OSGOODE O-WEEK: OLWAYS OWESOME
<Jon O’Kane>
Special to the Obiter Dicta*
Add one part nervous energy, a heaping pile of excitement, a dash of Ethical Lawyering, the finest hint of Dean Sossin and you’ve got yourself a recipe for Orientation Week 2012. The Class of 2015 came in with a bang – and I don’t just mean the thunderstorm on Tuesday, September 4th that greeted you at the door. With O-Week now behind us, I’ll use the last drops of my post-Orientation nostalgia to share some parting thanks.
None of this could have been possible without the help of the many, many people behind the scenes. This year, roughly 60 leaders and 30 committee members made sure the week came together. We had a chance to recognize the contributions of a few of our leaders during the Dean’s Welcome Gala. Here are some more highlights: thank you to the leaders who got hit in the head by hoola hoops, thank you to the leaders who went without lunches because you needed to choreograph epic dance moves, and thank you to the leaders who managed to hustle in on the early mornings, despite the late nights of programs, readings, and the occasional libations.
This week couldn’t have come together without the support of the broader Osgoode community. Our generous staff put in countless hours of time to iron out all the kinks. The front line of Student Services and Admissions were a helping hand in a transition full of paper work. The staff members in the Executive Office are some the most detail-minded folks I’ve ever met, and they made sure every table, chair, and partition was in the right place. Osgoode IT worked round the clock to adapt to challenges that popped up throughout the week.
Our alumni stepped up, giving of their time to connect with our first year class and give colourful tours of Old Osgoode. In fact, I had a lovely chat with a friend of Osgoode after he gave a tour. He spoke of the energy of the group he met and joked “I hope you’re all going to a pub afterwards.” That man was Justice Stephen Goudge. We followed his suggestion accordingly.
Osgoode’s faculty was a champion for Orientation Week. Dedicated to making Osgoode an inclusive community, countless faculty members put their money where their mouths were and gave generously to ensure the Social Justice Social and the Dean’s Welcome Gala were sponsor free environments.
When all is said and done, the Orientation Executive had an amazing time planning the week. We hope one message rings true for the first year class: Osgoode is never going to give you up, never going to let you down, never going to run around and desert you.
*Jon O’Kane was the Orientation Week Committee Chair.