LORNE SOSSIN
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When we embarked on the Osgoode History and Archives Project (OHAP) in 2010, we wanted to focus on telling our stories as an Osgoode community. This project includes infusing those stories in the new Ignat Kaneff building (for example, through the Osgoode Then and Now niche in Gowlings Hall), in digital form (for example, through the Catalysts and Building Osgoode exhibits in the niche and posting all of Osgoode’s composite graduation photos since 1889 online), and throughout publications such as our alumni magazine Continuum and the Osgoode Brief.
For as long as I can recall, the Obiter has been the focal point for Osgoode’s stories, and so it is especially fitting for the Obiter to share in marking the occasion of the Class of ‘72’s 40th anniversary by featuring some of the stories which dominated the Obiter in November of 1970.
As I discussed in a recent blog post, I had the privilege to mingle with the remarkable Class of 1972 at their 40th anniversary reunion in September. The Class of ’72 was part of an important era of transition at Osgoode and in society at large. They were the first class to begin and complete their legal studies in the then newly-constructed building at York University.
In the summer, we invited members of this class to send in their old photos, essays, memorabilia, etc. Art Vertieb (who is serving as Commission Counsel to the Missing Women Inquiry in British Columbia) shared his Osgoode Owls hockey jersey (if only shirts could talk). Russell Juriansz (now a Justice of the Ontario Court of Appeal) shared some of his favourite law school texts.
Gary Hauser sent in old syllabi, original copies of the Osgoode Hall Law Journal from his years at Law School – and a nearly pristine copy of the Obiter Dicta for November 6, 1970.
That issue of the Obiter is an amazing testament to change and continuity to read through its pages. The headlines included a report on articling reform (as we today await the latest report from the Law Society’s Articling Task Force later this month), a report on a “Women’s Lib” event at the Law School (as we today explore the next wave of feminism through Osgoode’s Institute of Feminist Legal Studies) and a feature story on the October Crisis and application of the War Measures Act in Quebec that Fall (as we today wrestle with the aftermath of massive street demonstrations in Quebec and draconian legislation aimed at curbing them). The 1970s, like today, was a time of instability and possibility.
The echoes of the class of 1972 can be heard at Osgoode in other ways as well. It was this class who first took up roles with Parkdale and CLASP and ushered in the era of experiential education at Osgoode, which the fusion of exploring the ideas of law alongside law in action, while at the same time enhancing access to justice and improving communities.
An Osgoode JD student, Meredith Bacal, as part of her RA duties had the chance to call up some of the Class of ’72 to ask about their experience and what insights those alumni would pass on to the students of today. Sam Schwartz recalled his Osgoode professors – Peter Hogg had just joined the Osgoode faculty from New Zealand and was learning Canadian law along with the class, while Paul Weiler was shaking the legal establishment. When asked about his most vivid academic experience while at Osgoode, he recalled being one of the first students to work in the Parkdale Community Legal Clinic:
“When I look back, the most important experience I had was Parkdale. We were the first group of students in Parkdale. We were integrated in the community and did things students today can’t do. I had thirty to forty child welfare applications, with supervision and assistance from practicing lawyers, but we were up on our feet on everything.
I had one wardship application I knew I couldn’t win unless I got help from a child psychologist, so I called every single one in the phone book. Everyone said no to me. I was disconsolate until someone phoned me back: Dr. Dickman. He said to me, “I left South Africa because of oppression. You have my assistance.” The result was that we won. The children were returned to the parents under strict supervision.”
Of course, Osgoode continues to be enriched by the Class of ’72 in other ways – faculty colleagues Professor Paul Emond and Michael Mandel were both members of this storied group.
There are many good reasons for a Law School to value its history and invest time and energy in telling the stories of its graduates – at Osgoode, our heritage and the place of this Law School in the evolution of legal education lies at the heart of our identity and our community. I hope this slice of Osgoode’s past inspires more of our community to focus on exploring more of our stories in the years to come!