Samantha Acuña is interested in constitutional law, immigration policy, judicial behavior, and gender-based violence.
Samantha has a Ph.D. in political science from UCLA, where she was a Eugene V. Cota-Robles Fellow, and a B.A. in public policy, Spanish, and English from the University of Redlands.
What drew you to teach at Occidental?
I attended a small liberal arts college as a first generation college student and it had an enormous impact on me and my trajectory. The faculty, learning environment and closeness among folks at a SLAC is something I value a lot. Occidental was a perfect fit for me for all these reasons.
When did you first become interested in politics, specifically law and policy?
Politics was something my family never shied away from talking about within our household. I was also always fascinated by the law from a young age, both because of its historical and literary aspects and because of its impact on society. My parents have had very different trajectories in terms of their life and immigration experiences because of the political histories of their respective countries. All the work I do is inspired by my family and our own history.
Do you have a favorite class that you are teaching, and why?
I love teaching the Constitutional Law sequence. I think having a larger understanding of both checks and balances as well as civil rights and civil liberties is something we desperately need to focus on consistently and could not be more relevant in this moment. However, next year, my hope is to teach my Immigration Law class. Immigration is at the heart of this nation and now more than ever its history is something we should not put aside or forget.