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...
A Bittersweet Goodbye
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...
2013: A Senate Odyssey
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...
Welcome to Your Single-Use Education
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...
L&L Update
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.
Understanding the spirit of ‘Gambatte’ with former Ontario Cabinet Minister David Tsubouchi
XI CHEN <Contributor> On Monday September 30, the Distinguished Speakers Series (DSSOC) and the Asian Law Students of Osgoode (ALSO) invited Mr. David Tsubouchi, a former Ontario cabinet minister and Osgoode alumnus, to the school to speak about his fascinating life experiences and his recently published memoir. Over the course of two hours, Mr. Tsubouchi shared stories from both his...
Slipping on Silk Road
SAM MICHAELS <Staff Writer> This week, the FBI took down the site once thought to be the internet’s Forbidden City. The infallible Silk Road is gone, replaced with a United States Government warning, signaling the potential for sweeping changes in how the internet and society interact. If you don’t know what the Silk Road is, well, the secret is out, so a quick Google search will fill you...
Bench Material
CITLALLY MACIEL <News Editor> On September 23, 2013, an email was sent to the Osgoode community reporting that its Assistant Dean Stribopoulos had been appointed a Justice of the Ontario Court of Justice in Brampton. Justice Stribopoulos will join a number of other Osgoode alumni who have been appointed a magistrate position. Currently, one member of the Supreme Court of Canada is an...
Looking Past the Puppies: Mental Health Awareness Week 2013
TOBY SAMSON <Contributor> On Monday, October 28th, Osgoode will kick off its second annual Mental Health Awareness Week. The Mental Health Law Society and Legal and Lit’s Equity Officer, Ebony Rose, have been working hard with the support of Melanie Banka Goela, Osgoode’s Student Success and Wellness Counsellor, to plan a diverse set of events. This year, MHAW aims to strike a balance...
Canadians Briefly Outraged by Discriminatory Russian Law before Changing Channel to Breaking Bad
EVAN IVKOVIC
<Staff Writer>
Canadians worldwide reacted in disbelief upon hearing news of Russia’s new policy regarding tolerance of homosexuals, sexual minority groups, and allegedly non-traditional sexual propaganda.
CAN WE STILL TRUST THE POLICE?
CITLALLY MACIEL
<News Editor>
On Thursday, September 12, Constable Babak Andalib-Goortani was found guilty of assault. The victim was Adam Nobody, a protester during the G20.
Law Student Volunteers for Local Gang of Petty Thieves to Help Underprivileged Youths
EVAN IVKOVIC
<Contributor>
A second year law student at a prestigious law school, Graham Wilkins, has joined a local youth gang and is helping them rob people of their possessions and money.
Corporate Weed Has Arrived in Canada
NADIA GUO <Staff Writer> Hola. I’m writing this article poolside from a resort in Cabo San Lucas, where the weather is fabulous and the sea is turquoise-clean. Nice, white American retirees have exerted enough influence over the area that cartel violence hasn’t made an obvious mark here. Yet. I say “obvious” because it’s likely the cartels have more money invested in these resorts than...
Welcome to the Class of 2016!
LORNE SOSSON
<Dean>
Welcome to Osgoode for what promises to be a remarkable year!
L&L Preisdent Dylan McGuinty Welcomes Students (Back) to Osgoode
DYLAN MCGUINTY
<Contributor>
Welcome to Osgoode! …And also to our community, to a new stage in your life, to the beginning of life-long friendships, to study groups and group work, the library and lectures, to new prescription glasses, and fond memories to keep.
Bringing the Wisdom of the Taxi Driver to the Towers of Bay Street – Jaime Watt’s Guest Lecture at Osgoode
OBITER DICTA STAFF
Various Contributors
Jaime Watt, the founder and Executive Chairman of Navigator Ltd., and a panelist on CBC’s The Insiders, spoke in Neil Finkelstein and Ron Podolny’s Assessment of Litigation and Regulatory Risk seminar.
Weeding Out Wild Justice
CITLALLY MACIEL
<Staff Writer>
On the night of January 12, 2011, a police officer lost his life in the line of duty. His name was Ryan Russell, a devoted and exemplary officer, a loving father, a husband, and a son.
Student Caucus: A Year in Review, or, “Where Doth the Time Go?”
TOM WILSON
<Beastly Bard>
Graduating students will recall that Hannah Askew (’13) won the 2010-11 “Dean for a Day” contest.
Professor Craig Scott: Building Canada with Fairness and Intelligence
RORY MCGOVERN
<Staff Writer>
Professor Craig Scott (MP for Toronto-Danforth) is a living example of the potential power of a good education.
Osgoode’s Inaugural MHAW: Re-shaping the Law School’s Approach to Promoting Health and Wellness Among the Student Body
Toronto: A Sanctuary City
CITLALLY MACIEL
<Staff Writer>
On February 20, 2013, a motion was carried to declare Toronto a “Sanctuary City.”
Memorial University Looks at Possibility of Law School
LAURA HOWELLS
<The Muse>
ST. JOHN’S (CUP) — Memorial University of Newfoundland (MUN) has announced that it will be reviewing the feasibility of opening a law school.
Science and Expert Evidence: Raising a Doubt
JIHEE (MARIE) PARK
<Staff Writer>
Even though it was a Friday afternoon leading up to Reading Week, the small meeting room was packed. The rest of campus was all but in a rush to start their weekends, but the audience at the talk given by Professor David Moran listened in hushed attention
Promoting a “Dean’s Recorder” Program to Increase the Number of Lectures Consistently Recorded and to Improve Osgoode’s Level of Accommodation of Students with Disabilities
HARJOT ATWAL
<Staff Writer>
How About a 1L Reading Week?
DAVINA FINN
<Contributor>
First semester of first year law school is undoubtedly a difficult transition. In a jam-packed, fast-paced four-month span, students are expected to adapt to a new environment, community, learning style and grading scheme.