Ultra Vires Vol 4 Issue 3 2002 Nov

THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO FACULTY OF LA W

VOLUME 4 , ISSUE 3 • NOVEMBER 19, 2002 • www . ultravires . ca

Daniels' salary scheme raises ire of professors Salary increases may be based on professors' ability to attract U.S. interest

BY BEN PERRIN Ultra \'ires has learned that Dt:an Ron Daniels is pushing ahead a nC\\ regune for allocating the S1.7 million "Faculn· Recruitment, Retention, and Rcwar~l ImoatJ\'C hmd" to be created from increast'S in student tuition. ~\t a faculty-only meeting on Oct. 1, the future of the fund \\~IS described b} Damcls. :rhc Current criteria for awarilin·~ salary tncrea~es arc based on the "progress through the ranks" or lTR system. Performance m any b>ivcn year is judged based on three \\eightcd factors: tt-aching (40%), research {40%), and adminiso-arion (20'%).

Faculty have been told that Daniels \\ill not be u~mg the TIR ment-based ~ystem for salary adjustments under the $1.7 million fund. Despite the meeting, however, facult} members arc unclear on how the funds will be nllocated and b} whom. "lt is fair to sav it i~ not enrirclv clear hO\\ it is to be ailocatcd," s:ud Pr~fcssor udrc} lacklin o n't h, \ c the firmest of g • p o n tht;

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Daniels is in Asia and unava ilable for comment. ,\cting Dt·an Tony Duggan confirmed the new criteria for allocating salary mc rca~cs has been tasked to the Course Assignments Committee. He would not respond to any further qucsoons on the matter.

The committee is considered to be the most powerful in the faculty. Each faculty member would likely have to apply to the committee for so-called "anomalr increases" based on the new criteria.

"The dean has various methods for figuring out what recommendations to make on salary i ncrcases," said Langille.

Some professors have stated they understand the best way to receive salary gains from the fund is to secure offers from American law schools. Others claim it is quickly beco!f!ing the only way. To receive such offers involves extensive writing in American law journals and being active in areas of interest to these schools.

Concerns have been raised thar such a scheme would lead to the ~\mencanisarion of the law school and reduce emphasis on tt':lching m favour of rest-arch. \Varnmg of this possibilit) coming to reality ·was raised last year in the national meilia.

PLEASE SEE "PROFESSORS'" ON PAGE 7

CBSSELS 8RO~K

Mooters Girls Megan Stewart (II) (left) and Tara Cochra ne (II) (right) flank Paperbag Princess Emily Mak (II) at the annual SLS H allowe'en Par ty held O ct. 31 in the Solarium. For m ore pictures, see p age 9. Photo ro11rttg o/ J'alntan HtkJ.

Faculty cannot guarantee accessibility, says consultant Law school may not be able to address financial needs of some students

BY JOANNA FINE fhe l'inancial \td Committee of the Faculty CouncLI Student Caucus rnet with Stephen Brown on '\lov. 11. Brown has been newly appointed b) Dean Ron Dantels ro consult and provide advice on the law school's financial aid system. He has experience \\1th the financial aid programs at several l S. umvcrsioes, and is currently the director of tht financial aid program at Fordham I.a\\ School in ~t'V.' York.

In response to the plethora of student concerns, Brown indicated that the Ia\\ school mav not be able to address the finan· ctal needs ~f some studems, who will there· fore be unable to attend. The posstbiliry that a student who qualifies for admission \\ill be prevented from acccptmg the offer because

of financial constderations runs counter to U of T's policy on student financial aid and elicited concern from many students on the comrrurrec.

Concern was voiced that financial con· siderarions would prevent qualified students from com mg to the law school and that this burden would fall disproportionately on cer· tain dtsadvanraged groups. Students were also concerned about the treatment of mid dle-class studt..:nts who arc not rich enough to afford hight'l' tuition fees, but nor p<x>r enough ro qualif} for financtal rud.

Student Caucus member ~haun l~1ubman says ''it's too t'llrly to tell" how sympathetic Brown is w ~tudcnts' concerns. But lM'lubman stressed that all of the student concerns arc open to discussion and debate, and that then: is a genuine commitment

from the Financtal ,\ id commmce. "It 1s a matter of finding out what is possible \\<;thin the financial aid budget. the U of T, and Scotiabank."

