Roughly 46 student and faculty members gathered in the T building at LAC on Thursday to listen and interact with Federal Judge Gonzalo Curiel, who was notoriously involved in the “Trump University” case in 2018, in which then-candidate Trump claimed that Curiel could not remain unbiased due to his Mexican heritage.
Curiel addressed this infamous moment during a question and answer portion from the audience. “It certainly was surreal, because one doesn’t expect to see their face or their name in the New York Times or the Post, or discussed on CNN.”
When warned of the impending publicity following the incident, Curiel’s response was “that’s cool, that’s neat” he said to a chuckle from the audience.
“And then to understand what was behind it… I understood why he said what he did. It was something that I did not allow to distract me, to make me angry, to have me react in a way that showed I was biased. In my career as a judge, I’ve encountered any number of disagreeable parties. You learn, you can’t take it personal, you’re here to be a judge, you have to [know] that people will agree with your decisions. As far as my take on it, I’m just doing my job as best I can.”
“I realize that people with very strong passionate views about things they believe in, people they support, and my mission is to move forward, not to be distracted by messages of hate,” Curiel said.
Claude Kananack, a faculty intern in the history department, said he was interested in hearing Curiel speak due to his notoriety following the Trump University case.
“I wanted to hear if he was going to talk more about executive privilege and [if that] is that above the law or not. That wasn’t expressed, but I thought it was excellent with all the students’ questions. There was a lot of engagement today. These events are very important to attend if you can because it’s just a learning experience. These opportunities aren’t always there, with an open forum, to speak to someone so knowledgeable with so many experiences in this field. So I came here to learn, what I took away was the understanding that as a judge, or even anyone who defends the law, you have to remove bias from their opinions.”
Continued Kananack, “I thought it was quite interesting that he expressed that you really can’t show much emotion or sympathy and I think that’s very difficult to do, in any profession. As a historian, we do the same, and it is sometimes very hard to separate emotion from judgment. Luckily as a historian, we don’t have to judge. We let history speak for itself, but as a judge, Judge Curiel has to make these very important decisions, and I think it’s admirable that he or anyone in his position can remove those biases that many of us always have.”
Ashley Hill, a student attending the event was also interested due to the Trump controversy.
“It’s nice actually meeting him, since he’s popular because of the Trump thing. So it’s cool to see him in person. That’s why I really wanted to come, even though it was extra credit, we got to interact with him kind of, and it’s cool seeing that perspective,” Hill said.
William Vega, who works in student support services and was one of the event coordinators, said, “I really appreciated the message of positivity and unity, but also it’s always critically important to bring in role models that our students are going to look up to. If any of the students that came here and heard him speak walked away with a little bit more confidence in themselves, maybe a little bit higher aspirations, then that’s what we want. We want our students to reach as high as they can, and go as far as they can. I definitely got something out of today… just not letting the noise distract you from what you’re trying to accomplish. What inspires me is how Judge Curiel was able to really maintain his integrity and professionalism and poise in that situation where he was thrust into the national spotlight for all the wrong reasons.”
Other messages Curiel discussed was his experience being a first-generation college student, and how he pursued his educational goals.
Sociology professor Carlos Ramos said he hoped there were messages his students would be able to take from the judge.
“He’s obviously had a successful educational and professional experience. A lot of my students are first-generation as well, a majority of our students are of a Latinx background, so they’d be able to connect. But I think in general, I think any student could relate to his story, and for students who are interested in going into law and the legal field could benefit from this kind of talk. In my sociology 1 courses we’re just starting the chapter on education, so it was a good way to relate his particular experience to their chapter,” Ramos said.
Various questions from the audience included asking about his experience having immigrant parents, as well as his thoughts on the importance of having Latinas in the judiciary.
“We’ve come so far. We shouldn’t lose sight of that, ” said Curiel.
“At the end of the day, there’s so little that distinguishes us. We are so similar. We have too long subscribed to the notion that there are these things that separate us, but at the end of the day we’re so alike, and ultimately we’ll be a better world once we appreciate that.”
