ULTRAVIRES.CA
March 3, 2021
VOL. 22, ISS. 5
THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO FACULTY OF LAW
Remembering Meruba Sivaselvachandran A bright, compassionate, and beloved individual VIVIAN CHENG (2L) AND VANSHIKA DHAWAN (2L), WITH CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE U OF T LAW COMMUNITY
ILLUSTRATION BY JENNIFER SUN
Grand Moot 2020 Recap The law school’s annual ceremonial moot goes virtual VIVIAN CHENG (2L) This year, the Grand Moot took place v irtually over Zoom and live streamed on Youtube on Januar y 28. The moot was initially slated to take place in the 2020 Fall semester, but was delayed to the 2021 Winter semester to accommodate log istical dif f iculties in planning the event. The panel of judges featured U of T alumni Justice Sheilah Martin (SJ D 91) of the Supreme Court of Canada, Justice Lorne Sossin ( PhD 93) of the Ontario
Court of Appeal, and Justice Edward Morgan ( L L B 84) of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. Teodora Pasca (3L JD/MA Criminology) and Olivia Eng (3L) represented the appellant and Geri Angelova (3L) and Hana Awwad (3L) represented the respondent. This year, the problem centered around the constitutionalit y of a hy pothetical mandator y vaccination program under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Pasca and Eng challenged the constitutionalit y of this program, for the appellant, Lucas Yuno, while A ngelova and Aw wad defended the constitutionalit y of the program on behalf of the government. The YouTube live stream attracted 683 unique views and the Zoom Webinar attracted 152 attendants. Student Co-Chief Justices Saambavi Mano (3L) and Alina Yu (3L) who were in charge of organizing the event, were pleased with how it turned out.
Meruba Sivaselvachandran (2L JD/MBA) passed away on February 17. It is diff icult to imagine a world without her — her smile, her laughter, her wit, her curiosity, her glasses that were always falling down her nose. Meruba was beloved by many in the U of T Faculty of Law community, and we will emulate her beautiful soul by living with compassion and generosity and joy. Meruba was known for her warmth. Her vibrant laughter could f ill an entire room. She had a particular way of scrutinizing the frown you were trying to hide from her, and a gaze that made you feel accepted for who you were but made you strive to be better all the same. Those who worked with her often said that being in her presence was more enjoyable than the work itself. For Abraham Ahmed (2L), who worked with Meruba at Amnesty International’s Digital Verif ication Corps (DVC), two things are unforgettable: her ability to make you laugh and her unparalleled compassion. Her f irst priority was to ensure everyone was comfortable and felt supported. “That was the kind of person Meruba was: whether you were a friend or a colleague she’d just met a few minutes ago, Meruba was always thinking about others’ well-being,” recalls Abraham. She was thoughtful, helpful, and the life of any team she was on. “In one of our meetings, Meruba and I led a small breakout team on one of our projects. Meruba’s f irst concern was to make sure the f irst year students felt as much support as possible,” says Abraham. Professor Angela Fernandez, who taught Meruba’s small group, emphasized the fact that Meruba was friends with everyone and provided a “lightness” to any situation. Meruba would bake cookies, write personalized elementary-school style Valentine’s Day cards, and congratulate her small group peers on their summer endeavours and extracurricular successes. She would even bake cookies and write Valentines cards for other small groups. Meruba always thought about how she could make other people’s lives brighter. Sam Kokonis (2L), who was also in her small group, says “She made sure to remind each of us that we were important and valued.” Beyond her vivacious presence, Meruba
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ALSO IN THIS ISSUE DEAN BRUNNÉE CHAIRS FIRST FACULTY COUNCIL OF TERM
THE FUTURE OF BLACK FUTURE LAWYERS
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RIGHTS REVIEW PAGE 19