Letter to Rotary

November 30, 2007


Dear Rotary Member:

We are the concerned law students directly involved in the University of Wisconsin Law School/Leonard Kaplan Incident (Incident). We have learned that Mr. Kaplan is speaking at your upcoming Rotary meeting on December 5, 2007. In light of the Rotary’s commitment to developing respect and understanding among peoples, we hope that you, as a member of the Rotary keep in mind that there is another side of the story. We ask that you critically evaluate the information Mr. Kaplan will present.

Throughout the Incident, we remained hopeful that the situation would be amicably resolved. This Incident stemmed from statements Mr. Kaplan made in his Legal Process class on February 15, 2007. In response, we met with him for two hours on February 19th. We also spoke with various Deans and members of the University of Wisconsin administration. Further, at Mr. Kaplan’s suggestion we coordinated a public forum where he initially agreed to attend. However, he later reneged. On March 8th, we offered to mediate the situation. Mr. Kaplan declined. When the Deans of the Law School and Mr. Kaplan’s colleagues first confronted him about the statements, Mr. Kaplan did not deny making the statements. It was not until weeks later that Mr. Kaplan responded, through a press release, denying the statements.

As you listen to Mr. Kaplan’s story, we ask that you use the Rotary’s own four-part test to critically assess the entire Law School Incident. The four-part test, established by The Chicago Rotarian includes asking:

1. Is it the truth?
2. Is it fair to all concerned?
3. Will it build goodwill and better friendships?
4. Will it be beneficial to all concerned?
As a reputable, long-standing organization, it is our hope that you will continue your mission of developing respect and understanding among all peoples.

For your convenience, we have enclosed the formal complaint filed with the University of Wisconsin Provost Office.

We thank you for your attention.

Respectfully,


Kashia Moua
Kashoua Yang-Thao
Lee Vang
Nancy Vue
Kanha Vuong
Mai Der Yang
Vue Yang