Two separate documents were submitted to the Financial \id Committee and Brown

PLEASE SEE ~ FINANCIAL" ON PAGE 6

UVINDEX • • • • •

ACCESSIBILITY STUDY, P3 COMMUNITY NOTICE BOARD, P5 LUST FOR THE LAW, Pl0-11 EXAM INSIGHT, P15 UV REVIEWS, P19

www.casselsbroc .com/student.asp

2

NEWS

UV Briefs UofT votes to join CFS Uni\·crsny of Toronto undergraduates have voted in favour of their student gO\·ernments joining the Canadian Federation of Srudents (CFS). The referendum was held Nm·. 5-7. Srudents represented by the Students' Admmistrative Council (SAC) - the largest student orgamzauon on campus - voted 64 percent in fa\ OUr of S \C joining CI ·S. As a result. U of T's 34,000 full-time undergraduat~ 11.-hich include law students - will pay an annual incidental fcc of $1 ~.54. Students arc now entitled to free Intcrnarional Student ldcnnt:y Cards (lSIC c.1rds) at local Tran~l Cuts locations. \'oter turnout for the CFS referendum was 15 per cc.:nt, about double the usual parucipation in SAC elections. Second)'L'llf law ~tudent and SAC representative Josh Paterson was troubled that "a small minonty of students can add a S12 fee to the (bank] statement.~ of 30.000 undergrads." Paterson \vas nor in favour of joining Cl•!:i, saymg thar he: had doubts about !he group's effectiveness in lobbying the government.

The referendum u-as marred bJ charges of electoral violations by both sicks. The " o" side claimed that a CFS poll clerk was encouraging voters to cast ba\\ots £ot the C\<'S, while the "Yes" side chatged that an advettiscmcnt p\ac~d \n the Nm. 4 issue of the \ arsity "-as not approved by a supen'JSOIJ' body. These: and other allegations arc now being im·esrigatcd by the Joint Referendum Comnurtee QRQ, which has the power to ovtrturn the result The CFS represents more than 450,000 studcms &om college and university students' wuoo across Canada. The group focusses oolobbying provincial and federal governrnrnts over the accesstbility of post secondary education.

- Sabttatt HIIIJ

ATM to be installed in Aavelle Members of the faculty communtty will soon be able to withdra\\ cash from an Automated Teller Machine ( \TM) at the law school. I acuity Council's Student \ffairs Conuntttee 'ioted m favour of 111 talhng an \TM on Oct 29. \ccordmg to Kath) Tam. the school's chief adnunlstrauvc officer, th~: machine Will be mstalled 10 the foyer of Havcllc I louse somcttmc thts \\cck. "Inc "InstaCash" machmc Will charge a fcc of one dollar per transaction.

Drscu s1ons regarding installing bank machme started a few years ago, bur "the bank requtred a !,>uarantcc of 2000 trnnsacttons per month, a rcyuircmcnt we couiJ not mcl't," said Tam. Last y{ar, ho\\"C\ cr, the uruvcr-;It} began mstallmg s<• called ""'lute label" 1\ T?.ls u luch no l<lllgcr needed a mmtmum number of transacuons. lncrL'llScd bu~ioe% at the new cafct<.:na also made a bank machine fe:mble, said Tam."\ lot of people u"Crc askmg for \TM servtcc:; smcc the cafetl ria onl> offers cash payment anJ the do

est machine 1s on Bloor Street," said Sl-'i PrestJent Jennifer :\latthews.

- Salman H (lfj

ULTRA VIRES

- Htmi11a 81111

Law student elected to Governing Council Second-) <.:ar student Josh Paterson Ius been elected to the llniH~rstty of Toronto's Governing Counal in an election held last '\\'Cck. PatL'l'Son received 37 per cent of the 1'22 votes cast. He joins seven full-time udcrgraduaw students on the university body. " I dunk it'~ crucial to have a law rep· rcscntariw on Governing Council tight now, given that thc.· J>ro\ostial report on accessibility is going to be a hotly contested dehatl·," said P.u..:r~on.

- .\ul111t1n 1-laq

Ultimate team wins title The !au l>Chool's co -cd tntramura.J ultt man: tL'alll won thts )Car's champiOnshtp after us opponent failed to showup in the fmal £,>arne on Nov. 17. "Obvtously, they decided to watch the Santa Claus parade in.;tcad - like the babies the} arc," said tL-am member I·.mth l\lak.

- Salman 1ltUJ

Accessibility study inadequate, say student reps

Firms express mixed feelings about participation

Proposed methodology will not examine future tuition increases

BY SALMAN HAQ

More U of T law students will call Bay Street home next summer.

