Diversity, Equity, and Social Justice Team
What Is DESJ?
Team Diversity, Equity, and Social Justice (DESJ) was created in 2021 through an amendment to the CULR Constitution. The Director of Diversity, Equity, and Social Justice and the DESJ liaisons aim to represent a wide range of identities and backgrounds, especially those that have historically been excluded from the legal profession. Team DESJ provides independent oversight of the CULR Executive Board and club operations, plans community building, mentorship, and workshops for CULR members, and handles general accessibility measures and specific accommodations requests.
Additionally, Team DESJ conducts oversight of the CULR admissions process, ensuring that applications are being evaluated equitably—especially considering backgrounds, identities, and experiences that have been historically excluded from the legal profession.
The Team
Wena Teng
Director of DESJ
Office Hours: 3-4 PM on Wednesdays
wt2333@columbia.edu
Wena Teng (she/her) is a Junior in College College studying History on the Pre-Law Track. Born and raised in NYC, she understands the value of diversity in both thought and different identities. With experience as an editor in the Print division and part of the Podcast team, she now serves as the DESJ Director.
Laiba Naqvi
Community Engagement Liaison
Office Hours: 4-5 PM on Tuesdays
ls3938@barnard.edu
Laiba Naqvi (she/her) is a sophomore at Barnard College studying Political Science on a Pre-Law Track. She is currently serving as CULR’s Community Engagement Liaison. She is looking forward to continuing to strengthen the CULR community this semester through fostering a welcoming and engaging environment for all members.
Kira Banerjee Ratan
Gender and Sexuality Liaison
Office Hours: 8-9 PM on Mondays
kbr2126@columbia.edu
Kira Ratan (she/her) is a sophomore in Columbia College from Westchester, NY. She is studying History and Public Health on a Pre-Law track, and currently serves as Gender and Sexuality Liaison, in addition to Lead Print Editor for CULR’s Print Division. She is excited to continue working with the CULR community this semester as a member of the DESJ team and looks forward to getting to know members, both old and new.
Yeibin Andrews
Race and Ethnicity and Community Engagement Liaison
Office Hours: 3-4 PM on Mondays
aya2131@barnard.edu
Yeibin Andrews (she/her) is a sophomore at Barnard College studying Political Science. She is currently the DESJ Race and Ethnicity and Community Engagement Liaison. She is excited to continue her work with the DESJ team and the CULR community this semester!
David E Huerta
Office Hours: 1-2 PM on Thursdays
First-Generation/Low-Income Liason and Race and Ethnicity Liaison
David Huerta (he/him) is a junior at Columbia College studying Ethnicity and Race Studies as well as Political Science on the pre-law track. He is currently serving as the Undergraduate Law Review’s First-Generation/Low-Income Liaison as well as one of its Race/Ethnicity Liaisons. He is very excited to be able to foster an evermore inclusive community in CULR.
DESJ Services
Team DESJ is CULR’s hub for accessibility requests. If you have an accessibility request or related feedback, please contact Wena at wt2333@columbia.edu.
Accommodations Currently Provided:
Live Transcripts Enabled on all Zoom Meetings
Alt Text Available on all CULR Social Media Posts
Flexible Meeting Attendance (by request)
Mailing List for Zoom Recordings of Meetings (by request)
Mailing List for Powerpoints of CULR Events with Alt Text (by request)
Our goal is to de-stigmatize and humanize the process of requesting disability accommodations. If an accommodation you need is not on the list above, just get in touch!
Why Team DESJ
Both the legal profession and Columbia’s academic community have histories of elitism and exclusion of those who hold marginalized identities. Team DESJ was created to combat this trend. Through community-building, general accessibility measures, and recruitment reform, Team DESJ aims to create a welcoming environment within the club and assist CULR in achieving its primary goal: to educate and empower students interested in the legal field.