Diversity Week, February 2013
Seattle University School of Law invites you to participate in a full schedule of events for Diversity Week 2013. Diversity Week begins on Monday, February 25, 2013.
Diversity Week is an annual student-organized week of events focused on celebrating and understanding diversity. Student organizations sponsor a variety of events including film screenings and panel presentations throughout the week, each one focusing some aspect of diversity. This year's theme is "The Intersections of Diversity and Equal Justice."
Monday, February 25
Black Law Students Association (BLSA) presents: Learning Disabilities and Youth of Color - A Conversation about the Impacts of Individualized Education Programs
12:00 - 12:50 p.m.
Room C5
This Social Justice Monday will explore how students with disabilities, particularly youth of color, have been impacted by Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) within the classroom setting. Learn about both the positive effects and negative stigmas associated with IEP labels and how these labels play a pivotal role in the school-to-prison pipeline. Lunch will be provided.
Tuesday, February 26
Fatness, Disability, and Health Care Delivery: A Critical Legal Perspective
12:00 - 12:50 p.m.
Room 110
Please join the WLC for a brown bag lunch with Professor Rebecca Rausch to discuss fatness, disability, and working with clients who serve those with disabilities. Professor Rausch will be speaking and sharing video clips about the debate of fatness being classified as a disability, and the issues it presents for the law. The conversation may be particularly interesting for those interested in working with health care providers, and those with interests in health care legislation. Professor Rausch currently teaches an advanced course in health law, which focuses on health law policy affecting operations and transactions among healthcare providers. Please RSVP to Alex Kain at kaina@seattleu.edu. Lunch will be provided.
Film Screening of "The New Asylums"
4:00 - 6:00 p.m.
Room C5
Join BLSA and IMAP for a must-see screening of Frontline's "The New Asylums." With fewer than 55,000 Americans currently receiving treatment in psychiatric hospitals, nearly 500,000 mentally ill persons are serving time in U.S. jails and prisons with ill-equipped prison wardens as this population's caretakers. Come explore the inside of Ohio's State prison system in this riveting documentary and stay for a discussion about whether America's jails and prisons have become the new asylums for the mentally ill. Popcorn and Pizza will be provided.
Wednesday, February 27
Environmental Justice and the Hanford Nuclear Cleanup
12:00 - 12:50 p.m.
Room C5
Hanford, a contaminated nuclear waste site in central Washington, is the nation's largest environmental cleanup. Join the Environmental Law Society (ELS) and SJEL for this exciting event and come listen to attorneys from Hanford Challenge, an organization created to transform Hanford's nuclear legacy into a model of safe and effective cleanup. Environmental justice issues related to cleanup challenges at the Hanford Site will be discussed, as well as the future of nuclear waste in the Pacific Northwest.
Human Trafficking: Modern Day Slavery Exists... Realities, Resources, and the Law
2:00 - 3:30 p.m.
Courtroom
The Middle Eastern/South Asian Law Student Association presents a panel to discuss how the community, law enforcement, the state, and the nation are taking steps to combat modern day slavery. It will offer the perspectives of survivors and victims advocate organizations. We invite people to discuss issues facing the different facets of human exploitation and how these issues affect us as members of our local and global communities. Food will be served.
Diversity and the Death Penalty: A Panel Discussion
4:00 - 6:00 p.m.
2nd Floor Gallery
The ACLU at Seattle University School of Law cordially invites you to attend a panel discussion about how certain sectors of the population are disproportionately affected by the death penalty. Discussion topics will include justifications for the continued use of the death penalty and arguments challenging its utility. Light appetizers will be provided.
Film Showing of "The Meaning of Life"
6:00 - 8:00 p.m.
Room C5
"The Meaning of Life" is a documentary film by Hugh Brody. The film examines Kwikwexwelhp, a prison that is an unusual collaboration between the Chehalis First Nation and the Correctional Service of Canada. At Kwikwexwelhp, more thanhalf of the inmates are Native and punishment and rehabilitation are pursued according to precepts of Aboriginal spirituality and community. The film gives us a chance to consider whether social justice and personal redemption can be achieved through Aboriginal concepts. This event is sponsored by Law & Culture, and by Professor Michael Mirande with the assistance of Professor Erica Wolf.
Thursday, February 28
Representation of Minority Clients with Mental Health Issues
1:00 - 2:00 p.m.
Room C5
Please join APILSA for a panel discussion about a variety of issues facing minorities with mental health problems in legal settings. Panelists will address how social stigmas can create issues and challenges with representation and legal advocacy. The panel will feature speakers from the City of Seattle Attorney's Office, King County Prosecutor's Office, and the Asian Counseling and Referral Service. Pizza and soda will be provided.
Training Session for Working with Clients with Mental Health Issues
4:00 - 5:30 p.m.
Room C5
Seattle University School of Law's Lawyering in a Diverse World Series presents a training session on how to work with clients with mental health issues with a focus on building client-interviewing skills. The training session will be facilitated by Merf Ehman, an attorney with Columbia Legal Services. Please RSVP.
Celebration of Diversity Reception
5:30 - 7:00 p.m.
2nd Floor Gallery
Join our law school community for a reception to celebrate diversity and engage in a discussion about the intersection of diversity and equal justice with our keynote speaker Aurora Martin, Executive Director of Columbia Legal Services. This event is also a wonderful networking opportunity to meet attorneys, judges and other leaders from the Seattle legal community. This event is free and open to the public. Please RSVP by Monday, February 25.
Diversity Week is organized by the Diversity Week Planning Committee: Siavash Shiva (chair), Susan Daaga, Paige Hardy, Zainab Hussain, and Colleen Pe Benito. Special thanks to the following for their support: Student Bar Association, Office of Student Affairs, Access to Justice Institute, Office of Alumni Relations, Office of Admissions, Center for Professional Development, Fred T. Korematsu Center for Law and Equality, ACLU, APILSA, BLSA, ELS, IMAP, MELSA, SJEL and WLC.
Click here to read remarks from the keynote speaker, Aurora Martin.
