I just returned from a special and very moving event held in Weinmann Hall---a memorial service for Michael Starks, the first African-American graduate of Tulane Law School. That Mr. Starks's family wanted the memorial service to take place at Tulane Law School was an honor in itself. Sometimes those of us who are here every day don't realize how important this institution is to its graduates. That came out again and again as those who knew Mr. Starks talked about his connection to Tulane Law School. But particularly special were the words of Ashley Banks, a graduate of Duke University and a second-year student at Tulane, who is also the President of our BLSA chapter. Ashley talked about standing on the shoulders of giants, with Michael Starks as one of those giants. She talked about how difficult law school can be under the best of circumstances and imagined what it might have been like for Michael Starks to have been both the first and the only African-American student when he was enrolled at Tulane. And she talked about how this man, who she never had the opportunity to meet, has become a part of her. So I sit here thinking, today, both about Michael's bravery, and about how Ashley has so much poise and wisdom and perspective at just 23 years of age.