Did you know that almost 12 million Canadians will face at least one legal problem in a given three-year period? Or that taking just a two-day civil action to trial costs between $13,500 and $37,200? Canadians today are losing their access to justice as the costs of legal services and length of legal proceedings climb steadily upwards. The Canadian Forum of Civil Justice is starting a new segment...
During reading week, I had the opportunity to travel to Prague to visit a good friend of mine, and of course, to do research for my Entertainment and Sports law seminar paper. PIERA SAVAGE <Contributor> I’d been to Prague a few months before, in late August, when it was still quite warm, and had fallen in love with the charming city. I welcomed the opportunity that reading week provided to...
Maybe that’s an overstatement. There are lots of good things about Christmas, especially since I moved away from home six years ago. Free from the burdens of exam season, I return to my parents’ home and relax. Every year, it’s the first time in months that I’ve had nothing to do and nowhere to be. I spend the time preparing baked goods, reading books, watching movies, and, more recently...
As the year comes to an end, it’s time to reflect on past misgivings. Sadly, I had done nothing of importance to be considered for the Top 20 Under Twenty before I turned 20 myself. In response, I wrote this lamentation: Due to the unfortunate condition that will be imposed on me in a moment’s time, and the utter urgency for me to perform some magnanimous action, I have decided to compose this...
I can’t tell you what Professor Michael Mandel meant to each of the approximately 4000 students he had a hand in educating over his lengthy 39-year academic career; I can, however, tell you what he meant to me. Through this, those of you who had the chance to learn from him might remember something about the experience, and those of you who didn’t might perhaps be able to get some idea of what it...
On October 27, 2013, the Osgoode community experienced the significant and tragic loss of an alum and cherished professor, Michael Mandel.
Many students received an email from the Dean, twitter and facebook headlines soon followed. Within hours, the Osgoode community reacted. Lawyers, academics, alumni and current students began to express their feelings of loss across various outlets.
At first, I was somewhat ambivalent about my stance on the Quebec Charter of Values.
Nicholas Banerd <Contributor>
I have always fervently supported the idea of a secular state. The Parti Quebecois’ ban on religious symbols would only apply to state-workers, and citizens seeking government services.
Horror movies, like all movies, fall somewhere along a spectrum. At one end, there are original and genuinely scary movies – The Exorcist, The Blair Witch Project, Halloween, Saw and, most recently, The Conjuring. At the other, there are campy, poorly acted, over-the-top “scary” movies that make you laugh as much as they make you scream – Army of Darkness, Child’s Play, The Hills Have Eyes...
We need to talk about it. Why is mental health such a taboo topic, especially among law students? The fact is, many of us are going through the same thing, so we should talk about it. So, let’s have the talk.
What is it about law school that makes law students believe they do not belong? Why do so many of us feel that we got in by fluke? What are the pressures that law students are facing?
Comfort food is a must heading into the Fall and Winter seasons, and with your health and happiness in mind, we went to the heart of the Entertainment district to find out whether a Toronto soup institution has what it takes.
Halloween is just around the corner and with it comes another Osgoode Hall Athletics Association Halloween pub night and the opportunity to be whatever you want to be for just one night. Whether that happens to be a sexy bumblebee or flirty nurse is your call. While it’s easy for a female to dress as a “sexy” version of just about anything, there is a lot of pressure on dudes to come up with...
As we enter into Mental Health Awareness Week, I can’t help but observe that, while well-intentioned, it does nothing to solve the underlying problems law students face when it comes to combatting stress and anxiety, and optimizing their learning. How could it? But if this is all the institution we pay tens of thousands of dollars to each year can muster up, it leaves me feeling uneasy that our...
The future is finally here. The creators of Wikipedia have done it again, inventing a new, immersive form of Wikipedia called the library. “It used to be that you were at a distance from Wikipedia, staring at it from your screen monitor. With the invention of the library, we have revolutionized how you can use Wikipedia so that it is a much more integrative experience. You can grab and touch...
Last Sunday was more than a high-school reunion. In retrospect I took away more appreciation for artists, especially those dedicated to their craft despite the difficult reality of an artist’s lifestyle. I learned too that law students need to look at their lives in perspective, and understand that every profession has seemingly insurmountable challenges: to each their own. I am interviewing...
I saw this Disney documentary once titled Earth (don’t judge me). It showed the long journeys elephants have to travel during the migration period some of them undertake. The particular herd being filmed went through hostile sand storms, days without water, infernal heat, and attacks from other animals. At one point one of the baby elephants is about to collapse. You see the mom trying...
This week, the Harper government announced aproposal to suspend Senators Mike Duffy, Pamela Wallin, and Patrick Brazeau. The collective cream of Canada’s political crop of incompetency, ignorance and greed, the move was largely supported by politicians and the public, and even spurred other Senators to begin filing more complete tax returns (yes, this is already part of their job anyway, but...
ALEXANDRA ILIC <Contributor> How do you interpret international news that you watch on TV or read in the newspaper? Yes, of course, you do interpret them, even though it may be unconscious. Even journalists interpret the facts before informing the world about them. Thinking about journalists as independent may be utopic, even though I like to believe that some actually are. One needs to...
ANGIE SHEEP <Arts & Culture Editor> My night class, which should have ended at 10pm, ended nearly half an hour late. As people quickly filtered out of the room, eager to get home, I stood up and marched out slowly; my bus had already departed and it was uncertain when the next one would be. This meant that I wouldn’t arrive home until 11:30pm since I live downtown. On the entire way...
Sam Michaels gets right down to work this week on the page opposite, taking three Senators to task for their well-publicized abuse of reimbursement privileges, and Senator Wallin in particular for her lawyer’s subsequent lack of tact in comments he made about a Senate motion that would suspend Wallin’s privileges of office. Michaels, in the best sort of Obiter Dicta way, exemplifies the public...
TRAVIS WEAGANT <Editor-in-Chief> I thought I was becoming an elitist when I booked the tickets. How does this read: third-year law student takes a trip on Thanksgiving weekend to a world-class Shakespeare festival, sees two productions, enjoys a dinner at a restaurant that requires reservations weeks in advance, and spends an afternoon perusing boutique chocolate and book shops. “Shit,” I...
DANIEL STYLER
<Staff Writer>
Editor’s Note: there are abundant Breaking Bad spoilers below. Do not read them if you do not want to. Any complainants will be mocked at this week’s staff meeting.
JEFF MITCHELL <Contributor> Everywhere I travel, tiny life. Single-serving sugar, single-serving cream, single pat of butter. The microwave Cordon Bleu hobby kit. Shampoo-conditioner combos, sample-packaged mouthwash, tiny bars of soap. The people I meet on each flight? They’re single-serving friends. – Fight Club (1999) Why should our classroom experience be single-use? Why are many of us...
MARIE PARK <Layout Editor> As night fell upon the streets of Toronto on October 5, 2013, hundreds of thousands congregated to experience Nuit Blanche. Though many were artists in their own right, many were also members the general public with a topical understanding and awareness of modern art. Many such individuals may know of Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse, but may shake their head when...
DYLAN MCGUINTY
<Contributor>
Dear Osgoode students,
I am pleased to give you my first progress report since being humbled by the trust you placed in me by electing me as your Legal and Lit President.
CASSIE STEFANNUCI, SUBBAN JAMA, AND ANEESHA LEWIS <Contributors> Project: We worked for an NGO called Defence for Children International (DCI) in Freetown, Sierra Leone. Our area of focus was juvenile justice and we were tasked with producing reports relating to children in conflict with the law, child labour and female empowerment. While on our fellowship, we visited the various...