STUDENT ACCOLADES: HALEY VARNADOE AND SAMANTHA MIKOLAJCZYK

Haley VarnadoeIn the Fall of 2020, the Environmental and Natural Resource Law Section of the State Bar of Texas offered a $1,500 scholarship to the student who achieved the highest grade in Professor Eckstein’s Water Law class. This scholarship is known as the Buck Wynne Scholarship. The student with the highest score and therefore receiving the Buck Wynne scholarship is 2L Haley Varnadoe. 

Our congratulations go out to Haley for all her hard work. Good job!

 

 


Samantha MikolajczykCongratulations also go out to 3L Samantha Mikolajczyk for accepting an offer to publish an article she prepared for Professor Gabriel Eckstein’s International Environmental Law seminar in the Georgetown Environmental Law Review!  The paper is titled: “The Rights of Nature: What the United States Can Learn From Existing Legal Frameworks.” For those curious about the “rights of nature,” here’s Samantha’s abstract:

Environmental personhood and granting legal rights to nature is becoming a more common trend worldwide. Many of the laws that have been passed have incorporated the local indigenous people’s beliefs and cultures. In doing so, many countries have had to recognize and attempt to rectify some of the past atrocities committed against indigenous people. Giving legal rights to nature may seem like something that might not be in line with the political views and legal framework of the United States. However, a movement has begun at the local city, county, and tribal government levels to ensure that nature is protected at the very least from pollution. The social and philosophical views of people around the world are changing. Now, more than ever, a fight is being fought to ensure the protection of the earth and all of the natural resources that it provides.