On Thursday 14 June, the Sociology 3 class and other interested students visited the Cradle Coast campus of UTAS to take part in the inaugural NW LawFest. This saw students taking part in three lectures and Q+A’s relating to legal and social issues, both internationally and locally.
The first session, led by Professor Tim McCormack and Dr Matt Killingsworth, was surrounding the current conflict in Gaza and the legal ramifications and role of the International Criminal Court in ratifying arrest warrants for war crimes – a very informative and interesting discussion. The second session was targeted especially for our Sociology course with Ruth Forrest MLC and Sonya Stanford, the Pro Vice-Chancellor of Cradle Coast and Launceston, who discussed the impacts of quality education on our local area.
It was especially interesting to hear some of the statistics of the different types of people now accessing further education due to the creation of the new Cradle Coast campus here in Burnie. For instance, 55% of attendees at the Cradle Coast Campus of UTAS are the first in their family to attend tertiary education! As well as 49% of students considered to be of ‘Low Socio-Economic Status’ which is amazing when compared to the Hobart campus, which has only 17%. In the final session of the day, the group was privileged to have the Chief Justice of Tasmania, Alan Blow, address them around the importance of separation of government and independent judges, and other important factors relating to the judicial system. Overall, a very informative and engaging day!
Mrs Sarah Farrow
Learning Area Leader – HaSS
