Constance Coiner Undergraduate Award

Created to honor the memory and continue the work of Constance Coiner and her daughter Ana Duarte-Coiner and made possible through donations from family and friends, the Constance Coiner Undergraduate Award supports research on feminist and working-class issues and demonstrate excellence in teaching and a commitment to teaching as activism.Kunti Dudakia is a graduating senior with a double major in Communications Studies and Women’s Studies. While at UCLA, she was involved inmultiple clubs on campus including:The Pre-Law Society@UCLA, UCLA Mock Trial Team, African Student Union, African Women’s Collective and the Clothesline Project. Her pledge to women’s issues in the lawwas spurred by her internship at the California Women’s Law Center where she worked on the Habeus Project, which appealed cases of incarcerated women who may have suffered from “battered women’s syndrome,” and she conducted surveys and interviews with Domestic Violence Shelter Directors to address the impact of the Pressly funds in the state. In addition, she produced a critical media literacy documentary entitled, “Are You Black Enuf? The Politics of the Black Female Identity.” The short explored the definition of “blackness” in regards to the black female experience and the societal constructs and stereotypes imposed upon black women by the media. Her experience at UCLA she says has been “profoundly inspiring and challenging” and she hopes to channel her energy and passion into her legal and scholarly goals. Kunti will be graduating Summa Cum Laude with College Honors and intends on applying to law school for Fall 08.