Disability Allied Law Student Association

The Lewis & Clark Law School Disability Allied Law Students Association’s (DALSA) purpose is to create accessible spaces on campus, provide much-needed representation for disabled students at Lewis & Clark, and organize students around disability rights. DALSA is Lewis and Clark’s affinity group for people who identify as disabled, and their allies. The group centers around physical disabilities, mental health, sensory impairments, learning disabilities, communication disorders, intellectual and developmental disabilities, and other impairments that may limit or substantially alter major life activities. Our goal is to deploy an intersectional and inclusive approach that is informed by the varied experiences that people with disabilities have based on their race, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, visibility of disability, religion, immigration status, ability, and class. We seek to go beyond a medical diagnosis model and to focus on the different social and professional experiences of individuals with disabilities and how that relates to the study and practice of law. DALSA will work both independently and co-dependently with student groups and the Lewis & Clark Law administration to provide programming to educate the law school community about how disability is experienced by different groups of people and how that experience is codified by the law. DALSA aims to amplify the awareness of people with disabilities in all areas of the law.