Stanford dean speaks on anti-discrimination law

Award-wining law professor suggests gay rights movement could be the next major civil rights struggle in America

"Have we had the last civil rights struggle?"

Stanford Law School Dean Kathleen Sullivan opened her lecture yesterday with this title question - referring to the possibility that the movement for gay rights could be another major struggle in American society.

But Sullivan, delivering her speech to nearly 100 listeners at Rackham Auditorium, spent most of the hour and half detailing her view of the classical history of American Constitutional anti-discriminatory law and the recent criticisms from the political right and left toward the legalisms of anti-discrimination.

Sullivan was introduced by University Law School Dean Jeffrey Lehman as "the complete law professor" because of her multiple teaching awards, reputation as a brilliant scholar through her published works, including co-authorship of the latest editio

JESSICA JOHNSON/Daily LSA junior Liza Rios talks with Stanford Law School Dean Kathleen Sullivan yesterday at Rackham Auditorium. Sullivan spoke to students about anti-discrimination law in the United Sates.

n of the classic casebook "Constitutional Law," and her commentary on such news programs as ABC's "Nightline" and CNN's "Crossfire."

Sullivan stepped into the position of dean three weeks ago and previously served as professor of law at both Stanford and Harvard Law Schools.

The first part of Sulivan's lecture dealt with what she called the "spectrum" of group definitions.

On the one side is the view that individual relationships within social groups are fluid and people shift their involvements between groups over time.

"Groups are easy to join and exit. No one group completely identifies a person," Sullivan said. "American anti-discrimination law is classically understood as being less-entrenching."

But on the other side of the spectrum is the nationalistic conception of social groups and the particular social identity it regulates on one's social interactions.

Using Kosovo as an example, Sullivan said these "ancient conflict ideologies are passed down over generations and are etched in stone."

Located in between these two opposites are what Sullivan called "ascriptive" groups, the type of groups that civil rights laws identify and ban discrimination against.

Next, Sullivan outlined the critiques of anti-discrimination law.

She said many who are politically aligned with the right and left feel anti-discrimination law has hardened groups and strengthened sentiments.

But Sullivan said the conservative's view of "equal rights, not special rights" does not apply to gay rights, like it does to affirmative action debates.

As her closing remark, Sullivan said "Anti-discrimination is about freeing individuals to groups and from them."

Sullivan's lecture was sponsored by the Telluride Association and was the first in a series of Telluride Lectures this year.

Operating a house at Cornell University, of which Sullivan is a former member, Telluride plans to open a house next fall at 1735 Washtenaw Avenue, and will provide a room and board scholarship to members of the house.

Currently, the association is operating a pilot program with eight University students.

LSA first-year student Joseph Sosa, a pilot member of the Telluride House, said, "The fact that she's an alumnus (of the Telluride House at Cornell) inspires me that some day I'll be able to give a lecture such as this."

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