Stanford Law School Dean Kathleen Sullivan opened her lecture yesterday with this title question - referring to the possibility that the movement for gay rights could be another major struggle in American society. Sullivan spoke to students about anti-discrimination law in the United Sates. Sullivan stepped into the position of dean three weeks ago and previously served as professor of law at both Stanford and Harvard Law Schools. On the one side is the view that individual relationships within social groups are fluid and people shift their involvements between groups over time.
Groups are easy to join and exit.
But on the other side of the spectrum is the nationalistic conception of social groups and the particular social identity it regulates on one's social interactions. Next, Sullivan outlined the critiques of anti-discrimination law. She said many who are politically aligned with the right and left feel anti-discrimination law has hardened groups and strengthened sentiments. Sullivan's lecture was sponsored by the Telluride Association and was the first in a series of Telluride Lectures this year. Operating a house at Cornell University, of which Sullivan is a former member, Telluride plans to open a house next fall at 1735 Washtenaw Avenue, and will provide a room and board scholarship to members of the house.