A Little Help From My Friends

When I started law school there were maybe 15 latinos in my class, “the largest ever!” my school proclaimed.  They put most of us in the same section as well, which I actually did not mind.   Since then, however, throughout the U.S. the number of hispanic students entering law school continues to decrease.

The impact of few people of color earning J.D.s will have long-reaching ramifications.  A J.D. is empowerment.  If the people in power continue to only come from the same type of background, with similar forms of privilege, then real change will be a slow and dismal.  Despite all of that, perhaps right now, you are in school, with the few others that made it.  You should really charge yourself to continue this educational path, by any means necessary, because we need more Latinas to join the profession!

But, it can be a major downer to not be with anyone that is like you.  To be surrounded by people that don’t understand your history, your culture, your experience.  It is an emotional toll that can cause real harm.  I watch this video of students pleading their humanity to their fellow classmates, and I can see the distress in their faces.  It’s sad and maddening.

If you are in a place where the idea of being the “voice of your people” is too much; where you fear misspeaking because it won’t just count against you, but people like you; if you’re tired of inappropriate jokes and comments made at your expensive--the easiest and perhaps most impacting solutions is to reach out to others like you and build a support system.

In this day and age, there must be at least one organization focused on people of color in your school.  Join it! Forget about whether you had a good or bad experience in undergrad, this is a new chapter so seek out those connections.  Aside from meeting like-minded individuals, these organizations are vested in helping the members succeed.  My latino student group kept an outline bank, created study sessions, and alumni panels.  Other groups sponsored legal writing workshops and resume reviews.

Maybe you’re not experiencing culture shock. Maybe everything has been great so far (which is fantastic!).  I know there are plenty of people that can go through law school without feeling the need to join these types of groups.  However, even if things are going well you should consider  joining this organizations.  I would consider joining because of the tools they may have available, but mostly because there’s no such thing as too much support.

Unfortunately, with the demographic of most law schools it’s a possibility you may eventually need a shoulder to lean on while in school (for me things didn’t really get weird until 3L year!).   And you may want to join because, if I’m being honest, sometimes it’s just nice to be in a space with people that are experiencing the same thing!  It alleviates the pressure and feelings of isolation if you can just turn to someone and say, “Isn’t it weird that my name is Rocio and the professor keeps calling my Rosy?” and your friend will just get it.

So I urge you to consider joining.  If you live somewhere with more than one school you can also consider branching out to the other organizations.  In my state, Illinois, there is an Illinois Latino Law Student Association, which hosts many events and also creates a community of support between the few latinos attending law school in the Chicago area.  They have these groups at national levels as well.  It’s really worth it to consider joining.  Remember, there is power in numbers and together you can push for change in faculty, courses, policies, etc. more so than just one individual.