March 25, 2002

Congressman to Speak on Ending Gun Violence
U.S. Rep. John Larson, (D-1st District), will speak at the School of Social Work on the Greater Hartford campus on Tuesday, April 2, from 1-2 p.m., in the Zachs Community Room. He will discuss gun bills currently in Congress and issues regarding the link between gun sales and terrorism.

The event is sponsored by the School's Institute for the Advancement of Political Social Work Practice, in conjunction with the "First Monday: Unite to End Gun Violence" program. "First Monday" is an annual, national initiative coordinated by the Alliance for Justice, together with Physicians for Social Responsibility, a group that mobilizes students in colleges and schools of law, medicine, nursing, social work and public health.

Legal Scholar to Explore Indentity Politics
Mari Matsuda, a professor of law at Georgetown University, will deliver a public lecture titled "Who is Excellent? On Intercultural Competence, Identity Politics, and Affirmative Action" on April 4 at 4 p.m. in the Dodd Center's Konover Auditorium.

Matsuda is a proponent of the method known as critical race theory, and one of a handful of legal scholars that developed the theory. She believes that voices traditionally left out of society have the potential to open up new legal concepts of even constitutional dimensions.

Her books include Where is Your Body and Other Issues on Race, Gender, and Law, and We Won't Go Back: Making the Case for Affirmative Action. She has conducted judicial training in countries as diverse as Micronesia and South Africa, and three of her publications have been ranked by a Yale Law School librarian as among the top 10 most cited law review articles for their year of publication.

The event is sponsored by Excellence-Diversity-Unity Advocates, a group of faculty, staff, and students at UConn who seek to promote teaching, scholarship, and advocacy on topics of cultural diversity, social justice, and human rights, and other co-sponsors.

A reception will follow the event.