We Shall Overcome

Diversity is always a controversial subject in the law school. The implementation of our diversity policy into the application process for journals and other competitive organizations has created a visceral debate between those who believe a culturally and ethnically diverse student body is essential to the learning process, while others believe diversity is an irrelevent consideration, and that only the student's merit and academic qualifications should matter. Personally, I don't think the fact that someone is a Tibetan transexual albino mormon aboriginie should make them any more qualified to participate in these organizations than a good old-fashioned American transexual albino mormon aboriginie, or any other permutation of the labels. I'm very proud of my Afrocasian roots, but I wouldn't like to think I find a position in a student organization, or win a scholarship, or find a job over another qualified candidate because of my blackitude. But that's just me.

I know I'm a little late to this debate, and I'm really not trying to rekindle it. I'm not particularly angry about the present state of affairs, but certain things bother me. For instance, the amount of "Minority ____" that are offered right now. Minority scholarships. Minority fellowships. Minority job fairs. Minority Subway Sandwhich offers. After awhile, you can't help but feel left out. There aren't many minority groups I belong to. There is no Men's Law Student Association, no Cracker Law for me, no Hetero-Law, no National Association for the Advancement of Ninjas. And why should there be? Men and Whitey and Heterosexuals have little problem advancing their cause. The same goes without saying for Ninjas. But still - I want to join something, but where can I join?

There is one minority group I am a card-carrying member of; one group alone to whom I can pledge my proud support of. We are perhaps the smallest minority group in the law school; our ranks are dismally thin. We enter the building, and we are surrounded by our oppressors. With their mind-blowing arrogance, long-winded and often fallacious legal analysis, and irrational hatred of all things good and decent in this world, they look down at us like we don't deserve to pick the lint off their pretty pink shirts. We've held secret meetings informally, we complain about our plight and our tormentors. Our cause is just, and our conviction is firm. But every day we face this sense of crushing defeat, as it seems with every new recruiting class, our numbers will dwindle to extinction.

Fuck it. Consider this a call to arms. Let's make this official, and take our organization public. Call it what you want: the Non-Douchebag Law Students Association. The League of the Anti-Douche. The name's not important. The message is all that matters. We will not be silenced. Hell, we've already got an army - the Community Justice Commandoes, and they never sleep.

Non-douchebags: the silent minority no longer.