16th Annual Bill Smith Memorial Lecture

bill smith poster

[ posters remembering Bill Smith were displayed outside of the lecture hall]

This week, the Lambda Law Students Association put on a wonderful event: the 16th Annual Bill Smith Memorial Lecture. Bill graduated from King Hall in 1998 and passed away in 2001. A law school classmate of his, Shama Mesiwala ’98, talked about Bill’s energy and his commitment to LGBTQ and disability rights. I was able to say a few words about Bill, who I knew as a student, and his activism, which included successfully advocating for a class in Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, and the Law.

bill smith lecture

I also introduced the lecturer, Dr. Diane Ehrensaft, a developmental and clinical psychologist and professor of pediatrics at UC San Francisco. Based on her experiences, Dr. Ehrensaft talked on “The Small ‘t’ in LGBT: Transgender and Gender Expansive Children as a Vulnerable Population.” Dr. Ehrensaft discussed the various challenges, legal and otherwise, faced by for transgendered students.

We had a full house in our trial Wilkins Moot Courtroom, including Professors Alan Brownstein, Rose Villazor, Courtney Joslin, Brian Soucek, “Cappy” White, Angela Harris, and Jasmine Harris.

I am proud to be at a law school that takes LGBT rights seriously. The Bill Smith Memorial Lecture is a testament to that dedication as well as an appropriate way to honor a wonderful person and activist.