As doors open and new students flood into hallways and scatter in
search of classrooms, the University School of Law will become
alive again with 172 incoming freshmen.
This year, the freshman class is a slightly more diverse student
body as a result of the law school’s continuing attempts to attract
more minority students and provide more opportunities for women
while increasing academic standards.
“We are very pleased to welcome this group of students,” said
Katherine Jernberg, the law school director of admissions. “The
application process was extremely selective this year because the
University wanted to decrease class size, and the number of
students applying increased 17 percent with a high of 1,372
applicants.”
Jernberg said the number of minority students attending the law
school has also increased from previous years. In 2000, the
entering class had 13.9 percent minority students, and this year it
has 15 percent.
She said this increase can be credited to the law school’s
outreach programs and groups at the University that aid minorities
in their education and encourage their pursuit of law. The
Asian-Pacific, African-American, Latin American, Native American
and Minority law associations work together to provide a network of
support for minorities, she said.
“This year, the Latin American Law School Association is planning
on putting more effort and time into helping first-year students feel
welcome by providing contacts with returning students to offer
advice and support,” said the group’s Co-director Margarita Molina.
In addition, Jernberg said the University annually holds a Minority
Law Day, which is an outreach program that allows minority
students to interact with professors and current law students.
“Our faculty is constantly trying to involve and encourage
minorities, and it is greatly appreciated,” she said.
However, unlike Oregon’s other two law schools, Lewis and Clark
College and Willamette University, the University of Oregon does
not have a staff position to support minority students and to handle
minority recruitment.
“Although I believe that minority recruitment has improved and the
administration is moving in the right direction, there is a lot of work
to be done … We do have the dean of student affairs, who does an
incredible job, but it would be nice to have a staff member whose
sole position was to handle minority recruitment and issues,”
Minority Law Association Co-director Denise Espinoza said.
The percentage of women who will be entering the law school this
fall has slightly declined from last year. Jernberg said in 2000, the
law school admitted 53 percent males and 47 percent females.
This year’s accepted class is 57 percent male and 43 percent
female, but Jernberg said the ratio between men and women still
remains close.
“We are very interested in the achievement of women and women
participation,” she said. “At our University, we have more women
active with the Student Bar Association, law review and law
journals than at other colleges across the country. Overall, we are
in a good spot right now, but there is always room for
improvement.”