All posts filed under: Student Commentary

Running for State Representative – Q&A with Maggie Borski and Nick Elia

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At Temple Law, students don’t wait for graduation to start chasing their dreams and building their careers. Currently a third-year law student, Maggie Borski is running to represent the 177th District in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. She and her campaign manager, fellow 3L Nick Elia, sat down with Temple Law for a Q&A last month during finals to share their experiences so far. Temple Law: What made you decide that you wanted to run for district representative? Maggie Borski: I actually did an internship with State Representative Donna Bullock last spring and it was wonderful. I got to know her pretty well, and her staff. I had mentioned to her that, maybe down the line, pursuing public service, public office, would be something I’d be interested in. When the semester began, literally the second week of classes, I get a Facebook message from Donna and it was an article saying my representative, John Taylor, was not seeking reelection. It was kind of like a light bulb went off, you know, if there’s ever a …

A Reflection on Justice

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For her undergraduate thesis in criminal justice, Nicole Gonzalez Van Cleve organized court watchers in Chicago’s Cook County courthouse. She hoped to create an ethnography of America’s largest courthouse across thousands of hours of interviews and first-person observations. More than a decade later – and now as Professor Gonzalez Van Cleve – she published these observations as Crook County: Racism and Injustice in America’s Largest Criminal Court. Professor Gonzalez Van Cleve spoke about her recent publication on November 9th here at the Beasley School of Law, alongside Professor Hosea Harvey of Temple University. Employing an interrogative style, Professor Gonzalez Van Cleve began by presenting some of the results of her research. As an ethnographer, Gonzalez Van Cleve pointed out that language in her field functions both as indicator and as an active, purposive agent. She was particularly interested in the way that language – specifically racially coded language – worked in court communities and the justice system itself. In this way Professor Gonzalez Van Cleve’s Crook County expands on the work of Michelle Alexander’s The …

Welcome Back, Law Owls!

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On November 13th and 14th, Temple Law celebrated ‘Friends and Family Days.’ Our 1L students were invited to bring their loved ones to campus, and for some, this meant returning to their alma mater. Two of our part-time evening students and their fathers, also former evening students, shared their thoughts on returning to Temple Law. Gerald Clarke LAW ’00 As an alumni of the evening program, it was a thrill to come back for Friends and Family night as a parent of one of the evening division students. I was struck by the friendliness of my daughter’s classroom. It was exciting to come in as a spectator and observe the class from a perspective that felt different than the tension you feel as a student. It is obvious that the building blocks coaxed by this dedicated professor will positively benefit these future lawyers. Brittany Clarke LAW ’21 Being a legacy is one of the main reasons I decided to attend Temple Law. I was eight years old when my dad graduated from Temple, and I …

Who Runs the World?

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Growing up, I was lucky enough to be surrounded by amazing women – my mom, grandmothers, aunts, family-friends – they made being strong look easy. The moment I began to feel the responsibility of being a woman was when I was 9-years-old and my little sister was born. I saw her for the first time and from that day on, I wanted to be the best version of myself for her. Girls need role models to look up to. If they don’t see women in the legal profession, they might not think they are capable of being lawyers – which could not be further from the truth. Representation is key for change to occur. Women throughout history have worked tirelessly to gain many of the rights we enjoy today. I feel that it is our generation’s responsibility to continue their work and strive for true equality. While interning at Susan G. Komen Philadelphia, I saw first-hand how crucial the fight for women’s rights is and what can be achieved when women work together toward a …

Being a Prepared and Flexible Advocate

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My law student partner and I recently represented a client at an arbitration hearing through the Sheller Center for Social Justice’s Advanced Social Justice Lawyering Clinic. Our client was a low-wage worker who had not been paid minimum wage and overtime by her former employer, for whom she worked for seven years. Her case had been ongoing for several years and she wanted a chance for her story to be heard — regardless of the hearing’s outcome. I was tasked with cross-examining the opposing party with an interpreter. To prepare for my cross-examination, I looked through depositions and documents, then crafted short and leading questions that I hoped would result in admissions that supported our case theory. The thing I did not anticipate was under what circumstances I would be conducting my cross-examination. Once it was time for my cross-examination, the arbitration had been in progress for approximately four hours and the panel was noticeably impatient. I wound up cutting a significant portion of my cross-examination on the spot because the witness was unable to read the documents that I’d …

Being Mindful of Your Sense of Self

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Law school isn’t always where you go to find yourself and it can take its toll on your sense of self. Depending on the circumstances of your prior education, Temple can be an incredibly diverse place and for me it was. I had traveled the world and lived abroad, but my experiences were still limited. It wasn’t until I went to Temple Beasley School of Law that I was able to grow as an individual. In the first semester of law school I met incredible new friends, mentors, and faculty, some of whom were members of the LGBTQ community. I had several friends who were gay men before law school, but almost no exposure to LGBTQ families or married couples. Temple changed all of that. Despite the stereotypes, I wasn’t indoctrinated, in fact I didn’t even speak with the LGBTQ faculty, I just observed how they were able to be themselves and be successful socially and professionally. Despite the challenges the law school environment presented, I decided it was time to be myself and so …

The Importance of Wellness

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A few weeks before I started my 1L year, I read a Temple Voices Post about a new organization at Temple Law called the Student Wellness Association (SWA). After reading about the organization’s mission and goals, I knew I needed to become a member. A few years prior to my 1L year I started prioritizing physical, mental, and emotional self-care, and significantly improved my health (and lost 200 pounds) in the process. I feared that I might lose sight of how important my well being is while immersed in the daily rigors of law school; but I knew that connecting with other students who value wellness and encourage others to do the same would make those stressors far more endurable. SWA believes wellness is holistic, involving multiple facets: physical, mental, and emotional. Each facet of wellness is equally important and interconnected, requiring a delicate balance. Failing to care for yourself physically can seriously impact your mental and emotional well-being; the inverse rings just as true. Fortunately, there are activities that address each of those components …

My Philly Neighborhood – Fairmount

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Editors Note: Since Philadelphia is known as a city of neighborhoods, we asked Temple Law students, faculty, and staff to talk about what they love, hate, and can’t live without in their neighborhood.  See all of the neighborhoods covered thus far.  If you are looking for small neighborhood charm, just over one mile from Center City and a 15-minute bike ride from Temple, Fairmount is the Philadelphia neighborhood for you. Choosing to live in Fairmount during my time in law school has been one the best decisions I have made. Fairmount is a tight knit community, with all of the best aspects of living in small neighborhood. There is a mix of apartment and row house living options all at a reasonable cost and free street parking. For the past two years, I have lived in a row home on a quiet Fairmount side street. My home on N. Stillman Street features three bedrooms, one full bathroom, a spacious kitchen, living area, back patio, and laundry in the basement. I live with two roommates; together …