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Looking for love in all the wrong places, or, how The Bachelor is like Bay Street

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Though this issue of the Obiter hits stands (or MacBook screens) two weeks after the finale of the most explosive depressing season of The Bachelor, your EICs were so struck by the similarity between us law students and Clare Crawley that we decided to forego timeliness ever so slightly in aim of expounding this cautionary tale of love, rejection, and self-delusion. For those of you who have been...

Trademarks and Corporate Brand Security: The Implications of developing technology

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A trademark can be almost anything that indicates a source or distinguishes a person’s goods or services. It can include words, symbols, graphics and even sound! Companies spend millions developing their trademark or “Brand.” The issue arises when defending or enforcing trademark rights, for example, from a passing off actions and trademark infringement claims under the Trade-marks Act (see...

Gender-bending bash anything but a drag

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On Thursday, March 13, the third-annual Wendy Babcock Drag Show exploded onto the stage in the JCR, covering all present in glitter, mascara, and Bambino. This year’s incarnation was hilarious, inspiring, and – most importantly – entertaining. The night kicked off with a video produced by Quinn Harris of Mock Trial fame. The film documented some goings-on in the first-floor men’s room, including...

Watch her adapts classicism to the 21st century

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If there are two words I cannot stand to see in print, they are “sublime” and “Kafkaesque”. There is nearly always a less pretentious way to achieve descriptive accuracy, and I’ve come to regard overreliance on those turns of phrase to be little more than laziness hidden beneath a thin veneer of pseudo-intellectualism – something I have little patience for in general. In light of this, I...

York U or York euphemism? University over-sanitizes tragedy at its own peril

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  “I go to Osgoode, not York.” This reflexive clarification is a matter of pride for my classmates at York University’s storied law school. The urge to distance our degrees from the university brand is visceral. Last week, it was once again easy to see why. Late Thursday evening, a young woman was shot in the Student Centre. A bystander was injured by shrapnel...

Washing Away the Olympic Spirit

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How corruption in Russia, and the civil and political breakdown of the Ukraine have drowned the lingering high of the Olympics, and sobered the global community before the athletes had even returned home. When the Olympics wrapped up in 2010, it seemed like the emotional high of Vancouver had wafted right across the country, leaving Canadians with a happy hangover we were all too content to let...

Non-Stop: Liam Neeson is an Ass-Kicking, Alcoholic Air Marshal

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I see a lot of movies in theatre, but I rarely walk out of them thinking about how bad they were or about how I wish I hadn’t spent the money I paid to see them. In the past year, only The Purge (one of the worst and most disappointing movies I have ever seen) and The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (Peter Jackson can legitimately go to hell for thinking it was reasonable to drag this one book...

Editorial: Whats going on with Green

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This week’s theme is “Go Green.” Environmental law and related practice areas are extremely important to Osgoode, to Canada, and to the world. Just ask Al Gore. Unfortunately, at least one editor-in-chief of our esteemed editorial board knows nothing about environmental law, other than its incredible magnitude on our future. However, this editor does know something about going green. I’ll leave...

Forget about saving the world, let’s think municipally

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I’ve never cared much about whales, the coral reef, or polar bears. I’m an environmentalist, don’t get me wrong, and I know these are vital environmental issues, but I’m not engaging with them in what I would consider to be a meaningful way. Why? Because the goal of saving the entire planet not only sounds corny, it’s too grand and ambiguous a goal for any measure of success. So, I propose...

Letters to the Editor: Small sustainability steps

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Dear Obiter: Osgoode is set to compete this week in the International Law Student Mediation Tournament in Chicago.  As a member of one of Osgoode’s teams, I received an email from Loyola University providing me with a few tips for my anticipated journey. They advised that “[i]n an effort to be eco-friendly[,] water facilities are available at Loyola,” and that “water...

Jurisfoodence – Food adventure #7

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This cold weather seems to be never-ending. So, comfort food was back on the menu in a big way this week. Hold onto your butts and give thanks, Osgoode. Meaty buns are front of mind in Midtown at Holy Chuck. Venue: Holy Chuck – 1450 Yonge Street (just south of St. Clair station) Cuisine: Burgers Food: Luke went for “The Big Chuck” ($10.99), which is HC’s take on a big mac, and rounded...

How can you measure the cost of justice?

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In February, we introduced the Canadian Forum on Civil Justice’s (CFCJ) “Cost of Justice” project, a research initiative designed to determine the legal, economic, and social costs and benefits of pursuing, or not pursuing, justice. In an attempt to determine these costs, the project has numerous studies underway, some of which focus on regional and provincial issues, while some are national in...