BYTIM WILBUR ,\fter a long summer job interview process, preliminary numbers indicate that the number of U of T students hired for summer jobs in Toronto has increased dus year. "\Xc haven't seen a number this high for any other year that I have been tracking" stated ,\ssistan Dean of Career Services Honnie Goldberg. "This is a good news story regardmg the economy. \Vc were cogntzant of the market and our student:; pcrformeu spccracularly." Coldlll'rg is yuick to point out th:lf for stuc.knrs \.\."J.nnng ~ummer posirions who did not receive offer~, there is still the East/\\est hiring process and many smaller firms who make later offers. "\X'ith each passmg year we find that stu· dents are increasingly knowledgeable about the firms," stated ~tonica Binnger, \cong Chair of the Students Committee of Osler, Hoskin and l larcourt. "We also nooced that fewer candidates than in pnor years were interested in summering tn :-Jew York."

Osiers recruited nineteen 2003 summer students, seven of which arc L niversity of Toronto students.

Goldberg also thtnks that the OCI process improved· the \lovember interviews, since many ftrms only invited students that they were seriously considering.

"The harder cut to get was the call back, but once }ott got the call back, it \\-as much casi<.-r to get an offer," stat..:d-Goldbcrg.

I.crncrs, a htigation bouuque tn Toronto, participated in OCls for the fir~t time this }t."ar. l•or Sylvia Da,·is. Director of Student De\'Ciopment at I..crncrs, OC!s arc helpful to a ltmitcd extent. "Sometimes !O<!lsl

don't always allow !students] to put their best foot forward. There are many students who can't rc..-ally flower in 18 minutes."

Davis, however, thinks OCis can be useful in certain cases. "For a litigation bouDlJUC, it gives you an opportunity to chat u,;th ~orncont.• about whether they really >w-ant to do litigation. OC:Is arc becoming more common for firms to do. \X'e wanted ro give it a chance and ~cc what It ts hkc."

Davis said that l.crners was undeciJed uhout .,.hcthcr th~:y ''""do< )Ci s "~in Louist• Poultn, who l11rcd two U of 'I' srudl:nts out of 10 ~wJcnts thts year for the

"Sometimes [OCis] don't always allow [students] to put their best foot forward. There are many students who can't really flower in 18 minutes."

- Sylvia Davis, L6mers

A forthcoming study examining the Impact of tuioon increases on accessibility to the law school falls short of the commitments made in last year's five-year plan, say student representatives on Faculty Council.

"There's a maJOr concern that the study is fundamentally different from what we stgned off on last year," said second ·year student Aaron Delaney.

The ·~ccessibility and Career Choice Review'' was Ulitiated after the University of Toronto's Governing Council approved a monon m .May prohibiting further "substantial" tuition increases until the Governing Council is satisfied that the current increase neither reduces accessibility to the law school nor distorts career choices of U of T law students. Responsibility for the reVlew was assigned the office of the U of T provost, Shirley Neuman.

As its name suggests, the review 1s divided into two areas - accessibility and career choice. Neuman has indicated that accessibility will be assessed by looking at survey data of the socio-economic background of current and previous classes to deternune whether any link exists between accessibility and tuioon increases. The second component of the review will focus on whether the career choices of graduates over the past ten years have changed as a result of increasing

tuition fees.

While the review is only at the prelimi· nary stage, its proposed methodology has some students concerned that the law school's commitment in the five-year plan to undertake a "comprehensive, indepenJent review of its accessibility performance" IS being undermined by outdated data and maJequate student input.

The Faculty Council Student Caucus raised Its concerns at an Oct. 31 meenng with Sean Mullin, an undergraduate student rcpresentauve on Governing Council. '~\ny honest mechanism to measure accessibility needs to look at more than numbers, and to consider a broad range of factors within the applicant pool. It's not enough to say that applications were up at U of T by 8%, when the corresponding increase at Queen's, for instance, was 22%," noted second-year representaove Robin Rix. Another key concern was the need to develop survey tools to look at who docs not apply to the law school. Delancy conceded that while finding such data is difficult, several proposals were put forward last year, including obtaining applicant information from other law schools in order to assess whether higher tuition at U of T was freezing out potential applicants. According to the five-year plan, accessibility would be morutorcd "m the context of the faculty's poo\ of prospective app\ic>tnts, actual 2.pp\•

