Providence, R.I. -- May 2, 2002 -- Approximately 230 students from high schools across the state will be discussing such topics as privacy in high schools, sexual harassment, and school violence with lawyers, mediators, and members of the Attorney General’s Office on Tuesday, May 7 to celebrate Law Day.

Law Day is part of the American Bar Association’s national Law Day Education Program, and is sponsored by URI’s Urban Field Center partnering with the Rhode Island Bar Association. The interactive event will be held at the University of Rhode Island’s Providence Campus, located at 80 Washington St.

"Our goal is to expose high school students to current ideas relating to the topic, ‘Celebrating our Freedom: Civil Rights and Terrorism’," said Marcia Marker Feld, executive director of URI’s Field Center.

Dr. Bernard LaFayette, distinguished scholar-in-residence and director of URI’s Center for Nonviolence and Peace Studies, will deliver the keynote address in the Paff Auditorium at 9:15 a.m. As friend of Martin Luther King Jr., LaFayette was active in the Civil Rights Movement during the 1960s. Since then, he has trained people from around the world in the methods of nonviolence. Most recently, he was briefly detained by guerillas during a peace walk in Colombia. Following his release he chaired a four-day international nonviolence conference in Medellin, Colombia that attracted 3500 participants daily.

Following the opening ceremony at 10:15 a.m., high school students, most of whom have taken or are currently taking a class in law, government, or related subjects, will break out into two 45 -minute workshops.

The following is a list of workshop topics and presenters:
(10:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.)

Racial Profiling (2 sessions): Deputy Attorney General Gerald Coyne
Prof. David Zlotnick, Roger Williams Law School
Onni Muniz-John, City of East Providence

Gangs and Gang Violence: Sergeant Danny Gannon, R.I. Police Youth Services
John Reis, Crime Prevention Specialist

Bias and Prejudice lead to
Hate Crimes: Alice Baum, Anti-Defamation League, Boston

Civil Rights &
Responsibilities after 9/11: Jeffrey Latham, Providence Attorney
Mason Pertnoy, Roger Williams Law Student

Resolving Conflicts
Without Violence: Virginia Law, Community Mediation Center, Providence
Teny Gross, Exec. Dir., Inst. For Study &
Practice of Nonviolence

Privacy in High Schools: Tom Mirza, Providence Attorney
David Bazar, Providence Attorney

Violence in our Schools:
Zero Tolerance: Assistant AG Cindy Soccio, Chief of Juvenile Unit

Domestic Violence: Assistant AG Stacey Veroni, Chief of Domestic Violence Unit

Sexual Harassment: Assistant AG Kate Harden

For Information: Jan Wenzel, 874-2116