David Lopez, distinguished visiting professor of law at Arizona State University and co-dean emeritus at Rutgers University, said Arizona State has evolved since he was an undergraduate student there back in the 1980s. Today, Lopez said he is proud to see the university be a Hispanic Serving Institution as more than 25% of the student body is Hispanic. Lopez is back temporarily in his home state of Arizona and alma mater as a distinguished visiting professor to teach about legal structures and cases through the lens of the Latino community, by using a music and humanities approach to what he calls "fact-checking the law." Lopez emphasized he wants to foster allyship and empathy among students of all backgrounds. .
This year marks the return of an old tradition at Simpson, the homecoming court and royalty. And as it turns out, the crown holds a heavy history. This event hasn’t happened since 2018, between COVID years and discussion of the event being too old-fashioned. While kings and queens have reigned in years passed, this wasn’t.