The ANNOTICO Report
Constantine Papadakis, President of Drexel University
was honored by The
Justinian Society, founded 70 years ago in Philadelphia.
Interestingly, Papadakis was honored even though he emigrated
from Greece
and isn't a lawyer.
Then it was discovered that his late mother, born Rita
Masciotti, was
Italian, and he's fluent in the Italian language, and
recently unveiled a
plan to create a law school at Drexel.
But as an aside; Why would The Justinian' mission which
was to combat
"subtle discrimination" against Italian American lawyers,not
expand their
mission, as powerful a force lawyers can be, to include
combating
discrimination against Italian American's in general.
Are the Justinians so
narrow or shallow in their interest in fairness??
The Justinian Society was founded 70 years ago in Philadelphia
by lawyers
with names such as Masino, Todaro, Rosa and Deluca.
The group's mission then was to combat "subtle discrimination"
against
Italian American lawyers, said retired Pennsylvania Commonwealth
Court
Judge Charles P. Mirarchi Jr., who joined in the 1940s.
It still seeks to
promote Italian Americans in the legal profession, and
members must have
some Italian heritage.
So why was it saluting Constantine Papadakis at its annual
scholarship
luncheon last week? The president of Drexel University
emigrated from
Greece and isn't a lawyer.
Not a problem, Justinian officials said. Unlike members,
honorees don't
have to be Italian, or even lawyers. In any case, Papadakis
said in mock
defense of himself, he's well-qualified in both categories.
His late mother, born Rita Masciotti, was Italian, and
he's fluent in the
language, he said. And while he's an engineer, he made
a big splash in the
legal field recently with a plan to create a law school
at Drexel.
"Everything is possible in this country," he said.