Announcements and Statements

New Solar Charging Stations Enrich the Haub Law Campus and its Commitment to Environmental Wellness

Posted
June 13, 2022
Image
image of new solar charging bench with students in quad of Elisabeth Haub School of Law in White Plains

The Elisabeth Haub School of Law is proud to announce the addition of six solar charging benches along with two solar charging poles to its campus. The project is part of a multi-faceted wellness initiative spearheaded by the Office of Student & Campus Affairs titled, Haub Law’s Hub of Belonging: The 8 Pillars of Wellness. The benches and charging poles are the latest fulfillment by Haub Law in standing commitment to the school’s wellness initiative, which focuses on the wellbeing of law students during their time in law school and thereafter.

To fulfill the goals of the wellness project, last year Haub Law launched a series of programming and campus initiatives incorporating the eight pillars of wellness: mental and emotional, social, intellectual, financial, spiritual, physical, occupational, and environmental. The new solar charging benches and solar charging poles fulfill the environmental wellness pillar, with an added bonus to support the School’s continued efforts to reduce the campus energy footprint. The solar charging benches, centrally located on the Preston Quad, ensure maximum energy absorption and result in efficient energy storage and distribution in an environmentally safe and friendly manner. Similarly, the solar charging poles have many of the same features as the benches, but is also equipped with four Rapid-Charge USB ports, including one underneath the table for handicap access.

“The goal of this project has always been to enhance and ensure the optimal well-being of our law students,” said Dean for Student & Campus Affairs, Angie D’Agostino. “This project provides an amenity that is both convenient and efficient, and improves student access to outdoor workspaces. We will continue to focus on programming and initiatives to help students find fulfillment across all facets of well-being. Our programming has and will continue to also incorporate elements of diversity, equity, and inclusion.”

Funding for the solar charging poles and benches came in part from a grant received from Pace University and also from the University’s Demand Response program. Each summer, the University receives funding to reduce electric usage during the times that the Electric Grid is most stressed, which is typically during the hottest days of the year. Committed to environmental excellence, Haub Law exceeded expectations during these events, and as a result, the University was able to allocate funding specifically for this project.

More from Pace

In the Media

Law Professor Bennett Gershman provides expert legal analysis to amNewYork on the distinction between New York City’s corporation counsel and chief counsel. Gershman explains that while the Law Department represents the city in litigation, the chief counsel serves as the mayor’s personal legal adviser, operating under attorney-client privilege on sensitive policy and legal matters— and New York Metropolitan Magazine has the story.

In the Media

In her recent op-ed published in the Albany Times Union, Pace Haub Law Professor Bridget J. Crawford examines a new federal tax rule that would allow tipped workers to claim a deduction—unless their tips come from what the Treasury Department defines as “pornographic activity.” Professor Crawford argues that this exclusion is not a question of morality, but of labor and tax fairness, warning that it disproportionately harms the modern digital workforce, especially women who earn income through subscription-based platforms. She notes that creators on sites like OnlyFans and Fansly are already taxed as independent contractors and receive 1099s like other freelancers, raising a critical question: why should one group of tipped workers be denied a benefit available to everyone else? “Tax policy should meet women where they actually work, not exclude them from deductions,” writes Professor Crawford. “The IRS’s job is to review income, not to judge women’s bodies or the way they earn a living. Women working in digital creator spaces deserve the same neutrality, fairness and access to deductions that the tax code offers other workers.”

In the Media

The Pace Environmental Litigation Clinic is featured in a recent Sierra Magazine article examining the successful effort to protect the 1011 2nd Avenue Forest, one of the last remaining waterfront forests in Troy, New York. In the case, the Clinic provided pro bono representation challenging the City of Troy’s environmental review and rezoning decisions, arguing that the City improperly issued a negative declaration under New York’s State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) and failed to adequately assess potential environmental and cultural impacts of the proposed development. As Managing Attorney Todd Ommen notes in the piece, the case reflected the Clinic’s core mission: representing environmental groups in matters where legal advocacy can play a critical role in protecting the natural environment.