Apsara Iyer becomes first Indian-American student to be elected president of Harvard Law Review
New York, Feb 6: A second year Indian-American student at Harvard Law School has been elected president of the prestigious Harvard Law Review, becoming the first woman from the community to be named to the position in the prestigious publication's 136-year history.
A report in The Harvard Crimson said on Monday that Apsara Iyer was elected the 137th president of the Harvard Law Review, which was founded in 1887 and is among the oldest student-run legal scholarship publications.
Iyer said in The Crimson report that as Law Review president, she aims to "include more editors in the process of reviewing and selecting articles and upholding the publication's reputation for "high-quality" work."
"I think that right now I'm just focused on making sure we keep the lights on and everything going," Iyer said.
Iyer's distinguished predecessors in the role include Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and former president Barack Obama.
The Crimson report said Iyer graduated from Yale in 2016 and received a bachelor's degree in Economics and Math and Spanish.
Iyer's immediate predecessor Priscila Coronado said the publication is "extremely lucky" to have Iyer at the helm.
"Apsara has changed the lives of many editors for the better, and I know she will continue to do so," Coronado said. "From the start, she has impressed her fellow editors with her remarkable intelligence, thoughtfulness, warmth, and fierce advocacy."
The Crimson said that Iyer's interest in understanding the "value of cultural heritage" led her to work in the Manhattan District Attorney's Antiquities Trafficking Unit that tracks stolen works of art and artifacts.
Iyer worked in the office in 2018 before coming to the Law School, and took a leave of absence after her first year studying law to return to the role, it said.
The report added that Iyer joined the Harvard Law Review following a competitive process called "write-on," where Harvard Law School students "rigorously fact-check a document and provide commentary on a recent State or Supreme Court Case."
Iyer has previously been involved in the Law School's Harvard Human Rights Journal and the National Security Journal and is also a member of the South Asian Law Students Association.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Curfew relaxed in Meghalaya's Garo Hills to allow people to buy essential items
Tura (Meghalaya) (PTI): The total curfew imposed in Meghalaya's East and West Garo Hills districts was relaxed on Thursday to allow people to procure essential items, officials said.
The curfew in East Garo Hills was relaxed for five hours from 8 am to 1 pm, while in West Garo Hills, it was relaxed for two hours from 2 pm to 4 pm.
The district administrations said the relaxation was allowed to enable residents to procure essential commodities.
The curfew was imposed in the two districts under Section 163 of the BNSS after violence erupted in West Garo Hills during protests linked to the elections to the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC), with demonstrators opposing the participation of non-Garo communities in the filing of nominations for the polls.
Two persons were killed and several others injured when police opened fire to disperse a mob during clashes in the Chibinang area on Tuesday, officials said.
The unrest has led to incidents of arson and damage to property in parts of the Garo Hills region, prompting authorities to deploy additional security forces, including five columns of the Army -- three in Tura town and two in Chibinang -- to restore order.
The chief minister visited Tura on Thursday, during which he reviewed the security situation and held meetings with the West Garo Hills deputy commissioner, as well as senior officers of the Army and the Rapid Action Force (RAF).
Sangma also interacted with local residents and visited several sites damaged during the violence, including burnt shops, destroyed roadside market sheds and the office of the National People's Party (NPP), which was partially damaged due to arson.
In a video statement, the chief minister described the vandalism and arson targeting the party office as unfortunate and assured people that those responsible would face strict action under the law.
He said the party would rebuild the damaged office and would continue to strengthen its organisation, asserting that the NPP "lives in the hearts of the people" and cannot be weakened by such attacks.
In the wake of the violence, Sangma on Wednesday announced the postponement of the GHADC elections that were scheduled to be held on April 10.
The state government has also suspended mobile internet services across five districts of the Garo Hills region as a precautionary measure to prevent the spread of rumours and maintain law and order, officials added.
