Confronting the Evolving Safety and Security Challenge at Colleges and Universities

[Excerpt] “Colleges and universities have long been scrutinized and confronted with lawsuits regarding safety and security measures designed and implemented to protect students and prevent dangerous incidents on campus. Under the doctrine of in loco parentis, college administrators assume responsibility for the physical safety and well-being of students as they matriculate through their academic programs. However, in recent decades, the realization that university communities are not immune to criminal activity has led to federal legislation and judicial opinions that have attempted to identify what legal duty colleges and universities have to prevent security breaches. Moreover, college and university administrators have looked to the courts and legal counsel to determine an institution’s exposure to legal liability and strategies that might be used to minimize such exposure. This charge has been, and remains, a daunting challenge for the higher education community. This Article reviews recent cases regarding the legal duty American colleges and universities have to protect the student community from harm or injury resulting from safety or security breaches. Moreover, this Article identifies legal challenges colleges and universities may face in response to campus surveillance efforts and negligence hiring and retention allegations. Finally, the Article offers some insight intended to advance the legal community’s efforts to counsel and advise college and university administrators regarding the issue of campus safety.

Flexible radiator system: Executive summary

A full scale prototype flexible radiator panel was designed, built and tested. The panel, has approximately 173 sq ft of radiating area and is designed to reject 1.33 kW of heat to a 0 F sink with a 100 F fluid inlet. The panel is constructed from a flexible Teflon/silver mesh fin surrounding 1/8 inch Teflon tubes. The prototype panel is stowed on a 10 inch diameter by 4 foot wide drum. (It rolls up to a diameter of 17 inches when fully stowed). Deployment of the soft tube prototype is via two four inch diameter Kevlar/Mylar inflation tubes with flat springs incorporated in each tube. Nitrogen is normally used for the deployment with approximately 1 psi required. The springs retract the panels when the inflation tubes are deflated. Another method of deployment available for the soft tube flexible is a motor driven deployable boom. This eliminates the need for expendables when the panel area is varied during the mission for heat load control. The soft tube panel is designed for a 90% probability of no punctured tube in a 30 day mission. The acceptable working fluids for this soft tube flexible are Coolanol 15, Coolanol 20 and Glycol/water (a eutectic mixture)

Cooling systems for satellite remote sensing instrumentation

The characteristics of a cryogenic cooling system for the Pollution Monitoring Satellite (PMS) are discussed. Studies were conducted to make the following determinations: (1) the characteristics and use of proven and state-of-the-art cryogenic cooling systems for six specified ranges of performance, (2) the system most applicable for each of the six cooling categories, and (3) conceptual designs for candidate system for each of the six representative cooling categories. The six cooling categories of electrical loads are defined. The desired mission life for the cooling system is two years with both continuous and intermittent operating conditions

SINDA/SINFLO computer routine, volume 1, revision A

The SINFLO package was developed to modify the SINDA preprocessor to accept and store the input data for fluid flow systems analysis and adding the FLOSOL user subroutine to perform the flow solution. This reduced and simplified the user input required for analysis of flow problems. A temperature calculation method, the flow-hybrid method which was developed in previous VSD thermal simulator routines, was incorporated for calculating fluid temperatures. The calculation method accuracy was improved by using fluid enthalpy rather than specific heat for the convective term of the fluid temperature equation. Subroutines and data input requirements are described along with user subroutines, flow data storage, and usage of the plot program

Constructing a Legal and Managerial Paradigm Applicable to the Modern-Day Safety and Security Challenge at Colleges and Universities

This Article focuses on campus safety and security in higher education. In light of the numerous stakeholders in higher education that include faculty, law enforcement professionals, higher education lawyers, state and federal officials, and institutional administrators, this Article examines legal and policy considerations that should influence how colleges and universities respond to protect the campus community and safeguard the educational environment. In particular, the Article discusses the Incident Command System and the impact this management approach has had on the development of an organizational framework to manage emergency incidents. The Article also reviews selected case law regarding campus safety and state and federal statutory responses designed to minimize threats to campus safety. Finally, the Article acknowledges the role that members of the university community play in advancing campus security as well as the application of risk management concepts and strategies in the campus safety and security arena. Recognizing that colleges and universities are vital national institutions, the article encourages the development of a legal and managerial paradigm to deal with the modem-day perplexities of campus safety and security

