Affinity groups at the Boston University School of Law have issued a letter of concern to the LAW Student Government Association (SGA) to highlight the lack of diversity in the law school.
In the letter addressed to the SGA Oct. 31, the affinity groups listed various concerns and actions that they hope the SGA will address, including a statement from SGA on their commitment to diversity, processes to increase the number of underrepresented students and faculty members, better representation for affinity groups and bias training for faculty and students.
The letter was signed by the Middle Eastern and South Asian Law Students Association, the Asian Pacific American Law Students Association, the Black Law Student Association, LGBTQ group OutLaw, the Native American and Other Indigenous Peoples’ Law Students Association and the Latin American Law Students Association.
According to the letter, only one American Indian or Alaskan Native student, eight black students, 21 Hispanic students and 19 Asian students are in the law school’s class of 2020.
People of color make up 33 percent of students in LAW’s class of 2021, and students are from 16 countries in total, according to the class profile.
The LAW SGA wrote in an email to The Daily Free Press that they are committed to advocating for other students.
“We acknowledge that there is much more work that must be done in order to achieve true diversity, inclusion and equity,” their email stated, “not only for our law school, but for the legal professional as well.”
The SGA wrote that they are taking action on the matter of inclusivity. At the start of the current semester, the SGA appointed their first SGA affinity group liaison/diversity chair.
“Demonstrative of our resolve to address students’ concerns, we voted to amend our bylaws to include a greater role for our Affinity Group Liaison,” the SGA wrote, “as well as a mandatory training to be attended by the leaders of all student organizations in order to receive SGA funding.”
One of the changes the LAW affinity groups requested in the letter is replacing this liaison with an executive board seat for the groups themselves.
Geraldine Muir, associate dean of student affairs in LAW, said the problem of diversity has been an ongoing issue that needs to be addressed, not only in the school, but also nationwide.
“The issue of diversity and inclusion, if not equity, in the legal profession is well
documented nationally as a challenge,” Muir said, “and we’ve been investing resources since the founding of the School of Law.”
Ellen Miller, a first-year graduate student in LAW, said she thinks law schools have historically been primarily white and male institutions, but that this trend is changing.
“I think that we’re seeing more diverse student bodies, and especially after the 2016 elections, I think we’re seeing more groups of people who have historically been underrepresented having more of an interest in going into law school,” Miller said. “But progress is slow.”
SGA leaders, affinity group leaders and administration members met last week to discuss a plan of action to address the affinity groups’ concerns, said LAW professor Ron Wheeler, who is a part of LAW’s Student Affairs Community and Inclusion Committee.
“It’s no individual person or group’s problem,” Wheeler said. “It’s an issue that takes input and effort on everyone’s part.”Most existing efforts by the LAW administration to increase diversity are unknown to students, the SGA wrote.
Muir said that initiatives concerning faculty and staff hiring, communication with students and training and support resources are already in the works.
“The challenge was pockets of people knew about different things,” Muir said, “but there’s a need for a centralized safe space to showcase both where we are, what we’re going to do and then measuring our progress.”
Grace Hong, a second-year graduate student in LAW, said she thinks bringing awareness to lack of diversity is a starting point for changes in the future. She also noted that the School of Law sent the Letter of Concern to every LAW student, so everyone is aware of the problem.
“I think it’s good to note and bring [the problem] on the table,” Hong said. “What matters more is how it’s implemented further on.”
Wheeler said one of the ways Student Affairs supports students is through monthly student-facilitated discussions, called Critical Conversations, or CritCons, to talk about sensitive topics such as race, transgender issues and political polarization among other students.
“They’re excellent because students really want to engage on these issues,” Wheeler said, “and part of what happens is that they don’t know how because they’re afraid of being called a racist or they’re afraid of being called a sexist.”
LAW student Ning Yang said she thinks more diversity and communication between cultures could benefit the law school.
“In my opinion, it is better for our university to embrace more students from different backgrounds,” Yang said.
LAW works hard in areas where it needs improvement, Muir said, and is looking forward to discuss and better aid under-represented groups moving forward.
“We are hungry,” Muir said. “This is not a school that settles.”
The affinity groups who signed the letter did not respond to Daily Free Press inquiries by press time.
Jennifer is studying Communication Studies at the College of Communication in the Class of 2020. She has written for multiple publications and practiced digital marketing throughout her time at Boston University. In Jennifer's spare time, she likes going to brunch and solving puzzles. Connect with her on Twitter at @JSuryadjaja
