Why OSAII Became Possible
Thank you Osgoode for making social justice relevant and possible in today’s climate of corporate success, political correctness, and the social stratification. Thank you to the Osgoode staff, faculty, and the students for making the fight for what is right possible, supportive, and enjoyable.
When I decided to apply for law school, it was after decades of being exposed to powerful institutions that uphold power over the uninformed, poor, and disconnected. I applied with a purpose in mind, which was to use the legal knowledge to assist in defending those who do not have the luxuries of financial security, academic exposure, and political awareness. It is the oppressed members of society that have difficulty navigating the laws and politics that hold our North American social structure together.
I would like to thank Osgoode for giving someone like me a chance to be part of a professional class that is able to shift social policy; create protections for people; and if their heart is in the right place, make the world better. I say someone like me because I fall within the less than one percent of Osgoode Law Students that actually get admitted. I was admitted at thirty-seven years old, with no undergraduate degree, an average Law School Admission Test score, and no financial backing; yet, I had tremendous amounts of community development experience fighting for the alienated, oppressed, and sometimes helpless. Countless volunteer hours in the community, on non-profit boards, running for political office, and other social activities was enough for Osgoode to say we want to accept someone like this into our program.
I say thank you to Osgoode because I applied to all seven law schools in Ontario and only Osgoode gave me an offer of admission. Osgoode recognized the value in selecting applicants with a wide range of experiences and backgrounds that would make up the new class of law students instead of going the traditional way of limiting law school to the upper class, wealthy, and social elite. Since Osgoode is open and forward thinking, Osgoode has allowed me to be a part of its institution and contribute to the fight for social justice.
Within the first four weeks of my law school experience, the Toronto Star series Known to Police by Jim Rankin and Patty Winsa graced the front page of the newspaper. I was one of the primary subjects of the piece that exposed the controversial police practice of “carding.” From that point forward, I was immersed in media interviews, spreading the message to community groups, and strategizing with law school colleagues on how to make change for the better.
Within a few days of the media story dropping, I was fortunate enough to have the support of Dean Sossin who said he would do his best to make sure anything that was needed in the form of support from the school would be provided. That gave this new first-year law student the confidence and support needed to push the social justice agenda forward without any worry or fear. I say thank you to Osgoode because the students who had never heard of the practice of “carding” before wanted to know more and provided tremendous support. This, after all, was a matter of fundamental justice, civil rights, and what we were learning as law students—Charter Rights.
Knowing the support of the Dean and faculty was there, five 1L students came together to establish an important legal advocacy group, The Osgoode Society Against Institutional Injustice (OSAII). Melissa Roque, Marco Ciarlariello, Giselle Shareei, Alexei Kovalev, and I became the founding members of this active social justice club. The fact that law students who I only knew for four weeks were willing to throw their support and energy behind a cause that mattered was something that I think is unique to Osgoode Hall law School.
I would expect a law school to be filled with students who think that arbitrarily stopping members of the African-Canadian community was not a problem and probably actually for the better since most crime seems to be taking place in those poor areas amongst those people. Fortunately, Osgoode is graced with students that show support for the activities that I’ve involved myself in and that OSAII advocates for. I can’t imagine what my law school experience would have been like if the majority of students were not so supportive, interested, and inspired by the social justice activities that were taking place.
There is so much more to the story about key staff, faculty, and students that make Osgoode Hall Law School the perfect environment to do important and game changing work. But what I want to leave you with is that the fact you are a law student doesn’t limit the work you can do until you become a lawyer. It actually does the opposite. Being a law student gives you the chance to use your enthusiasm and quest for what is right, to be married with the fundamentals of law and getting to know how it works, and the legal reasoning and administrative procedures that you have to go through to make certain things happen.
Thank you Osgoode for providing your students with the right environment to fight for social justice.