April 25, 2007
NSU to Host Commencement for Shepard Broad Law Center on May 12
Commencement Speaker: Justice Barbara J. Pariente, Florida Supreme Court
FORT LAUDERDALE-DAVIE, FL - Throughout the years, Nova Southeastern University graduates have represented diverse backgrounds, and this year proves to be no different when the graduates of the Shepard Broad Law Center march on Saturday, May 12 in the BankAtlantic Center, Sunrise.
More than 250 students will be participating in the ceremony, which begins at 3:00 p.m. with commencement speaker Justice Barbara J. Pariente, Florida Supreme Court.
One of the graduating law students is Marina Hardy, of Annapolis, Maryland, whose unique bloodlines have inspired her to advocate for Indian rights. Her paternal great grandfather was full-blooded Mohawk, and her maternal bloodlines include Nez-Perce and Sioux.
Hardy participated in the Maryland Governors Summer Internship Program where she worked on the Maryland Commission on Indian Affairs, serving as a mediator between the Chiefs and the State Department of Corrections Wardens to ensure that Native American religious rights were protected. She worked one on one with the Governor’s policy staff, briefing them on recognition and other Indian policy issues.
While attending the Shepard Broad Law Center, Hardy continued to expand her knowledge of Indian affairs. She studied gaming law and wrote a paper about how gaming impacted the recognition of Maryland’s tribes. In her Constitutional Decision-making course, Hardy addressed how Rice v. Cayetano, 528 U.S.495 (2000) was a wrong decision that invalidated the Native Hawaiian-only voting scheme for election of trustees of the Native Hawaiian land trust as unconstitutional.
She also completed a class in Federal Indian Law and wrote about the need to federally recognize Native Hawaiians, making them a quasi-sovereign political entity like the federally recognized American Indians. This, she argued, would enable them to have a separate voting scheme and rights which would be constitutionally valid.
In January of this year, Hardy participated in the Patuxent Encounters Speaker Series at the Maryland State House. At the event, sponsored by the State of Maryland, she shared the podium with Senator Middleton of Maryland and Chairwoman Mervin Savoy of the Piscataway-Conoy Confederation and Subtribes.
After graduation, Hardy will take the Maryland Bar, and devote her time to advocating for the Indian community and promoting their cause.
For more information on the commencement ceremony for Nova Southeastern University’s Shepard Broad Law Center, please contact Linda Lahey at 954-262-6111.
