Lack Of Experience- Avila Mock Trial

By: Aimee Adams 

(Left: Timothy Aderman, Right: Jennipher Cromley [previous Mock Trial members])

     Sadly, there will be a lack of Avila students in the court room this year. Avila Mock Trial, a student organization developed to provide students with the opportunity to actively participate in the trail process has been annulled. Despite the petitions of team members, Mock Trial was cancelled due to the loss of their previous advisor, Andrea Olitsky. Olitsky’s absence placed the weight of keeping an active program, on the students’ shoulders. Jennipher Cromley, a third year pre-law student was an involved Mock Trial member for two years. According to Cromley, keeping the program alive was out of reach for the students. A combination of packed schedules and lack of resources would make finding attorney’s to teach the curriculum, funding bus rides, and the many other tasks it would take to complete a tournament, impossible. When Cromley was asked if she enjoyed Mock Trial, her response was, “Yes, I enjoyed it very much.” Despite the short response, Cromley’s words were full of authenticity. For many students like Cromley, Mock Trial was an opportunity to take their smarts and skills from the classroom to the courtroom. The life-like situations set up for Mock Trial competitions was unlike any plain-Jane classroom curriculum. The students were provided with a court case and would go to a fake trial where they acted as attorneys and witnesses. These life-like cases provided students with insight to the way things work outside of the classroom. The withdrawal of Mock Trial has affected students as well as the University. Timothy Aderman, a fourth year political science/pre-law student, participated in Mock Trial during the 2011-2012 school year. Aderman stated, “With one of the largest memberships ever, an exceedingly high GPA average among members, and the marketable benefits of having a Mock Trial team on campus, the decision to eliminate this program was, for me, truly a heartfelt disappointment.  I felt that this was not just a hit on Mock Trial but detrimental to the promotion of all academics at Avila University.  It is my opinion that any institution of higher learning ought to, for the sake of its student body, prioritize academics before all else.  The elimination of an academic team was to me, counterintuitive.” An education is complete with experience. Mock Trial was more than an organization, it was an experience.