Youth Advocacy Writing Group Working Paper Lunch with Bobby Stroup, Megan Patel, and Aashna Avachat

Youth Advocacy Writing Group students Bobby Stroup, Megan Patel, and Aashna Avachat will present in the third event of Y-Lab’s Youth Advocacy Writing Group Working Paper Lunch Series.

*Be sure to RSVP for lunch on April 16.

Evaluating AI in Massachusetts Classrooms Through a Bioethics Lens

Bobby Stroup, Harvard Law School J.D. Candidate

Paper Topic: Secondary school educators in Massachusetts are exploring student use of artificial intelligence, but there is no uniform method by which this software is evaluated. This project discusses the status quo of EdTech in the Commonwealth and advocates for evaluating AI’s impact on youth with more comprehensive metrics than are used for legacy technologies. The format is a series of recorded conversations with educators, researchers, and legal experts, which will be published in a podcast.

Biography: Bobby is a J.D. candidate at Harvard Law School (Class of 2025) and a Youth Advocacy and Policy Lab Fellow. Prior to attending law school, Bobby served in the US Navy and subsequently worked as a civilian in a FinTech consulting startup. Through clinics and internships, he has worked on various legal and policy matters affecting Massachusetts youth including Social Determinants of Health, Education Policy, and Anti-Human Trafficking. Bobby has prepared for a career supporting digital health innovation by co-leading the Harvard Law Entrepreneurship Project, researching neurorights at the Petrie-Flom Center, and working as a teaching fellow for Bioethics at Harvard Medical School.

Y-Lab’s Transformational Impact on the Law School Experience

Megan Patel, Harvard Law School J.D. Candidate

Paper Topic: Megan’s capstone project is about the efficacy of Y-Lab and the unique way the program’s requirements, ethos, and community-building strengthen students’ law school experiences. Additionally, the paper will address institutional concerns like the longevity of the program and replicability at other law schools.

Biography: Megan Patel is a proud Michigander who will be taking on the West Coast when she clerks for Judge David Carter in the Central District of California post-graduation. Before attending HLS she was a paralegal in the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division. Megan continued her commitment to civil rights at HLS where she was involved in CR-CL, SALSA, Y-Lab, WLA, and PLAP. However, the most important thing to know about Megan is that she is a proud mom to her perfect cat Noorie.

Juvenile Consent Searches: The Fourth Amendment Demands a More Protective Standard for Consent Searches of Minors

Aashna Avachat, Harvard Law School J.D. Candidate

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Paper Topic: The Supreme Court does not have a clear standard for determining whether a juvenile has consented to a law enforcement search. But, because the Court has repeatedly held that children are different from adults in the criminal legal system, from their level of understanding the law to their culpability for criminal acts, and because there are greater limitations on young people’s ability to consent in other areas of the law, the standard for consent searches should also be more protective for minors.

Biography: Aashna Avachat (she/her) is a 3L in the Y-Lab Fellows program focusing on young people’s interactions with law enforcement. During her time at HLS, she has participated in Harvard Defenders, the Child Advocacy Clinic, the Capital Punishment Clinic, and the Institute to End Mass Incarceration. She has interned at the ACLU, PDS, and Juvenile Law Center and plans to continue doing public defense work post-grad.