The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, Chapter 100, hosted a free lecture, “Children’s Constitutional Rights” by David Tanenhaus, professor of history, on Wednesday, Nov. 16 at 4 p.m. in the Barrick Museum. Tanenhaus is nationally known in the field of juvenile justice. His books include Juvenile Justice in the Making and The Constitutional Rights of Children: In re Gault and Juvenile Justice. He has co-edited A Century of Juvenile Justice. In addition to chairing the history department at UNLV, Tanenhaus is also the James E. Rogers Professor of History and Law at the William S. Boyd School of Law.

In this inaugural Phi Kappa Phi lecture, part of Chapter 100’s effort to showcase the academic efforts of its members, Tanenhaus discussed the history and significance of the case of fifteen-year-old Gerald Gault of Globe, Arizona, who allegedly made an obscene phone call to a neighbor in 1964. He was arrested by the local police, tried in a proceeding that did not require his accuser’s testimony, and sentenced to six years in a juvenile “boot camp.” His case led to the landmark 1967 U.S. Supreme Court decision, In re Gault, which granted due process rights to children in the nation’s juvenile courts.

Phi Kappa Phi is the nation’s oldest, largest and most selective all-discipline honor society, founded in 1897. Chapter 100 was founded at UNLV in 1967. It is the only university-wide honor society at UNLV that promotes and recognizes academic excellence in all academic discipline and is the only honor society designation that appears on official UNLV transcripts. Phi Kappa Phi has chapters at nearly 300 select college and university campuses worldwide. Membership is by invitation only to the top 10 percent of seniors and graduate students and 7.5 percent of juniors.
For more information, please contact Donna McAleer: donna.mcaleer@unlv.edu or 895-0897.

Shipra De

Shipra De, a senior majoring in mathematics and computer science, has been awarded the prestigious Goldwater Scholarship, one of 278 students recognized nationally for the 2010-11 academic year. Goldwater Scholars were selected on the basis of academic merit from a field of 1,111 mathematics, science, and engineering students who were nominated by the faculties of colleges and universities nationwide. One hundred fifty-six of the Scholars are men, 122 are women, and virtually all intend to obtain a Ph.D. as their degree objective. Shipra is a Phi Kappa Phi Student Vice President and a winner of UNLV’s Chapter 100 Robert C. Maxson Graduate Scholarship and President’s Award.

Phi Kappa Phi members took part in part of the local Martin Luther King Day of Service at the Andre Agassi Boys & Girls Club. They joined other UNLV volunteers to revitalize the clubhouse library. All books were sorted, reclassified by age group, labeled and reshelved so children could find the materials they wanted more easily. The task was bigger than it looked. Hundreds of books had to be checked to make sure they were in readable condition. Volunteers then sorted the library’s collection into grade-level groups, cleaned shelves, created new signage, and spruced up the entire room.

BATON ROUGE, LA—Shipra De of Henderson, NV was been selected as a member of the inaugural Council of Students by The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi. She is an undergraduate student at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas., where she is majoring in computer science, economics, and mathematics.

This honor places De among ten top students nationwide, who were selected as members of the 2010 Phi Kappa Phi Council of Students. Each of the Society’s five regions is represented by two student vice presidents for a total of ten members. The Council of Students will attend the Phi Kappa Phi 2010 Convention from August 5-7, 2010, in Kansas City, MO. The Convention is the Society’s gathering of chapter officers who help shape the future of Phi Kappa Phi.

During the Convention, members of the Council of Students will gain valuable leadership skills and select two members to serve as Vice Presidents for Students.  The remaining member of the Council will represent the voice of the students for the two Vice Presidents for Students on the Society’s Board of Directors. This opportunity requires a commitment to serve Phi Kappa Phi through the 2012 biennium, when the Society selects its second Council of Students. In addition to her leadership role in Phi Kappa Phi, De has also been named a 2010 Barry Goldwater Scholar.