Upcoming Events
Friday, Dec. 11th- Yost Clean Up @ Yost Arena starting at 9:30. Help raise money for UPSA by cleaning up Yost arena after the University of Michigan Hockey game. We plan on watching the game at a friends house and then heading into the Game in the 3rd quater for free.
Friday, Nov. 20th- UPSA Bake Sale @ Mason Hall. An all day event. Come out and buy some baked goods to help raise money for UPSA.
Wednesday, Nov. 18th- Professor Meet and Greet @ Room D in the Michigan league from 7:00 - 9:00. Come out and meet some of the Political Science Professors on campus and gain valuable insight from them.
Past Events
Event Recaps
Meet and Greet with Laura Lederer
On Friday September 25th, from 10 to 11:30am, UPSA hosted “Meet & Greet Laura Lederer.” Dr. Lederer began the event by introducing herself and her works. Her accomplishments are awe-striking. For instance, she founded the Protection Project, a legal research institute at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government, in 1997. She is an adjunct professor of law at Georgetown University, where she taught the first international trafficking of persons course to be offered at a law school. Dr. Lederer has served as Senior Advisor on Trafficking in Persons to the Under Secretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs, as director of Global Projects on Trafficking in Persons at the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons at the US State Department. She was also the Executive Director of the Senior Policy Operating Group on Trafficking in Persons, a high-level interagency group which staffs the Cabinet-level task force on Human Trafficking. Dr. Lederer currently acts as Vice President for Policy and Planning at Global Centurion, a NGO working to stop child sexual slavery.
The stories of human trafficking cases that Dr. Lederer shared with us were heart-breaking and shocking. She went in details on a story of a human trafficking victim, Rosa. According to Dr. Lederer, Rosa’s story was the eye-opening case for the U.S. which used to think that human trafficking was a foreign issue. Rosa was 13 years old when she was persuaded by a family friend to go to the U.S. from Mexico to get a better waitress job. Instead, she found herself in brothels, under 24 hour watch, beaten, starved, drugged, and forced into sexual slavery.
Dr. Lederer also shared with us the difficulties involved in fighting against human trafficking. For instance, while the traffickers have fast horizontal communication system, combaters have to go through the long-winded structure required in vertical and horizontal government structure. She also mentioned the challenge imposed by the fast developing technology used in human trafficking.
Towards the end of the event, Dr. Lederer handed out her business cards, encouraging all students to contact her regarding any questions or suggestions the students may have and need. She is not only a highly accomplished and respected person for what she has done but also an inspiration for being such a generous and compassionate person. She genuinely cares about helping the young generation grow into positive influences in the world. UPSA wants to thank her again for coming to talk to the UM student body.
Law Day Recap
Law Day took place on September 25th. A very diverse panel of lawyers and law students served on the panel. The panel members included high profile lawyers, an intern for an United States Supreme Court Justice and University of Michigan law students. Because the panel members represented different steps to becoming and being a lawyer, those in attendance were able to fully grasp what it was like to choose that career path.
The audience was able to ask questions to the panel. The panel answered questions concerning potential career paths, how to get into law school, personal reasons for choosing a career in law and the personal rewards of being a lawyer.
Pictures from UPSA Law Day and our Meet and Greet with Laura Lederer
