Experts pondered and expounded as debate flared, How did the girls emerge so emphatically from a 48-year repose?
* Girls are more attentive, some said, and more willing to learn. They do better on sustained tasks that require them to think for themselves.
* Boys prefer more traditional learning, others added, that requires memorization of abstract, unambiguous facts and rules to be acquired quickly.
* Boys respect strong leadership among teachers, while girls respond better to teachers who promote their self-esteem.
One Cambridge pedagogue blamed what he termed "laddish," anti-work magazines, which encourage boys to believe that only geeks are studious and hard-working.
Novelist Fay Weldon pontificated: "The ethos of the whole society has changed and become more feminine. It is caring and sharing and participatory, rather than the rigid, male-dominated structure it used to be." Blah, blah, blah.
Validation of various theories depends on whether the girls' first-time superiority will become a trend and, if so, whether it manifests aptitude into opportunity for women in the professional and commercial milieu of the United Kingdom. Ancient and dishonorable prejudices linger.
One rising female freshman earned five A grades on the qualifying tests for chemistry, biology, geography, English and general studies, but was rejected for admission to Oxford's medical regimen. Not to worry, though. She secured a $65,000 scholarship to study biochemistry at Harvard.
At issue among the second-day experts is whether test results demonstrate that girls are more intelligent or just more conscientious in preparing for exams. The Daily Telegraph opted for the former.
"Figures throughout the academic system are now so overwhelmingly in favour of women that it's hard to deny them the accolade of superior intellect," an editorial proclaimed. More women stay in school after age 16, and more graduate from universities.
Trying to set the record straight on the relative values of intelligence versus preparation, the Telegraph credited effort as essential, but placed greater significance on the mix "of intelligence, memory, thought and resilience under pressure. . .in a school hall with a pen, paper and a furiously ticking clock."
In the editorialist's opinion, "This year's results are not so much a setback for boys as a triumph for girls."
That truth may be too simple for a ponderous pedantry to discern or accept without the imprimatur of a government study.
Having his way with words
Kofi Acquah-Dadzie, Botswanian jurist and compiler of the World Dictionary of Foreign Expressions that is reviewed on page 16, told us he was "born, bred and buttered" in Ghana, where he honed his keenness for Latin classics and word derivations.
During our cordial conversation, I took a liking to his attitude as a magistrate who assigns attorneys to low-income litigants. "I call them 'Pro Deo' cases," he said, "meaning for God's sake, don't charge a high fee!"
This may be the only dictionary you'll ever read cover to cover for the gems of enjoyment in its lode of elucidation.
Lawyers for Creative Arts plans Oct. 10 award lunch
Lawyers for the Creative Arts will present Distinguished Service Awards during a benefit luncheon Tuesday, Oct. 10, in the Red Lacquer Room of the Palmer House Hilton, Chicago.
The event will begin with a VIP reception at 11:30 a.m., followed by 12:15 p.m. luncheon, awards presentation and keynote speech by Andrew "Flip" Filipowski, founder of the global software company, Platinum Technology, and the Internet operation, divine interVentures.
William C. Weinsheimer, a partner in Hopkins & Sutter and member of the LCA Honors Council, Chicago, will receive the Thomas R. Leavens Award for his legal contributions to the arts community.
Distinguished Service Awards will be presented to Margaret Taylor Burroughs, founder of the DuSable Museum of African-American History; Henry Godinez, artistic associate of the Goodman Theatre; Richard Gray, president of the Art Dealers Association of America, and Arlene Rakoncay, executive director of the Chicago Artists' Coalition.
For 28 years, the staff and about 200 volunteers of Lawyers for the Creative Arts has provided pro bono legal services to individuals and organizations in the arts and entertainment fields.
In May, William E. Rattner took early retirement from his senior litigation partnership at Hopkins & Sutter, Chicago, to become the organization's full-time executive director.
