You know that feeling you get after you finish an exam or an assignment in which you had spent all your time and energy? A wave of relief. But when the relief and the exhaustion have passed (and you’ve cleaned up the chaos into which your living room inevitably devolved), you’re left with a deep sense of boredom. Yes, you could binge watch all twenty (and counting) seasons of Grey’s...
A Brief Overview of the SAG-AFTRA Strike
The Barbenheimer phenomenon resulted in an international craze this past summer. However, while occasional movie-watchers and cinephiles made their way to the theatres, beloved and well renowned actors approached picket lines. Streaming services and artificial intelligence technologies are rapidly changing the entire landscape of television and movie-watching. As a result, various media...
Contrasting Narratives
The defending Super Bowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs went into M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, Maryland as an underdog on a cold and rainy Sunday afternoon. In order to reach his fourth Super Bowl in six years of starting at quarterback for the Chiefs, Patrick Mahomes would have to beat the soon-to-be MVP Lamar Jackson and the number-one rated Baltimore Ravens defence in the NFL. Tensions were...
The Hockey Cesspool: Hockey Canada’s Sexual Assault Scandal
This article discusses sexual assault and may be triggering for some readers. 5 January 2018. Buffalo, New York. Team Sweden versus Team Canada. It’s the gold medal game of the 2018 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships (World Juniors). A sea of red jerseys envelops the ice of the KeyBank Center. Carter Hart starts in the net for Canada. Dillon Dubé opens the scoring, it’s 1–0 Canada. Sweden...
Las Vegas to Host a Double-Header from Down-Under
The point of this article is to introduce a sport that could potentially take North America by storm in the coming years: rugby league (League). To many, rugby may seem like one entity with one set of rules but, I assure you, it is not. The rugby ecosystem consists of several variations, the most recognizable being the rugby union (Union). Rugby sevens has also gained international...
Canadian Temporary Residence for Palestinian Nationals
On 22 December 2023, the government of Canada had announced a “[t]emporary public policy to facilitate temporary resident visas for certain extended family affected by the crisis in Gaza.” The policy will allow a pathway to temporary residence (up to 3 years) for family members of Canadian citizens and permanent residents, and their immediate family members, who are Palestinian nationals directly...
The Ransomware Attack on the Toronto Public Library – 3 Months On
In the annual Toronto Public Library (TPL) year-end message, City Librarian Vickery Bowles characterized the library as being a “crime scene.” The TPL is the largest public library system in Canada, and has been recognized as being one of the busiest libraries in North America. It serves millions who live, study, or work in Toronto with one hundred branches, providing free access to books...
Alzheimer Awareness & Charter Rights
January is known to be Alzheimer’s Awareness Month across Canada. With the awareness of Alzheimer’s, it is critical to be reminded of the impact of dementia on the lives of many Canadians. The experiences of those suffering from Alzheimer’s continue, and must be learned about to reinforce human rights and encourage policy changes. The Alzheimer’s Society recognizes and supports the...
Trains, Planes, and Unaccountability
On November 9, 2023, the Federal Court of Appeal (FCA) delivered its judgement on Peckford v Canada (Attorney General), 2023 FCA 219. Among the appellants were the Honourable Brian Peckford, former Premier of Newfoundland and the only surviving first minister who was involved with the enactment of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (Charter), and the Honourable Maxime Bernier...
Criminalization Won’t Solve Canada’s DV Problem
Bill C-332, a private member’s bill in the House of Commons, aims to add coercive control as an offence to Canada’s Criminal Code. It’s argued by proponents of the Bill that criminalizing coercive control will provide an “additional tool” for women to leave abusive situations. In 1990, the government of Ontario attempted something similar. They passed a policy making it mandatory for police...
Redefining Success
My journey is profoundly shaped by my parents’ past; my father survived the Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia while my mother escaped from Vietnam. Their stories of resilience and silent sacrifices are not merely historical narratives. Rather, they form the foundation of my existence and have taught me the true meaning of resilience and the value of silent sacrifices. In our Asian family, mental...
My Personal Post-COVID Experience
I thought that I had an invincible immune system. I managed to last the past few years without getting COVID, despite my run-ins with people close to me contracting it. But whenever I did hear about others having COVID, I was told that they had ‘mild’ symptoms or that while it was terrible while it lasted, it was short-lived, lasting only a week. I stayed up to date with my vaccines, but I was...
Cashing in Memos for Screenplays: Debuting the Osgoode Hall Film Society
Being among strangers is an exploratory experience. To get to know a yet unmet friend is a turn-based game of social maneuvers; two or more codebreakers attempting to break a cypher that gives way to common interest. Often, no matter the person or place, to talk about movies is to resort to a robust master key. After that it’s only a matter of level of interest: self-proclaimed kinophile, passing...
