BLAST Alaska (a.k.a. A-BLASKA!) students will travel to Anchorage to conduct legal research benefitting underserved and overburdened communities in Alaska. The trip also builds relationships between Berkeley Law and community organizations and exposes Berkeley Law students to types of work and communities they would otherwise not have access to in a classroom setting.
We will partner with the Alaska Public Interest Research Group to address important legal needs in several areas, such as energy justice, consumer justice, and environmental justice. In the past, A-BLASKA students worked on tackling the state’s unsupportable interest rates on loans, in addition to work to ensure that state agencies hold oil and gas companies to account for remediating their properties after oil & gas projects are completed.
We will also work alongside First Alaskans Institute researching legal issues related to indigenous sovereignty and environmental and natural resource issues in support of Alaska Native Tribes and communities. In the past, students have worked on duties to consult with tribes, as well as researching hunting, fishing, and aboriginal rights.
Time Commitment: Students should expect one hour-long meeting/training per month in the fall semester, with the potential for additional trainings in the spring. Students will dedicate 40 hours to work on the trip over spring break.
For more information, please contact the student leaders at alaskablast@berkeley.edu