A graduate of the Harvard Law School, Rattner is an adjunct professor at the Northwestern University School of Law and past chair of the Evanston Board of Ethics.
A trustee and vice president of the Evanston Art Center, he heads its long-range planning and expansion programs. He also organized the Midwest Clay Guild, which operates a cooperative ceramics studio.
Scott Hodes, senior partner of Ross & Hardies, Chicago, is board president of the arts law agency he founded in 1972. It receives more than 6,000 inquiries annually from artists and cultural organizations.
Howard Arnette Jr., a graduate of the New York University Law School is director of legal services. For more information, call (312) 649-4111.
Franks to present awards
ISBA President Herb Franks will present awards Tuesday, Sept. 19, for pro bono achievements by individual attorneys during a luncheon in the Waukegan Yacht Club.
The meeting is co-sponsored by the Lake County Bar Association Volunteer Lawyers Project and Prairie State Legal Services. Call (847) 244-3143 for reservations.
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The Coordinated Advice and Referral Program for Legal Services (CARPLS) will conduct its annual volunteers' reception from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 19, at McCormick & Schmick's, 41 E. Chestnut, Chicago. Call (312) 738-9494, ext. 303, for details.
Recent additions to the CARPLS board of directors are Michael Cramer of Sachnoff & Weaver and Richard O'Malley of Sidley & Austin. Jim Brown, formerly with Jeffrey A. Rabin & Associates and Will County Legal Assistance, is the new director of legal services.
ISBA runners score
The joint team of ISBA Sunday Runners and ISBA Mutual Insurance Co. placed third in Division III men's competition dur8ing the Chicago Volunteer Legal Services Foundation's seventh annual Race Judicata on Aug. 17.
Oak Park attorney Robert K. Downs, a member of the ISBA Board of Governors, was third in the 60-plus men's group with a time of 25:34 in the 5K run.
Award recipients
The Chicago Bar Foundation presented its Thomas H. Morsch Public Service Award to William P. Wilen, housing advocacy supervisor for the National Center on Poverty Law, during a luncheon program July 26.
Wilen was recognized for leadership in litigation that led to a landmark consent decree redressing years of neglect and revitalizing a public housing development.
The Edward J. Lewis II Pro Bono Service Award went to Rosa Maria D. MacNeil of Arlington Heights, Lisa Carroll of Hill & Simpson, and Professors Ralph Ruebner and Mark Wojcik of The John Marshall Law School.
They committed hundreds of hours toward freeing two U.S. citizens from inhumane conditions in a Peruvian jail, where their human rights were violated for three years.
The Outstanding Corporate Counsel Award was received by Daniel J. Harper of the Chicago Tribune for volunteer work with the Center for Disability and Elder Law.
The Maurice Weigle Award was presented to Jayme Levin-Muriel of Spain, Spain & Varnet, former staff attorney at the Center for Disability and Elder Law.
LaSalle Bar gives
Helping Underprivileged School Kids Year-round (HUSKY), a new Illinois Valley-area charity, has received a check for $1,000 from the LaSalle County Bar Association. The money was raised at a golf outing, bocci tournament and dinner in July. HUSKY provides school supplies to children of low-income families.
Named to board
Deborah Fortier, former ISBA staff attorney, has been appointed to the board of Sarah's Inn, an Oak Park agency that helps victims of domestic violence.
Scholarships presented
Nine female law students, one from each Illinois law school, will receive scholarships Friday, Sept. 15, from the Women's Bar Association of Illinois Foundation during a luncheon at the Chicago Bar Association. The scholarship presentations will be made by the deans.
Among the awards to be made at the 35th annual luncheon is the first Theodora Gordon Scholarship, created in memory of the past president who died July 19 (ISBA Bar News, August 15, page 21).
Appellate justices are reassigned
Appellate Court justices in the 1st District have been reassigned, effective Sept. 1, pursuant to a rotation system mandated in 1996 by the Illinois Supreme Court.