At Borden Ladner Gervais LLP we're lookilg

!01 students who want to pu!SUf their pasSIOn for Department of Justice, also had mixed feclmgs about 0( Is. "This is the third year I have conducted ( >Cls, and I still can't get used to the cn\'tronment- the cubicles, the microphones, the cra:t.iness of meeting 20 people in one day. But I re!>pect the process, because it docs yiciJ ,.·ery good results for us. " Goldberg \\as also happy \\ith the m:w e ,\ttorncy sofN"are used hy tht·law 'chool to schedule inteniews. "\\'c. set sign up bet\H·cn Sam and 12 noon and I think 98" o \\'ere signed up by 9am" stated Goldberg.

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cants, and enrolled students."

Mullin highlighted further concerns at an informal gathering of Govcrrung Council members on Nov. 6. "$14,000 is not $22,000. Even if accessibility and career choice are not being affected by a $14,000 per year tuition level, it does not necessarily mean that they won't be affected by tuition at $22,000," said Mullin. "\Ve'rc studying something that hasn't even happened yet."

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responsible for initial approval of the report. "The law school should nor let thiS one particular study supplant future reviews."

.\part from inadequate data however Delancy expressed frustration that the Ia~ school's Accessibility Committee was not actively involved in drafting the terms of reference for the stud}'- The establishment of this committee was seen as a major change from the original fivc·yt.-ar plan, in part because it called for at least three stu"Any honest mechanism to dent representatives on the committee, as measure accessibility needs to well as student input into the selection of the chair of the committee. Because the look at more than numbers, and report is being conducted through the to consider a broad range of Provost's Office, "students' votccs arc not as factors within the applicant pool." prominent as they should be," says Delancy.

Furthermore, "the study was supposed ro - Robin Rix (II) serve the interest of law students, but u's now serving a university-wide purpose."

Although Neuman has indicated that there Mullin concurred, noting that the report will be an ongoing study, Mullin is unclear is being tteatcd by the university as a "de whether Governing Council will be actively facto bcllweather, not only for law school revisting the issue in sub;equent years. tuition, but for most deregulated and proThird-year student and Faculty Council fessional programs as well. I expect that the member Josh Hunter agreed that ongoing study will have a profound impact on how U monitoring would be crucial. "While the of T handles tuition and financial aid over proposed study will have useful informa- the next fifteen year.;!' tion, I'm not sure it will be enough to make The time frame for the ap'Prova\ of the a truly infotmed decision about the i.m\)act study mcthodo\ov,y a\so conccn'lcd 11.\u\\in. o£ highu rui.tion:' said Hunte£, who a\so ~ita

associat.es and partners with us.

Sweet 'n Lowdown S11'eel

Last Issue wc madwnently left out b)lincs on two Dt\'crstons pieces. Lisa r'-.1inuk wrote the lltra News storv, "Iacobucci trades chair for seat, dtnner," and Ronan l.l '1 c.ame up u1th the ''Top 10 thmhrs to do at .m OCJ \\hen )OU knou )Ou'rc not gernng a call back." Our apologies to them both

3

Goldberg happy with OCI outcome

Summer recruitment process featured in TV documentary Tile "strangt•r than ficoon" on-campus interview OU proct·ss ha_, been captured in a documcntar} featuring ~t'cond-year l\lcgan ::itc\vart. An nd m Headnotcs lasr ) L'ar piqued Stc\\'lln'S mtcrL'St and she decided to participate. Stewart joined forces wtth mJcpendcnt tilnunaker David Bezmo?.gts and Markham Street hlms.

The piece doclUncnts .Stc\\ art's experiences and feelings through the OCT process and callback interviews. Her interview \\'ith Cassels Brock & Hlackwcll was the only one actuall} captured on film. Two other students were involYed one from <>sgoode Hall, and the other from the University of \X'cstcrn Ontario.

Stc\\'llrt's roommates u·crt' also interviewed hy the ere\\~ "A Jot of students thought it was pretty c.ool, but wouldn't have done it thcmseh·cs bccaust• they think it would have added a lot of pressure to the whole process," stated Ste\\'llrt. ''But they w~:rc L-urious about how it went and I got a couple of comments like. 'llow doc.-; it fcc\ to be a mm ie star?"'

The final product will au: someumc this •priug on the Docwncnrarr Channd.

