{"id":32994,"date":"2024-05-31T15:15:29","date_gmt":"2024-05-31T19:15:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www2.stetson.edu\/law\/news\/?p=32994"},"modified":"2024-06-10T11:19:38","modified_gmt":"2024-06-10T15:19:38","slug":"a-2024-snapshot-of-lgbtq-inclusiveness-at-stetson-law","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www2.stetson.edu\/law\/news\/index.php\/2024\/05\/31\/a-2024-snapshot-of-lgbtq-inclusiveness-at-stetson-law\/","title":{"rendered":"A 2024 Snapshot of LGBTQ+ Inclusiveness at Stetson Law"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Members of Stetson Law’s Lambda Legal Society table at an event on campus.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

As Pride Month 2024 kicks off, Stetson Law celebrates the LGBTQ+ community on campus and beyond. From effective strategic initiatives for increasing LGBTQ+ student enrollment to partnering with local organizations that serve the community, here are some recent ways College of Law students, faculty, and staff have supported and enhanced the LGBTQ+ community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A newly endowed Lambda scholarship<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Last fall, Lambda Legal Society, the LGBTQ+ student organization on campus, celebrated the full endowment of its Pride Scholarship, which will allow exceptional LGBTQ+ students to focus on what is most important: preparing for a long meaningful legal career. It was the culmination of a multi-year effort that included lively fundraising events<\/a> featuring legislative updates and drag performances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Continued recruitment & support of LGBTQ students<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

For years, campus leadership has walked the walk when it comes to recruiting and retaining LGBTQ+ students, equipping them with the tools they need to advocate for the community in meaningful ways as legal professionals and engage with the broader LGBTQ+ community. Telling prospective students \u201cYou Belong Here,\u201d admissions officials actively invite members of the community from around the nation to consider Stetson Law for their legal education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The result is a diverse, thriving community of students eager to explore the law through an LGBTQ+ lens. Self-identified LGBTQ+ students made up five percent of the fall 2023 entering class.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once they matriculate, a welcoming, supportive community awaits them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Elevating LGBTQ+ faculty and curriculum<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Mentorship is woven into the culture at Stetson Law, where LGBTQ+ students can learn from professors to whom they can relate, from longtime Professors Joseph Morrissey<\/strong> and Ellen Podgor<\/strong> to newer faculty like Professor Em Wright<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Law Professor Joseph Morrissey<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The course catalog invites students to explore ways in which the law shapes the LGBTQ+ experience and vice versa through courses like Law and Sexual Orientation<\/em>, Human Rights in International Family Law<\/em>, and Civil Rights and the Constitution: DOMA\/Marriage<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Creating visibility for the community on campus<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Since it launched, Stetson Law\u2019s chapter of Lambda Legal Society<\/a> has become a vibrant and integral element to campus culture \u2013 from tabling at events to raising the Progress Pride flag<\/a> at the start of every Pride Month since 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Lambda Legal Society values engaging with the greater community through events like St. Pete Pride.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

In November of 2023, Lambda organized a gathering to raise Trans Pride flags<\/a> for Transgender Day of Remembrance and Transgender Awareness Week as well as a display commemorating the lives of transgender individuals lost to violent acts targeting them for their identities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

National, regional, and local recognition for LGBTQ+ initiatives<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Stetson Law\u2019s commitment to inclusiveness is so robust that it has garnered national, regional, and local recognition from a variety of organizations, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n