioning democracy,” he said.

Avlon’s remarks were part of the day-long conference, “Restoring Faith in Government: Encouraging Civil Public Discourse,” which included discussions about the state of political campaign advertising, media coverage of politics and policy, and what, if anything, can be done about frequent expression of political hostility in comments on the Internet.

Continue Reading“Playing Offense from the Center” Urged as a Step to Increase Civility in Governing

Former Packer Who Attended MULS Receives PhD Degree

Among those receiving degrees at the 2012 Marquette commencement was former Green Bay Packer linebacker George Koonce. Koonce, who took several classes at the law school while a graduate student at Marquette, received his PhD degree in Interdisciplinary Studies.

Koonce’s doctoral dissertation was entitled “Role Transition of National Football League Players: Using the Grounded Theory.” The dissertation was directed by Dr. John Cotton of the School of Business Administration.

Between 1992 and 2000, Koonce played nine seasons in the National Football League, all but the last with the Green Bay Packers. (His final season was with the Seattle Seahawks.) The graduate of East Carolina University ran back two interceptions for touchdowns and made over 500 tackles during his NFL career. He was also a member of the 1996 and 1997 Packer teams, which played in Super Bowls XXX and XXXI.

During his graduate school years, Koonce was advised at different times by Marquette law professors Matt Mitten and Gordon Hylton.

A recent story on George Koonce from Milwaukee Magazine can be found at this link.

George Koonce’s recent guest column for the ESPN NFL Blog, entitled “Surviving Life after the NFL,” can be found here.

Continue ReadingFormer Packer Who Attended MULS Receives PhD Degree

An Intense, Historic Debate Between Walker and Barrett in Eckstein Hall

An intense, face to face, fast-paced hour of the candidates in Wisconsin’s recall election for governor making their strongest pitches – you can bet this was the debate many people were waiting to see.

And it was brought to people statewide – in fact, nationwide and in some foreign countries – from the Appellate Courtroom of Eckstein Hall, home of Marquette Law School.

The extraordinary debate between Republican Gov. Scott Walker and his Democratic challenger, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, was moderated by Mike Gousha, the Law School’s distinguished fellow in law and public policy. Make your own conclusions about the candidates, but here’s a vote for how Gousha handled the session: He kept it focused on key issues, let the candidates talk to each other and attack each other, and made it a great opportunity for people to get fresh knowledge of each of them, just five days before the election. He was, as all who know him expected, the consummate professional.

Continue ReadingAn Intense, Historic Debate Between Walker and Barrett in Eckstein Hall