NEWS

19 NOVEMBER 2002

AIIOCOIU • Agents de bo-~ ttde IIWil- de COQIIT~

4

NEWS

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Drafting Nunavut legislation an exciting challenge

ju•t bought a soap qone caning.

1br figure is a new take on the tra d10onal 'dancing bear': a bear s1:2nds on one htnd leg, irs other paw stretched out for balance, its head thrown back. lt holds aloft wtth ltS front pa\\ s a bear cub. 1 call the carvmg "Acrobat Bt:ars." l'ot me tt s-;mbo\izcs the grace, strength,

I

and whim!ltcaht-; o£ tbc 1 nuit, and the dtfftculty of the challenges facing Numwur.

There j~ a sense of excitement and

cxpcctauon In legal circlt'S in Iqalwt, but also a keen awareness of how much \\'Ork there IS to do. When Nunavut Wll$ created tn 1999, the N\Vf statutes were duplicated for unavut unnl the new legJSiathe assembly makes the changes nccessa!) to adapt them to circumstances tn the F.astem Arctic. The long term task IS nothing short of reconSidcnng all laws from the ground up.

Currently, legislation restructuong the cducaoon system is before the legislative assernbl}. A key challenge in education ts to Integrate lnuit culture and the lnukntut language (Inuit QauJunajatuqangit) throughout thr sys tern, while continuing to protect the rights of the francophone minority and dcnommational schools. A nC\\' Human Rights Act has also been introduced, replacmg outdated ~'\\7'f legtslation \\1th a comprchenstvc, modern code.

1 have taken a particular interest m the debates concem.mg the Offic1al Languages Act, having given a talk about language rights at a CLE meeting of the Jqaluit bar. 'fbe problems in this realm prO\ ide a glimpse into the d}namic in many areas.. Nunavut inhented lcgislanon that makes lnuktitut an official language along with Engli~h and French, bur puts Inuktitut in a distincdy infl'fior position- acce:;s to govl'rnment and judicial services is not guaranteed in lnuktitut and statures and regulations uc enacted only in I•rench and English, the lnuktitut translation not having authoritative status. Although 80% of rhe population of Nunavur is lnuktitut peaking, English is the working tan-

LffiER FROM IQALUIT In her second letter, Professor Denise Reaume reflects on teaching this term at the Akitsiraq program in lqaluit, Nunavut guagc o( govcromcnt. This uron'r change unnl there is enough homegrown lq,oal expertise to develop lq,oal terminology in lnuktitut, to draft legtslation sunultant"Ously in lnukutut, and to argue and ulnmatcly hear cases in lnuktitut.

This puts m contt'l-1: the creation of the Akit"iray Law School Program.

Currently the only qualified Inuit lawyer in Nunavur is Paul Okalik, the Premier. '!be territory desperately needs Inuit l.l\\)ers people who understand the nl.>eds of their communities and art~ committed to scn.ing them.

The students 111 the program arc all acutely aware of the responsibility that rests on their ~boulders. And they arc

The students struggle to reconcile the Inuit dislike for adversarial processes with their growing desire to help remedy civil injustice. up for tht• task. They arc a remarkable hunch of people, with interesting backgrounds and a diverse array of connections to Inuit culture and corrununirics. ]·or example, Aaju runs a business on the side designing sealskin clothing (the Govc."rnor General is a diem!); Sandra, recently profiled by ~faclcan':; Magazine as an up-and-conung leader, was the Chair of the l.aw Rc'\icw Commission of Nuna\'Ut before coming to law school; Elisapee has an alter ego as a

PLEASE SEE "LETTER" ON PAGE 8

NEWS

19 NOVEMBER 2002

Panel discusses racial profiling in Toronto police force

First-year trial advocacy program exposes student talent

Star report reveals differential treatment of races

Popular event may become compulsory

BY ADRIAN LIU

Photo rourfe!J of Denrse R!attnlt.

UlTRA VIRES

On October 30, the Black l~1w ~tudents' \ s~ociauon (B l4" \ ) held a panel dt~cussion in respon~t· w the 'I bromo Star's controversial report ahout ractal differences in the law enforccm<:nt practices of the Toronto pohce forn·. First pubhshcd on October 19, the Star's report highlighted differences m the Wll) blacks and whites \\Cre treated.

Cker 40 people attended the lunch-hour Sl"sston that initiated dcbatt· about racial profiling - whether it existed, whether it ought to bl" allowed, and how the legal community could respond.

