Category: Farewell Messages

Dear Esteemed Colleagues and Scholars,

As we draft this closing message in our roles as your Student Body Co-Presidents, we are met with a wave of sentiments. Serving you, the bright minds and resilient spirits that constitute the Harvard Law School community, has been an unparalleled honor, an experience that we will carry with us always.

Just over a year ago, we embarked on this adventure with the aim to effect a meaningful impact on our beloved law school, our home away from home. While the subsequent year was characterized by challenges unforeseen, it was also a testament to the indomitable spirit of our community. We remain steadfast in our belief that Harvard Law School will emerge from these trials stronger, more united, and with an enhanced sense of resilience. As we graduate and refelct on our time here, we are reminded that our 3L class will have been the last to experience a zoom law school experience, hopefully for many decades to come.

This period of adversity has underscored the urgency to address mental health, a subject that demands open dialogue and concerted action. The experience of the past year has also highlighted the vital role of community. It is a testament to our collective strength and determination that we have navigated our years at HLS—a task formidable even in ordinary circumstances—under such challenging conditions.

Our hearts swell with pride and gratitude as we reflect on the individuals who have risen to the challenge this year. We extend our deepest admiration to those students who assumed leadership roles in various organizations, journals, and advisory positions, thereby reinforcing our community’s fabric.

The faculty and staff who went to extraordinary lengths to ensure the continuity of our academic pursuits deserve our heartfelt appreciation. A special note of gratitude is due to the members of the HLS Student Government, whose tireless advocacy on behalf of their constituents has been invaluable.

Reflecting on the past year, we are immensely proud of our collective achievements. Together alongside our partners, we have successfully led efforts to increase the LIPP floor from $55k to $70k, advocated for admin to reverse their restrictions on WCC study rooms, and even implemented a new queing plan in the Hark. We organized the 1L & LLM Welcome Mixer, the Thanksgiving Dinner, Valentine’s Day Grams, and brought back the Halfway through Harvard event. This year, we also brought back the Yale vs Harvard Basketball, and had our first ever Staff vs. Student Charity Basketball match.

While it is with a sense of sadness that we pen this farewell, we are also filled with anticipation for the future of Harvard Law School. As we transition into this new phase, we have no doubt that our community will continue to shine brightly, embodying the spirit of HLS in all that we do.

As we take our leave, we extend our best wishes to each one of you. Continue to remain resilient, stay connected, and carry forward the HLS spirit of excellence.

Yours sincerely,

Joan Josiah and Mussab Ali Student Body Co-Presidents

Dear Students, Staff, and Faculty,

Today marks our final day serving as your Student Body Co-Presidents as we pass the torch to next year’s leadership. The opportunity to represent this remarkable community has been an immense honor and one that we will forever feel lucky to have had. We set out a year ago hoping to leave our school better than we found it. Admittedly, the year that followed was far from what any of us had imagined. Despite this, our hope remains that HLS will emerge from this difficult chapter stronger and more resilient than before. We hope that struggles with mental health – something that is too often encountered and too seldom discussed at HLS – will be embraced institutionally and socially with renewed vigor. We hope that our community, appreciating how difficult it is to go through a year of classes apart, will come together like never before once we can gather in person again. And we hope that we will each be able to draw strength from the knowledge that we completed a portion of HLS, a difficult task during the best of times, under the most trying of circumstances.

Finally, let us all be inspired by the examples of those who responded to the challenge of this year by seeking to serve those around them. The students who took on the role of organization leaders, journal editors, student advisors, and any other community leadership during this time did a great deal to build community at a time when it was sorely needed. The students who remained engaged in shaping HLS by collaborating and communicating student concerns to the administration were instrumental in pushing the school to adjust to the pandemic according to students’ needs. The faculty and staff who also went the extra mile to keep HLS functioning through this crisis do not ask for our gratitude, but they deserve it. And we owe the many members of HLS Student Government, who carried forward the voices of their constituents and fought to make HLS a better place for all of us, our thanks and appreciation.

Indeed, we are proud of the legacy that this year’s Student Government is leaving behind. This year, we expanded student access to planning sessions held by the Curriculum Committee and drafted a constitutional amendment to extend the terms of LLM Representatives on the HLS Student Government. We worked to strengthen social connections through events like “Harvard Paw School” and “Fitness Buddy Matching with HKS.” We are proud to have fostered conversations with the administration on developing a more lenient class recording policy, hiring more Latinx professors, and continuing the efforts to improve our Legal Research and Writing Program (LRW).

It was a privilege to contribute to the unending mission of improving the HLS student experience. Although we are sad that we must soon depart from this special place, we also cannot wait to see the wonderful things in store for HLS as our community transitions into a brighter and more promising chapter.

Farewell, and best of luck to you all.

Sincerely,

Noelle Graham and Billy Wright
Student Body Co-Presidents