Ramsey Cooper is a first-year student at Loyola Law School dedicated to centering community and humanity through her legal studies and career.
I was fortunate enough to be placed into my number one choice of elective: Critical Race Theory (CRT).
It became apparent to me last semester that who your professor is really impacts your law school class experience. Professor Mendoza teaches CRT. She has an impressive background and stellar reviews from her Criminal Law class students. This impacted my choice significantly. She makes each class a safe space for speaking both about the readings and about personal experiences. She puts an emphasis on lived experiences as a way to connect and exchange ideas in a digestible manner. Some of her Criminal Law students from last semester even followed her to CRT this semester.
I also wanted to ensure that I understood and appreciated whichever subject I chose. Historically, the law has been looked at through a color-blind lens and CRT seeks to view law through a race-conscious lens. The subject is often misconstrued as a highly political topic because of the emphasis on race-consciousness. However, there isn’t a strict definition of CRT; each theorist has their own interpretation of the subject. The writers are diverse and the topics range remarkably. While it is still an academically rigorous course, it is also a relief from the rigidity of my core classes. In undergrad, I studied Political Science and focused more on political theory in my senior year. CRT readings feel similar to political theory readings; both are dense and full of complex ideas waiting to be unraveled and dissected.
Choosing an elective was more about trying to understand where I fit in legal academics rather than making a career-motivated move. Because of my background in Political Science, I knew that CRT would feel familiar and be a subject that I could enjoy as well as be challenged by. In our bi-weekly discussions, as ideas are shared and dreams are written out, I feel even better about my choice.
TOPICS: 1L, Electives