Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Statement
Published Spring 2024
Diverse membership on the Dickinson Law Review is important to our law school’s charge of Practicing Greatness.
Dickinson Law Review is dedicated to diversity, equity, inclusion, and anti-racism in its scholarship and membership. Dickinson Law Review is aware of the bias and discrimination that remains prevalent within law schools and the legal profession.
Dickinson Law Review recognizes the history of inequity pervading law reviews, including our own. Underrepresentation persists in our membership. Although Penn State Dickinson Law admits many students from historically excluded communities, only a handful become Associate Editors, and even fewer serve in leadership positions.
To challenge this imbalance of power, our Law Review is implementing practices that accurately reflect the diversity of experiences within our student population and the legal community.
We define diversity as distinctions in race, ethnicity, nationality, gender, sexual orientation, religion, first-generation student status, socioeconomic status, immigration status, age, disability, language proficiency, other meaningful differences, and the intersections thereof. Therefore, we broadly interpret diversity and commit to uplift those whose experiences are historically excluded.
We define equity as treating all students, members, and authors equally and fairly, regardless of their differences, while recognizing that due to the existence of systemic inequities, we do not all start from the same place. Therefore, we must acknowledge imbalances of power.
We define inclusion to be the deliberate act or practice of accommodating people who have historically been excluded. Therefore, we must address the exclusionary systems we exist within.
We define anti-racism as challenging and dismantling systems that uphold racial inequity. Therefore, we expect our members to promote our values of diversity and inclusion; we do not tolerate discrimination, harassment, or disrespect.
A diverse membership strengthens our Law Review and our scholarship. We are made better by the unique insights that every member of the Law Review contributes to the editorial process. As the nation’s fifth-oldest legal journal and the flagship publication of Penn State Dickinson Law, Dickinson Law Review takes seriously its responsibility to improve the diversity of its membership, foster an inclusive environment, and support Dickinson Law’s anti-racist efforts.
Toward these values, the Dickinson Law Review executive board has undertaken the following initiatives:
- Institutionalizing the Executive Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Editor position, whose responsibilities include overseeing the planning and implementation of DEI-related initiatives.
- Establishing a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee to create and shape our diversity-related policies and programs.
- Amending the elections process, so all members of Law Review have a voice in the future of the Law Review.
Towards these values, the Dickinson Law Review executive board commits to the following:
- Reviewing the Write-on competition to ensure that all students, regardless of background or career aspirations, are empowered to participate.
- Working directly with the affinity groups on campus to promote Dickinson Law Review as an avenue for growth, development, and acceptance for current and incoming students.
- Examining internal procedures and processes to ensure all meaningful considerations are evident in organizational decisions.
While this is not the end of our efforts, Dickinson Law Review continues to work with our members, our school, and our community to make the law review as diverse, equitable, and inclusive as possible.
Together,
Dickinson Law Review