Exploring Law and Life in Cuba
Cuba may not be a Spring Break hotspot—particularly given that Americans are prohibited from visiting the island solely for tourism. But for a group of Rutgers Law School students, Cuba turned out to be a truly unique and educational Spring Break destination, made possible through a travel course designed to expose students to Cuban law, history, and society through firsthand encounters with local attorneys, activists, students, and community members. The course is taught each year by Rutgers Law Clinical Professor Charles Auffant.
During their trip, students heard from members of the National Union of Cuban Jurists (akin to the American Bar Association), spoke with representatives from the University of Havana’s law school, and took in a panel hosted by law students at the University of Pinar del Río. For Rutgers Law 3L student Alyssa Kajian, this was a highlight. “It was so interesting to hear directly from the faculty of the school and the students themselves about how you earn a law degree in Cuba, what their legal system is like, and what day-to-day life is like being a student and practicing law in Cuba,” she says. “It was a really beautiful interchange of our cultures. There was a lot to discuss because of the differences in our legal systems.”
In addition to the academic elements of the trip, students also immersed themselves in the culture of the island. They took dance lessons, walked the streets of Old Havana, shopped at artisan fairs, and visited the Antonio Núñez Jiménez Foundation for Nature and Humanity, a non-governmental organization with a socio-cultural and environmental focus.
If you ask Rutgers Law 2L student Joshua Johnwell, one of the most impactful moments of the trip was a visit to the Museum for the National Literacy Campaign. Here, the group learned about Cuba’s nationwide effort to eradicate illiteracy by recruiting adults and even teenagers to teach reading skills in remote rural areas, sometimes in the face of intense opposition and violence. “As a teacher and student, we take education—including learning to read and write—for granted,” says Johnwell. “Visiting this museum really changed the way I think about my educational experience, and the things I take for granted in my life that the Cuban people fought so hard for.”
Ultimately, Johnwell says this “eye-opening” trip transformed the way he thinks about law, culture, community organizing, and advocacy, which will undoubtedly shape his outlook as an attorney in the future. “This was truly a once in a lifetime opportunity,” agrees Kajian. “Not everyone gets the opportunity to go to Cuba, and to be able to go with other law students and faculty has just been incredible.”
Rutgers-Newark undergraduates traveled to Cuba with the law students for the first time since the Cuba legal studies program began in 2004. This trip also yielded the most essential items collected and donated in the program's history. Students delivered nearly 30 suitcases filled with school and art supplies, menstrual products, medical supplies, medicine, and other essential items. Donations were made to afterschool programs, community clinics, doctors' offices, a soup kitchen, a center for special needs adults, and university students in the countryside.
