Issues
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Throwback–Posts You May Have Missed in Our First Year
For those new followers (or just for those that would like a refresher), here are some of the earlier posts from Latinas Uprising that are worth a revisit–especially as a new school year starts and many others will begin new jobs in the weeks to come! How would you/do you react when you’re mistaken (sometimes on purpose) as the interpreter? Different shoe options when working in conservative law offices (side note: wedges forever!) The best way to study in law school is to Study How You Study! The importance of being an active alumna, even if (or especially if) you didn’t feel very welcomed at your educational institution. How to…
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Controlling Emotions at Work: Anger
When we talk about women and emotions at work, the discussion usually revolves around whether crying is ok or not. I’d like to have that discussion some day, but I thought I’d start with a more common emotion that lawyers tend to experience at work: anger. I remember the first time I got really upset at work with an opposing counsel. We were having a telephone conversation and they were being so aggravatingly condescending. I was still a brand new attorney so I know now that part of my reaction was due to my pride. But o.m.g. was I pissed at how he was talking to me! He got nasty,…
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Call it by Its Name: A Hate Crime in Charleston
When crimes like this occur, I recall a panel I attended in law school where an attorney for a civil rights group concisely and eloquently described hate crimes and why people that push back against using that term are wrong. The general idea is that the crime, though aimed at one person(s), is committed with the intent to terrify a specific group of people. The offender(s) goals are to terrorize with the hopes that the group flees, changes, and/or submits. This seems like a simple idea, and yet people become so hesitant to call these crimes by their name. What happened in Charleston was a hate crime. Any other lesser…
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Furthering Latino Education
The Pew Research Center released Five Facts about Latinos and Education this week. While very brief, it paints an informative picture of the status of Latinos and education. Essentially, Latinos are graduating high school at greater rates than before; enrolling in colleges at higher rates than other groups; and have less loan debt. Yet, Latinos are not earning those four-year degrees, and instead are enrolling at two-year Universities that do not seem to be pipelines to eventual bachelor degrees. Right now only 9% of Latinos between ages 25-29 hold a Bachelor’s. I’m not one to knock down good news with bad. It’s fantastic that we’re graduating high school and that…
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Quarterly Report: Student Loan Repayment Plans
We’re back again with another post on money! While we celebrate everyone graduating from college and law school, another sore topic is paying back loans. Today our “in-house” accountant gives us some info on payment plans, and other important financial info to keep in mind before our grace period ends and we suddenly find ourselves unable to reduce or pay back our debt. More likely than not, you’ll be graduating from law school with student loans from law school and possibly even from your undergrad program. And if you’re like most people, you’ve probably thought about what happens after graduation, but instead decide that you’ll deal with the loans when…
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Addressing Sex Harassment in the Workplace.
If you have Netflix and an hour and half to spare, you must watch Anita. The documentary is based on the Anita Hill testimony during Clarence Thomas’ confirmation. As attorneys, women, and women of color, it is such a necessary education. In 1991, I was too young to know or understand what was happening. Then growing up, post-Anita, the general belief was that sex harassment in the workplace was wrong and kind of just assumed everyone knew that from the get-go; I obviously had no real knowledge of how bad it really was for many women. What Anita shows is that because of her testimony more people were exposed to…
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Simple Sun Protection for Latinas
When I entered my late twenties I became super vigilant about skin care–steps I’d normally skip in the past (like washing off my makeup) suddenly became very necessary. This new devotion was definitely fueled by my long term plan to stay looking young for as long as I can. However, the more I read up on skin care, the more I realized how proactive I needed to start being about sun protection. This is a topic that is sometimes ignored by Latinas because there is a myth that we’re not as affected by the sun. One reason for our lack of awareness is due to the fact that many studies seem…
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Seeking Guest Contributors for the Summer
Latinas Uprising is seeking guest contributors for a special summer series! We want to showcase: The varied and engaging work law students are doing this summer; Sneak peeks into the life of law grads preparing for the Bar exam; and Pre-law students who are enjoying their last summer as they prepare for the start law school. If you fit into any of these categories, please email LatinasUprising (at) gmail (dot) com with the subject line: Guest Contributor. Please provide your name; location; law school/year in school; and: If you are a current law student, please provide a brief (a couple of sentences) of what your plans are for this summer.…
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Addressing Sexual Assault within the Latino Community through a Legal Perspective
One of the things that’s so powerful about having a J.D. is that we can become true agents of change. Of course, any individual with the vision and drive can create change in their community, but as attorneys, we are given a little extra ammunition by way of our legal abilities. My hope is that we always remember this and try our best to continue to improve everyone’s standard of living. Because April is Sexual Awareness Month, I think it’s vital to talk about what we can do as attorneys to help fight this problem. In the article I wrote for Being Latino, I mention that one in six Latinas…
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You Don’t Have to be Nice
I recently finished Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and aside from being super funny, one comment caught my attention right away. In the pilot, one of the Indiana Mole Women says that they followed the Rev to his car because she didn’t want to be rude. Matt Lauer casually comments that he’s always amazed at the lengths women will go through to not be seen as rude. I definitely laughed, but it was such a true statement. Too often, we are trained to be nice and polite above even our own comfort. Little girls are always told to be nice, to be polite, or to not make waves. We apologize for our opinions (prefacing almost all…
