Professor Aliza Kaplan
Subjects: Legal Writing, Public Interest Lawyering and Wrongful Convictions
Unlike in Brooklyn, one has to make a point to search for diversity here in Portland (it is not handed to you), I have found that it does exist and that many are looking for it. In fact, starting a new life here where I don’t take diversity and differences for granted have made me think about their importance differently and added value to my journey.
Open gallery
In June 2011, I moved my family to Portland from Brooklyn, NY and began teaching at L&C Law School in the Fall of 2011. Coming from one of biggest and most diverse cities in the world, where I was born and have lived most of my life, to Portland was a big move. In addition to being a pushy, type A, loud New Yorker who honks the car horn a lot, I am Jewish and have an African American son. I was certainly concerned that I/we wouldn’t fit in in Portland; that we would always stand out as different; and that we wouldn’t find “our people”. To my surprise, it has been an easy transition. Portland is a welcoming non-judgmental city with lots to offer: great beauty (in and near the city), delicious food, reasonably priced housing (compared to the east coast) and lovely progressive-minded people. Once I got here and started to settle in, I knew that while I was enjoying my new easy-going (compared to NYC) life, I would have to work a bit to find community as a Jew and for my mixed race family. We visited many synagogues until we found one with other NY transplants and even other mixed race families; we also searched and found playgrounds and schools with families like ours and people from different backgrounds who value diversity and share our worldview. Unlike in Brooklyn, one has to make a point to search for diversity here in Portland (it is not handed to you), I have found that it does exist and that many are looking for it. In fact, starting a new life here where I don’t take diversity and differences for granted have made me think about their importance differently and added value to my journey.
The L&C community mirrors much of what I have found in Portland–it is filled with incredibly welcoming non-judgmental progressive-minded students, faculty and staff. In addition, it is an exciting intellectual community filled with a passion for justice. In particular, our students are hard working, earnest and value learning without competition. I have been excited and encouraged by our students’ interest and conviction in discussing matters of class, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation in and out of the classroom. They understand best of all that thinking about issues from different views and perspectives will only enhance their educational experience and make them better lawyers.