Academic Freedom and Professorial Speech in the Post-Garcetti World

Academic freedom, a coveted feature of higher education, is the concept that faculty should be free to perform their essential functions as professors and scholars without the threat of retaliation or undue administrative influence. The central mission of an academic institution, teach-ing and research, is well served by academic freedom that allows the faculty to conduct its work in the absence of censorship or coercion. In support of this proposition, courts have long held that academic freedom is a special concern of the First Amendment, granting professors and faculty members cherished protections regarding academic speech. In Garcetti v. Ceballos, the Supreme Court held that when public employees make statements in the course of performing their official duties, they are not insulated by the Constitution from employer discipline. Pursuant to Garcetti, it becomes plausible that a faculty member’s expression or speech, at least at a public college or university, would not be entitled to constitutional protection under the First Amendment and may be the basis for disciplinary action. The ramifications could be significant for academics who speak and write in the course of performing their official job duties. This article recounts the Garcetti majority opinion and the accompanying opinions offered by the dissenters. Secondly, the article explores the meaning of academic freedom for individual academics and faculty as expressed through various judicial decisions, including the post-Garcetti case law, as well as other higher education advocates. Next, the article delves into the complexity of academic speech and some intriguing contemporary examples. Finally, the article discusses the challenges confronting academic-freedom protections going forward and the opportunity created by the Supreme Court’s decision in Garcetti. In sum, this article seeks to address the current state of individual academic freedom at America’s colleges and universities

Social Security Disability Law and the Obstacles Facing Claimants With Mental Disabilities

This Article examines the administrative processes and judicial analytical framework that govern the adjudication of Social Security disability claims for persons suffering with mental disorders. Since the enactment of the Social Security Act as a part of President Roosevelt\u27s New Deal, the federal government has assumed a significant role in providing a minimum level of support for those citizens beset with unfortunate economic hardship. In 1956, the Social Security Act was expanded to provide disability benefits for those unable to attain gainful employment due to a mental or physical impairment. For the mentally disabled, demonstrating eligibility for disability benefits can be complex and challenging. This article examines the Social Security disability program and provides an intriguing analysis of the considerations given to Social Security applicants with mental disorders and the processes used to determine their eligibility for benefits available under the Social Security Act

Accommodating the Learning Disabled Student On Campus

Each year nearly 19 million persons matriculate at American colleges and universities as undergraduate or graduate students. A substantial segment of these students are disabled. For disabled students matriculating through American higher education institutions, a tremendous battle is being waged as to the educational experience afforded those students with learning disabilities. Lawyers, educators and students are embroiled in a complex tug-of war that will have a lasting impact on higher education. This article examines some of the legal issues that will undoubtedly challenge those seeking to strike a balance between hard-line advocates for disabled students and educational professionals required to address the needs of all students. Specifically, this article will focus on learning disability documentation problems, identifying the learning disabled student, and reconciling the reasonable accommodation requirement with institutional freedom to determine curriculum

Confronting the Evolving Safety and Security Challenge at Colleges and Universities

Colleges and universities have long been scrutinized and confronted with lawsuits regarding safety and security measures designed and implemented to protect students and prevent dangerous incidents on campus. Under the doctrine of in loco parentis, college administrators assume responsibility for the physical safety and well-being of students as they matriculate through their academic programs. However, in recent decades, the realization that university communities are not immune to criminal activity has led to federal legislation and judicial opinions that have attempted to identify what legal duty colleges and universities have to prevent security breaches. Moreover, college and university administrators have looked to the courts and legal counsel to determine an institution\u27s exposure to legal liability and strategies that might be used to minimize such exposure. This charge has been, and remains, a daunting challenge for the higher education community. This Article reviews recent cases regarding the legal duty American colleges and universities have to protect the student community from harm or injury resulting from safety or security breaches. Moreover, this Article identifies legal challenges colleges and universities may face in response to campus surveillance efforts and negligence hiring and retention allegations. Finally, the Article offers some insight intended to advance the legal community\u27s efforts to counsel and advise college and university administrators regarding the issue of campus safety