Students in the audience were visibly agitatedby the statement. "There's an incorrect assumptionhere that the faculty is exclusively capable ofselecting the best professors," responded one lawstudent.
Professor of Law Christopher F. Edley Jr.received loud applause for his support of studentparticipation. "I think it would be a great idea,"said Edley, one of several professors who endorsedstudent representation in the process.
Edley added that he though the appointmentsprocess needed fundamental change. He warnedstudents "not to accept piecemeal concessions" intheir attempts at reforming the process.
Referring to Clark's arguments that one-thirdof recent appointments had been minorities orwomen, a third-year law student said he believedthe faculty was simply being "politicallyexpedient." The hirings did not represent afundamental change in thinking on the part ofmembers of the appointments committee, he said.
One professor at the meeting said he washopeful about the prospect of future openness."The changes I've seen in the last three weeks ismore than I've seen in the last seven or eightyears...I come away with a great deal of hope."
But some students were skeptical about howquickly the Law School would take action. "I'veheard these promises for the three years that I'vebeen here and I don't see any results," saidthird-year student Keith L. Boykin.