Legal & Literary Society

Ok, so I couldn’t think of anything profound to say this week (or ever)

DAVE SHELLNUT
Legal & Literary Society President

We are as you read this one month into school. For many of us that means two hectic months left of fist shaking at the TTC and then exams and Bar exams. Weak. Time flies though and in the whirlwind that has been these first few weeks a lot of activities have occurred and many fantastic initiatives are on the horizon.

JCR Open on Wednesday’s too???: The JCR is now open! How many times are we going to say that, as many as we want, or as many times as I had to go to Scarborough to plead with Municipal Licensing…but we are a little unsure on how things are going to go. We are committed to doing every Thursday at least into the early evening. Several clubs have booked other days. But last Thursday we didn’t see the influx of students we saw on opening night. Let’s see how this week goes, but I guess despite that limited turnout last Thursday we are debating expanding. L&L along with Dave Meirovici are going to run a “Happy Hour(s)” this Wednesday and gauge responses. Lots of people have asked for additional days, so here it is, make us proud (and some money).

Get Paid for Democracy: We need a new Elections Officer. You saw the email, but did you read it and realize we’d pay you for it? Ya, we will! Seriously though, it would be great if some people would step up and into this vital position. We are planning some big things for March Elections and need someone with integrity to run the process. We plan on running a referendum on a few key issues, including new L&L executive positions (remember that great article on the Equality Officer) and a touchstone issue that will impact our student community over the next several years. That’s a little hush hush, but needless to say this will be a great time to be part of the election machine. I’m also expecting a great competition this year for the various L&L/SC spots. Remember this year was the first time I’d ever done any student government work so come one, come all!

Rain Maker Provides 20K in Club Funding: Your VPX/I Elena Iosef along with the rest of the L&L team have worked tirelessly over the last month to get club budgets approved. While not a perfect process, I’d like to make a wild statement that I can’t even back up with facts, but I know in my gut it’s true: this term L&L approved the most funding EVER for student clubs coming in at over $20,000. Slow clap indeed! Really all the money in our coffers is for you, students, so with that in mind we fairly and equitably distributed funds and approved as many requests as possible. This will help the organizers of some of the coolest events ever devised at Osgoode come through on their unique ideas. Check out the Flaming Feminist Cabaret, the Christian Law Society’s Conference, National Debate Tournament, ILP Advocacy Week, OWN Fashion Show and much, much more!

Bill C-10: L&L as an elected student body has taken the advice of some students and decided to make a statement in opposition to Bill C-10. Ok, well at this point we have all voted unanimously to develop a statement that only indicates that L&L feels the bill is unworkable in its current form. We have approved taking this statement to the student body and soliciting signatures. If you agree that the Bill is problematic and want to attach your voice to L&L’s (maybe even SC barring a vote there) then you can do so. If not, don’t. This way we speak as a student government elected to act on issues that are of interest and applicable to the student body with the support of those who have signed. We will not be saying the entire student body stands in unison on this so I think it’s a good compromise. Can I just say, this discussion around Bill C-10 has given me a new appreciation for student activism and engagement. The meeting was packed, the emails were plenty and the discussion was heated but respectful. It was inspiring to see all of you engaged on such a crucial issue and I hope we can keep that up on many other fronts. Hats off to you all.

Residual Matters: We are plugging away in our support of those raising funds for Wendy Babcock, expect a big event devised by her friends in the near future. I’ll let them explain, but it could be GREAT! Also, Deans Formal and the First Year Formal are being planned so expect to hear about that soon.

That’s it folks. We haven’t received any comments or suggestions on how we can improve our functioning from you, so that obviously means we are doing a perfect job! Kidding! We’re doing our best and always love hearing from you. Hope you enjoyed what I think was the best ski trip ever (kudos Sandra and Co.) and I’ll see you all at Mock Trial.