Avant garde volume 4: Bart Danko

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Thinking green is becoming more elusive to the Canadian public, as the day-to-day tasks of life preoccupy our minds and influence our every action. It seems that being environmentally conscious in our lives has become something that must be an active and deliberate choice, as opposed to a way we carry out various aspects of our daily lives on a constant basis. For instance, the purchase of a...

West Coast Environmental Law TwtMoot 2014: Putting the #hashtag in advocacy

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On Friday, February 28th, we had the incredible opportunity to represent Osgoode in the 3rd Annual West Coast Environmental Law Twitter Moot (TwtMoot). We greatly appreciate the support of Saxe Law Office, who sponsored Team #Osgoode Law. This was one of our favourite experiences at #Osgoode, giving us the opportunity to transcend conventional notions of advocacy. Five teams across Canada put the...

Behind the label: A closer look at environmental marketing

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Each time I go out shopping I’m bombarded with all kinds of environmentally focused marketing claims. Everything from “all natural” to “EcoLogo certified” – and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. With the growing emphasis on environmental concerns, environmentally-focused marketing has exploded. This has led to the proliferation of hundreds of different claims, labels, and certifications that...

Science’s pseudo plagiarism of nature: The quest to eradicate concussions

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It is not unusual to find instances where science has turned to nature for inspiration. The invention of airplanes, for example, is probably the most quintessential illustration of this phenomenon. Humans, envious of birds’ ability to fly, would study them relentlessly trying to discover the secret of these tiny creatures. If you look at pictures of the flying machines that existed before the...

2013-2014 Initiatives of the Osgoode Sustainability Committee

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What a year it has been for the Sustainability Committee of the Environmental Law Society! Celebrating our annual green Obiter Dicta issue, we thought we would update you on our initiatives over the 2013-2014 school year. In September, the Sustainability Committee established our foundation: five sub-groups that would direct our goals for the year. We created a Campus Connections group, Osgoode...

Sustainability Through Collaboration: The Food Services Advisory Group

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In September of 2013 Osgoode decided to reconstitute the Food Services Advisory Group in order to ensure that students’ expectations regarding the food services at Osgoode Hall were being satisfied. From an environmental perspective, how and what we choose to consume are easy and effective ways to decrease our carbon footprint. As the effects of climate change begin to manifest themselves...

Basic compassion – No special training required

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On February 14, I had the opportunity to sit down with the other Student Project Leads and Coordinators for the Ontario Law Student Mental Health Initiative (OLSMHI, for now). Every Ontario law school, including Lakehead, had a representative there. We had a lot to discuss over the course of the day, including the results of the survey that some of you were kind enough to fill out. From the...

It’s not easy being green


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It’s not easy being green. To say that it’s hard doesn’t quite do it justice either. If nothing else it’s annoying. Remember to bring your water bottle every day and ceramic mug on Wednesdays for coffee. Remember to configure the settings on your print job to print double-sided even though it costs the same and you’re in the basement and the only printer that works is on the main...

The Problem with Law Firm Recruiters Teaching at Osgoode

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It is no secret that a number of large law firms organize formal recruitment campaigns at Osgoode. It is also no secret that these firms further their recruitment objectives in a number of other ways, either by running firm tours, advertising around the school, or sponsoring student initiatives in an attempt to further publicize their brand. The presence of large law firms in our school is well...

2014 Dean for a Day Winning Submission: We were promised Jetpacks!

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As Dean, I would standardize the format and delivery of electronic readings across all courses. I have been a post-secondary student off and on for the past ten years. In that time, institutions have gradually shifted from a predominately physical (i.e., coursepacks) to a predominately electronic mode of delivering edited collections of primary and secondary materials. Costly printed coursepacks...

Questioning the federal oil sands narrative

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The Federal government narrative – that you can worry about the environmental impacts all you want, but the oil sands are fundamentally good for the Canadian economy – makes a lot of intuitive sense on two levels. First, the narrative is grounded in the historically positive ethos surrounding resource extraction in Canada. Canadians have long understood what laid at the foundation of our economy:...

The Wigzards of Oz(goode) and Flip Your Wig for Justice Event

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Strange things have been happening at Osgoode lately. On February 5, 2014, Dean Sossin was seen wearing a funny wig at Osgoode. Then, an email was sent about becoming the Dean of Osgoode. And now this, Dean Sossin wearing a clown wig somewhere downtown Toronto?! Has Dean Sossin quit his job, ran away and joined the circus? Well no, do not panic. I am here to tell you that everything is fine. That...

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