Eagleionline

During orientation week we had the opportunity to introduce ourselves to the incoming class.  Today, we’d like to do the same with the whole BC community by explaining our vision for a diverse and inclusive Boston College Law School.  So here is a little bit about what we—your LSA Diversity Committee members—have planned for the year and what our mission is.

Who We Are:

Christine Bang, 2L 
Paul Navarro, 2L
Austin Evers, 3L

Our Mission:

The Diversity Committee’s mission is to weave diversity into every aspect of Boston College Law School.

Its diversity objectives are to:

• 1) Foster a school culture that supports and promotes diversity so that all members of the BCLS community are included and valued;
• 2) Facilitate diversity in all aspects of the school’s programs, administration, curriculum, and day-to-day life;
• 3) Increase recruitment and retention of students, professors, and staff from diverse ethnic, cultural, and socioeconomic backgrounds;
• 4) Promote diversity in the global legal community; and
• 5) Collaborate with law firms, schools, and other organizations to encourage diversity awareness.

Our Plans:

The best way to describe how we’re hoping to advance our mission is that our goal is to have a year-long conversation about diversity in our school.  That means small group brown bag lunches, speakers, retreats, and roundtable discussions.  The idea is to bring issues of diversity to the fore; awareness is the first step towards inclusiveness.

For example, next week we will be hosting a brown bag lunch for people to come and discuss their experiences with diversity in the past—how did your other schools address diversity? What worked, what didn’t?  What does diversity mean to you?  Do you see it reflected here at BC Law?

Here’s a link to the event on our Facebook group.

We are also planning a panel discussion with diversity coordinators and hiring partners from various firms and corporations.  It is becoming clear that diversity is more than a public relations necessity.  Companies are advancing diversity interests because, at the end of the day, it affects their bottom line.

And of course there is Diversity Month in March when we celebrate our community’s diversity, talk about our challenges, and find strength in our differences.

If you want to see the Diversity Committee address something, just let us know.  Remember, there’s more to diversity than race and gender; we’re happy to talk about socioeconomic, cultural, and political diversity as well.

If you’d like to come to our brownbag lunch next week drop by our Facebook Group and RSVP, or just stop by.  If you have any questions or just want to say hello email Austin, Christine, or Paul (eversa@bc.edu, bangc@bc.edu, paul.navarro.1@bc.edu).