Jill K. McNulty moved from the 2nd Division to the 1st Division; Robert Cahill from the 3rd to the 2nd; Shelvin Louise Marie Hall from the 4th to the 3rd; Allen Hartman from the 5th to the 4th; Morton Zwick from the 6th to the 5th, and Michael J. Gallagher from the 1st to the 6th.
Justice Alan J. Greiman was re-elected to his fourth consecutive term as chair of the 1st District executive committee, and Thomas E. Hoffman is vice chair for a third one-year term. Other members of the executive committee are Gallagher, Judith Cohen, Warren D. Wolfson and Margaret Stanton McBride.
Inquiry Board names John Gallo counsel
John N. Gallo of Sidley & Austin was appointed outside counsel to the Illinois Judicial Inquiry Board, succeeding Jeffrey E. Stone of McDermott, Will & Emery.
A 1986 cum laude graduate of the Harvard Law School, Gallo joined the U.S. attorney's office in 1989 and was deputy chief of the Criminal Division from 1994 to 1996. He was lead prosecutor in Operation Silver Shovel public corruption cases.
As JIB counsel, Gallo will handle pending complaints against Cook County Associate Judge Lambros J. Kutrubis and St. Clair County Associate Judge James M. Radcliffe. Stone will complete his work on matters involving Cook County Associate Judge Oliver M. Spurlock and LaSalle County Judge Cynthia M. Raccuglia.
Bankruptcy judge seeks new term
Judge Gerald D. Fines of U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District has applied for reappointment to a new 14-year term when his present tenure expires Aug. 1, 2001.
Written comments from the public and the bar may be submitted by Oct. 20 to 7th Circuit executive Collins T. Fitzpatrick, Room 2780, 219 S. Dearborn St., Chicago, Ill. 60604.
Prosecutor honored
Assistant DuPage County state's attorney Nancy Wolfe, chief of the Civil Bureau, received the Frederick Milton Thrasher Award on Aug. 18 during the third annual International Gang Specialist Conference in Chicago.
Wolfe was honored for superior service on the county level for her role in the civil prosecution of the Satan's Disciples street gang, the first such action filed in DuPage County.
She also conducted a training seminar, "Civil Litigation Strategy Against Street Gangs," during the conference. A graduate of the DePaul University College of Law, she has been an assistant state's attorney for 13 years and also am assistant public defender.
Drug money offered
DuPage County State's Attorney Joseph E. Birkett is accepting applications from local public and private schools through Sept. 29 for funds from the Drug Forfeiture Grant Program.
Since 1990, Birkett's office has made 206 grants to schools for drug prevention programs to educate children about the dangers of substance abuse. Call Laura Pollastrini, (630) 682-6500, for a grant application.
Retirements announced
Judge Jerry L. Patton of Decatur in the 6th Circuit retired July 15. The longest-serving judge in Macon County, Patton was appointed to the bench in 1974 after five years in private practice. He is a graduate of the University of Mississippi Law School.
Judge John B. Roe of the 15th Circuit leaves the bench this month to take a teaching position at the Stetson University College of Law in St. Petersburg, Fla. A former state senator and Ogle County state's attorney, Roe was appointed to the court in 1995 and elected in 1996. He is a 1967 graduate of the University of Illinois College of Law.
Judge Clarke C. Barnes of the 14th Circuit in Cambridge retired July 3 to join his wife in development of Acts Unlimited, an Internet-based firm that handles consumer products. A retired Marine Corps colonel, he also will represent clients before the Veterans Court of Appeals.
Bankruptcy Court opening noted in Central District
Applications are being accepted through Friday, Oct. 13, for a seat on U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Illinois, located in Chicago.
Prospective judges must possess and have demonstrated outstanding legal ability and competence through substantial experience, the ability to deal with complex problems, the aptitude for scholarship and writing, and familiarity with the courts and court processes.