**Open letter to Alan Kennedy-Shaffer**
p. **To the Editor:**
I am writing this as Trey Freeman, law student — not as former Student Bar Association president. I was not planning on sending a letter like this, but I could not stand by and watch while a person tries to sully the reputations of honorable students for their own twisted sense of personal aggrandizement.
p. I have no problem with you printing your opinion, but my issue boils down to a matter of your integrity. It’s easy to see that your intent is about bringing attention to yourself rather than a concern for the Honor Council. Additionally, using the term “dishonest” was itself dishonest and conveyed a message about our school that is not true. More importantly, even if what you said is valid, you have no evidence demonstrating the Honor Council had any dishonest intent.
p. If anything, what you describe were concerns of a lack of thoroughness or efficiency. Yet, even these concerns seem embellished. Through my extensive involvement with the law school student body and the Honor Council over the last three years I have seen nothing but sincere efforts for absolute excellence in thoroughness and efficiency.
p. The 2005-2006 year was the first time the Honor Council had to deal with an Honor Code violation in many years and issues were discovered with the code. These issues were brought to the attention of the undergraduate Honor Council and administration. As you should know, institutional change comes slowly — that is reality.
p. As I read your column, I found it very disrespectful and disingenuous. What is this really all about? Are you mad because you were removed from two elections? When you came to the SBA election interest meeting, I told you directly to respect the letter and the spirit of the election rules. I said this because you were the only person in three years to be removed from an election … not just once but twice. In the latest presidential election, you were given two chances to respect the rules and you disregarded them.
p. What you fail to realize is that this is a professional school. Thus, the students you disrespect and disparage today will be your colleagues tomorrow. Do you really think that anyone in law school is ever going to refer business to you or recommend you for a job after the stunts you’ve pulled this year? This concept is so fundamental that it is sometimes easy to forget, but for your professional future you may want to consider it.
p. You speak of how the Honor Council is dishonest; however, all I can think of is how dishonest you were when handling the election poll results for the Advocate. What are you trying to prove by attacking Chief Justices Leondras Webster and Ryan Brady? These are two of the most honest and well respected individuals at the law school, and nothing you say or insinuate will change that. They have earned our trust because they have flawlessly served the law school community with honor. Through their efforts, the good name of our community continues to spread throughout the country. We owe them thanks and appreciation, not underhanded accusations.
p. It’s time for you to mature and handle your situations like an adult. You need to begin accepting responsibility for your actions and accept the consequences. For the sake of the law school community, I hope you will take some time to think about what this school represents and find the integrity inside yourself to live up to the standards William and Mary Law expects of all its students: respect, honesty and, most of all, honor. You should be ashamed.
p. __Trey Freeman, JD ’07__
p. Editor’s note: Alan Kennedy-Shaffer did not include the word “dishonest” in his column. Its use in the title was a staff decision, due to layout constraints.
