Meet the Class of 2027: Cesar Plascencia ’27

Cesar Plascencia ’27 is originally from Whittier, California, but has lived in the Bay Area and New York City where he studied education policy, taught high school humanities, organized for a faculty union, and worked for several political campaigns. During the pandemic, he and some friends created a nonprofit that provided virtual tutoring services and a virtual summer camp. His interest in unions led him to Minnesota Law having earlier studied community unionism within the Saint Paul Federation of Educators. The Law School’s history of dedication to labor law education made it a natural fit for him. In addition, his experience at Admitted Students Day only solidified his choice in law schools. He says, “I cannot wait to meet the rest of the students in the Minnesota Law community. I know I’ll interact with and befriend a lot of inspiring individuals.”

We’d love to learn a little bit about you. Can you share a bit about yourself?

A bit about myself, I grew up in Whittier, California, a small suburb on the outskirts of Los Angeles County, before moving to the Bay Area to attend San Francisco State University. While there, I decided to dedicate my life to advancing educational justice after researching the 2012 Chicago Teachers Strike for a class. Coming from a family of educators myself, the contract campaign’s politics of care struck a chord. After college, I set out to learn as much as possible about educational labor unions, first, by moving to New York City to study education policy at Teachers College, Columbia University. Then, I cut my teeth as an 11th grade humanities teacher in Oakland Unified, an educational issues intern at the American Federation of Teachers, and a campus representative at the California Faculty Association.

What did you do before you came to the University of Minnesota Law School?

In college, I worked as a barista at a few specialty coffee shops and cafes, and was involved in several political campaigns, including as an organizing fellow for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign. In graduate school, shortly after the start of the pandemic, a few friends and I created a non-profit that provided virtual tutoring services, and a virtual summer camp for students in NYC public schools. After graduating, I conducted policy research, taught 11th grade humanities, and organized for a faculty union.

We’re so glad you’re here. Can you tell us why you chose Minnesota Law?

When thinking of where to apply, I searched for programs located in geographic areas with interesting labor politics. The Twin Cities immediately came to mind. While writing my graduate thesis on community-based collective bargaining, I read Mary Cathryn Ricker’s 2015 article in Dissent, “Teacher-Community Unionism: A Lesson from St. Paul.” In it, she uses her experience as the head of the Saint Paul Federation of Educators (SPFE) to articulate a vision of community unionism that feels actionable. This, alongside the law school’s dedicated labor law faculty, the impressive collegiality of the student body, and my generous financial aid package solidified my decision to attend Minnesota Law.

What are you looking forward to the most about starting law school?

I cannot wait to meet the rest of the students in the Minnesota Law community. In my previous graduate program, it was a pleasure to learn about each of my classmates’ idiosyncratic interests, passions, and causes. Now, having graduated, I get to see their personal and professional updates across social media channels. It fills me with joy to see their success. At Minnesota Law, I know I’ll interact with and befriend lots of similarly inspiring individuals; I got a preview of it at admitted students day.

Minnesota Law strives to embody a culture of equity, inclusiveness, and belonging in the classroom and our community. In your opinion, what are some of the most important aspects of creating a culture where all students feel like they belong?

As a teacher, on a daily basis, I was responsible for fostering an inclusive environment where students felt safe enough to share their thoughts — without fear of mockery or judgment. To this end, the most important moments were nonacademic: weekly, group activities where students played games, shared about themselves, and discussed current events. These seemingly insignificant activities helped establish a sense of trust and belonging that carried into the classroom. But it took time. As students got to know one another in low stakes contexts it deepened our discussions on heavier, more personal topics. Managing intragroup dynamics among twenty-five high school students taught me the importance of openness, trust, and intellectual humility in fostering a culture of belonging. When my students were able to see themselves in students from backgrounds different than their own, the quality of conversations among them —both inside and outside of the classroom — increased profoundly.

Are you interested in practicing in a certain area of the law? Which one and why?

I am interested in a career at the intersection of education and labor law. Specifically, I would like to work with teacher and faculty unions to advance educational equity through contract negotiation and enforcement, policy and legislative advocacy, and impact litigation. The quality and type of education that students receive has long-term outcomes for them as individuals, and for society as a whole. In this respect, educational labor unions are uniquely situated to protect not only working conditions in schools, but also access to social-emotional learning, culturally relevant curriculum and instruction, and gun-free educational environments.

Do you have a hobby or special interests? And/or what do you like to do during your free time?

Outside of work, I’m a big coffee aficionado. My partner and I were both baristas during college, so we enjoy visiting third-wave cafes together. Otherwise, I play the drums, and enjoy indoor bouldering.

Who inspires you and why?

I am inspired by union leaders instrumental to the contemporary revival of a community-based social justice unionism in public education, namely Karen Lewis, and Stacy Davis Gates of the Chicago Teachers Union, and Mary Cathyrn Ricker of the Saint Paul Federation of Educators. These three shaped my understanding of the transformative potential of taking an intersectional approach to union advocacy.

What’s the most recent book or podcast you’ve read or listened to?

This summer, I have been reading Theft is Property: Dispossession and Critical Theory, which I purchased from Birchbark Books when I visited Minneapolis for Admitted Students Day. It is a critical analysis of the concept of dispossession, highlighting indigenous struggles against settler colonialism to articulate a recursive definition of land theft, answering the question of how land can be stolen if it is not viewed as property by its occupants. The author argues that the act of theft is property generative, using this analysis to distinguish Indigenous dispossession from Eurocentric Marxist formulations of the term.

Finally, what or who, in your opinion, makes a good lawyer?

I believe a good lawyer should be deeply empathetic, and maintain intellectual humility. By retaining an openness to the experiences of others, and an awareness of our own shortcomings, we improve our ability to advocate for people from a variety of backgrounds.