I often talk about how inspired I am by all of you, our applicants. As I write this, I have to say that I am reminded of the fact that those of you we are able to admit, and who choose to become a part of our community, make NUSL the vibrant place that we are. What a privilege it is to have such wonderful people around me!

Why am I saying this? Well, recently I asked for some updates from our student of color groups. I’m working on an internal newsletter about diversity initiatives and wanted to find out what they’re up to. We actually think about diversity in many ways, but our active student of color groups are a great example of some of the ways that our students help to make this such a diverse and thoughtful place to be. Their updates have been fun to read and remind me why I love working here. Our students are simply amazing!

As you probably know, this month is Black History Month. BLSA (Black Law Students Association) is doing all sorts of great things to remind people of the journey black people have been on in this country to fight oppression. There’s lots on their list of activities and one of my favorites is the “Snack and a Fact” piece of their month-long celebration. NUSL students, faculty and staff receive a traditional snack of African American ancestors, which has a historical fact attached to it. One example of a snack was a sesame cookie. The cookie had an attached explanation of the sesame, introduced in the United States by African slaves and referred to as good luck in African culture.

Our LaLSA (Latino Law Students Association) students have also been busy, working on projects such as getting a new Web site up and running. They’ve also been advocating to find a place for the Mendez v. Westminster Case in the 1L curriculum, co-sponsoring the Spanish Conversation Hour on Friday afternoons, co-sponsoring the ILS Immigration Conference, and co-sponsoring Indigenous Peoples Day. They have more planned for the spring – an awful lot for a group of very busy students to be coordinating.

APALSA (Asian/Pacific Law Students Association) has had some recent success in the Thomas Tang Moot Court competition. They sent two teams to this regional competition and one of the teams placed in the top four finalists qualifying them for the national competition. They have also been spending their time building relationships with outside Asian organizations as a way to build more connections to the legal community for support as they go through law school and look for jobs.

When you’re in law school, you’ll really begin to appreciate the amount of commitment it takes from students to make these kinds of activities happen. Every one of our affinity groups is an active, vibrant organization and helps to make the law school a great place. We also have a whole host of other student groups for you to participate in - the opportunities for getting involved are everywhere at the law school. If you’re interested in contacting someone from one of these groups, go to our student group Web page to find contact information.