Throughout the month of June, the Pride flag has lined streets around the country and flown across TV and smartphone screens in advertisements for all manner of products and companies. But this year, the colors of the rainbow may appear more muted, as culture wars and legislative action over transgender medicine, drag performances, and overall LGBTQ rights have threatened to put a damper on Pride festivities. Professor of Law Katie Eyer, an anti-discrimination attorney who has argued precedent-setting cases on behalf of LGBTQ employees, answered questions on the various issues and legal challenges the community has come up against this Pride Month.

We are deans of Big Ten law schools, joining together to affirm our commitment to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion through legally permissible means, regardless of the outcome of the cases pending before the U.S. Supreme Court. These are core values of our law schools and the universities of which we are part.  If we are to prepare people to be effective lawyers and future leaders, it is essential to create a learning environment that welcomes people who embody a wide range of identities, backgrounds, and experiences.

The Vegas Golden Knights won their first Stanley Cup after just six years of joining the National Hockey League (NHL) under the leadership of their President of Hockey Operations, George McPhee. McPhee attended Rutgers Law School after finishing a playing career that included stints with the New York Rangers and the New Jersey Devils. After graduating in 1992, he began his NHL office career at the Vancouver Canucks and eventually went on to serve as the General Manager for the Washington Capitals, where he selected Alexander Ovechkin in the 2004 NHL Draft.

As the LGBTQ+ community celebrates this pride month, many reflect on our history to call for — and unapologetically demand — a better future. We are reminded of our collective history, in which those who paved the way for our present realities relied on each other to resist concerted government efforts to erase our existence.

The real-world impact of the scholarship of Rutgers Law faculty extends beyond the locations of the Camden and Newark campuses in New Jersey. Our faculty are presenting papers, organizing and speaking at conferences, teaching and lecturing, and even training future legal practitioners in Europe, Africa, and Asia. Here is a glimpse at some of the international work taking place this year.

Rising third year Rutgers Law student Kevin Leach has been selected as a Graduate Fellow in the 2023-2024 cohort of the New Jersey Wind Institute OSW Fellowship Program. Kevin is the first law student ever selected for this fellowship.

It’s no secret that formerly incarcerated people face huge obstacles in finding a stable job after their release, and the result is a ripple effect that impacts their housing security, physical and mental health, and, ultimately, their ability to successfully integrate back into their communities. While veterans have significant benefits at their disposal through the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)—including housing, loans, educational resources, and health benefits—those with other than honorable discharges from the military are ineligible to receive them.

More than 400 Rutgers Law School students are graduating in May 2023. It’s impressive on its own that the 160+ students in Camden and 250+ students in Newark started their law school journeys on Zoom during the COVID pandemic in 2020. Many are also first generation college and/or law school students. Some earned their juris doctorate in the part-time program while working full-time jobs. Now, they are beginning the next phase of their lives working in top law firms, clerkships, fellowships, and even the hospital. Here are some of the graduates of the Rutgers Law School Class of 2023.

More than two dozen people from 18 countries took the U.S. Naturalization Oath of Allegiance to the United States and became U.S. citizens in an emotional ceremony at Rutgers Law in Camden on April 19. The event also marked the 10^th anniversary of the Rutgers Law Immigrant Justice Clinic.

It sounds like the makings of a conspiracy theory: the idea that we are under surveillance by covert, government-funded centers tasked with gathering secret intelligence on residents. But according to a recent report from Rutgers Law School’s Center for Security, Race and Rights (CSRR), not only do these centers exist but, worse yet, there is little to no oversight or accountability in how their extensive data is collected, used, and shared. The result is a practically unchecked intelligence gathering program, an assault on privacy, and a gradual erosion of civil liberties—especially in communities of color. All of this, as well as suggestions for improved oversight, is in CSRR’s new report titled “Shining a Light on New Jersey’s Secret State Intelligence System.”

More than 450 runners hit the pavement in Camden for the 2023 Rutgers Law Roger S. Clark APIL 5K Run for Justice. Rutgers Law students, faculty, staff, Students Run Philly Style, and other local runners took part in the event held on April 2. The race started and ended on a windy, sunny Sunday at the newly completed Camden Athletic Complex on the Rutgers University-Camden campus. Calder Burke won the race with a time of 16.00.7. Burke is a senior at Julia R. Masterman Laboratory and Demonstration School in Philadelphia.

Look at the smartphone in your hand, the clothing in your closet, or the sneakers on your feet. How can you be sure they were made without the use of child or trafficked labor, or that human rights weren’t violated somehow in the making of these items? Thanks to the work of Rutgers Law School Professor Sarah Dadush and an American Bar Association (ABA) working group, it’s easier than ever for companies to incorporate next generation human rights clauses into their international supply contracts and, hopefully, make a positive impact on global supply chains.