My Music: Florence Price
Throughout my years of classical music training, I’ve come across many great composers, but Florence Price was not one of them. I only found out about this genius composer in my final year at the University of Toronto. I soon began to learn as much as I could about Price and her musical works. I discovered that she was a pianist, organist, teacher, and composer extraordinaire who lived from the...
Napoleon (2023) and the Tensions of the Historical Epic
It’s been quite a good year for the period epic. The silver screen was graced with many films that were not only realized with prestige production and mainstream release, but which have been met with a vindicating fanfare which shows that history continues to earn a place at cinemas. On the heels of Oppenheimer’s existential autobiography and Killers of The Flower Moon’s poignant tale of colonial...
A Look Into Some Of The Trendiest Books Of 2023
Fourth Wing For fans of fantasy, romance, and action. Synopsis: Having trained her whole life to be a scribe, Violet’s life is upturned when she is enlisted in the dragon rider quadrant of Basgiath War College. She’s faced with a series of challenges and forms alliances (both human and dragon) throughout her training. Outside the school’s walls, a war escalates and Violet suspects that what...
My Recent Movies: Sci-Fi and Saltburn
Happy New Year, Osgoode! During the lawless purgatory otherwise known as the time between December 26th and 31st, I developed an insatiable sci-fi affliction and watched too many movies. If you can make the time to watch something new even as classes ramp up again, here are some of my top modern science fiction recommendations. Blade Runner (1982, dir. Ridley Scott) The sequel...
Introducing South Asian representation to the Jays
During the MLB draft last year, the Toronto Blue Jays selected Arjun Nimmala as the 20th overall pick. This is a big deal for baseball, with Nimmala becoming one of the first-ever first-generation South Asians to be drafted into a major sport. Aside from being an exceptional shortstop, Nimmala has the potential to change baseball. He can positively impact baseball culture and further introduce...
The Raptors Make A Move
On 30 December 2023, while getting ready to eat lunch, Raptors fans like myself were treated to a “Woj Bomb.” The Toronto Raptors had traded OG Anunoby, Precious Achiuwa, and Malachi Flynn to the New York Knicks for RJ Barrett, Immanuel Quickley, and a 2024 second round pick from the Detroit Pistons. In my opinion, the OG trade has confirmed specific assumptions about the Raptors front office...
The Ohtani Spectacle
If you didn’t know, Shohei Ohtani was available this MLB offseason as an unrestricted free agent. The former Los Angeles Angel was predicted to switch LA allegiances and join the Dodgers. Backed by one of the largest payrolls in MLB history and superstars aplenty, Ohtani joining the Dodgers made the most sense for both sides. The Dodgers would unleash Ohtani along with perennial MVP candidates...
The NBA Cycle: Building Players Up To Tear Them Down
There was no surprise who the number one overall pick would be for the 2023 NBA Draft. Victor Wembanyama is a nineteen year-old French NBA player for the San Antonio Spurs. Standing at seven-feet-four-inches with an eight-foot wingspan, Wemby was touted as a potential all-time great player years before he was eligible for the NBA Draft. He dominated the French league and flashed elite offensive...
Lessons to Be Learned from Hong Kong
Advertisement As law students, we have inevitably been thrown into the various neatly organised and spelt out fact patterns in cases. However, the real world functions far differently from that. In a way, courts act as a source of authority over what actually happened, regardless of the veracity of what is stated in judgments. I write this to urge you to think critically about your role as future...
Breaking the Silence: Cassie’s Rape Allegations against P. Diddy
If you’re a ‘90’s kid like me, Cassie Ventura probably holds a special place in your memories, like she does in mine. I remember when I first heard Cassie’s first hit, “Me & U,” and seeing her music video shortly after and thinking, “Wow, I want to be just like her.” Her follow-up hit, “Long Way 2 Go,” was also on repeat as I got ready for school. Her being half-Filipino might have...
My Music: John Coltrane (“Trane”)
As someone who lives in a very musical family, I grew up listening to all kinds of music, spanning rock, reggae, classical, and R&B among others. It wasn’t until my late teens that I started listening to jazz more heavily. I have to say, jazz just hits different. I listened to a diverse range of artists, but I was immediately pulled into the music of John Coltrane. Maybe it was his silky...
Navigating Law School with a Mental Health Disability
The journey to the midpoint of my law school career at Osgoode has been far from linear, marked by traumas of both unforeseen violence and childhood trauma that have undoubtedly shaped my perspective. A random act of violence in 2017 nearly cost me my life, an event that profoundly altered my trajectory and introduced me to living with a disability. This, coupled with adverse childhood...