Professor Sujit Choudhry, ;\·ho chatted the cvem, praised the organizers for the timeliness of the panel. "This panel was orgaruzed on extremely short notice," he said b} way of introduction. "\\'c arc responding to rapidly changing eYents." ,\mong the speakers \vas Jim RanJan, a staff writer and photographer at the Star who was a pan of the team that broke the controversial stor). His team analrzed a police database of about 800,000 charges that have been laid since 1996. "\X'e knew the police had a database where people were classified by skin colour - black, white, brown, yellow and red," he said. "\X'e knew It \Vas there, and we w-anted to sec rhc police's responses in high-discrenon case·:;, IJke drug posH·ssion ." \\ lfh respect to drug po~sesswn charges, the ~rar found that blacks were twice as likely as whitls to be held overnight for a bail hearing. As well, a disproportionate number of blacks were ticketed with violations follo\\<mg a traffic stop compared to whites.

Rankin defended the Star's findings.

"Our story dovetails With other studies done in the Toronto area," he said. '~-\n out~idc statistician also verified the soundness of our methodology."

Marie Chen, a lawyer at the African Canadian Legal Clinic, spoke about the chal lcngcs of linganng racial profiling. Whether a lawyer takes the criminal, civil or human rights route, s1milar o bstacles arise. "There's a lot of hostility in the courts [towards the issue]," she srud. "You're up against a lot of denial." Chen also expressed reservations

about the proce~s of issutng complaints about the pohce. "To tell you the truth, Ithe process! ... is usdcss and humilianng. It doesn't bring in the sptl·mic aspects of the situation. \\'e do it for the record, otherwise poltce would say that no one's complained." !);wid ~luchell, prt·sident of the Black Law Enforcns \ssociation, had no doubt that racism existed in the Toronto pohce forcc."Racisrn is in society, so you can't tell me the mtcrocosm of the police force doesn't ha\T racism," ht· satd. ~litchcll related the problem to long held, informal practices that art• remforccd amongst police officers.

"Racism is in society, so you can't tell me the microcosm of the police force doesn't have racism." - David Mitchell '\lew police graduates arc assigned to coach officers with several years' experience and pre-conceptions about who to monitor and arrest. "lt's a vicious cycle. You don't stop to question why you do something," Mitchell srud. "1 ou have black officers who buy into this 'lou get drawn into the sub-culture."

The final speaker was Julian Falconer, a defence attorner affiliated wtth the Urban ,\lhance on Race Relations. ,\mong his intial rcm;trks W".IS tlw ohs<·n":ltion that it \\as "ironic that 11 took n hunch of whuc Jour nalists to sa> what black people knew and wanted to say."

Falconer's chief concern, however, was that the dcctsion to hold an mqwry was made without public consul1:2tion. "\II the other issues in this mula-faceted problem will be ignored if communities are left out of the process," he said.

Srura Bhojani, a first-year student. s:ud she attended the panel to "get a first-hand impression of what the reactions [to the report] were,"· she said. "We know these problems exist ... and we need to think about what to do about them."

Stnce the panel was convened, BLS \ has been mvitcd by Toronto Police Chief Julian Fantino to participate in consultations about the issue of racial profiling.

Methodology of accessibility study raises concerns CONTINUED FROM "ACCESSIBIUTY", PAGE 3 The Provost's Office is expected to 1:2ble its proposed methodology at a meenng of the Committee on Acadcmtc Policy and Programs on Nov. 27. Neuman will lay out tentative plans for the career choice study at a meeting on Nov. 22 at the law school. ,\!though students and faculty have been invited to attend and provide input, Mullin wonders whether student concerns can real istically be mcorporated tnto the proposed methodology, major clements of which are likely to be contained in an agenda chsclosed to the public a few days prior to '\Jov. 27. If approved, the methodology will very likely be rubber-stamped by Governing Council on Feb. 14.

The results of the study arc expected to

mflucncc Govcrnmg Council's decision next \pnl on whether to approve a further $2,000 mcrt-ase m twtion for the incoming class 10 September 2003.

Some students against the proposed rwnon mcrcases arc hopmg that spnpathetIC members of Governmg Council will be able to mfluence the methodology and scope of the study. Recent graduate Rachel Furey and a current third-year student have organized an email campaign encouraging students to express their opmions on fur~ thcr tuition mcrcases to U of T Chancellor Hal Jackman. At a Governmg Council meeting in June, Jackman asserted that tuition increases may place pressure on law students to forsake jobs in traditionally lowpaying fields in favour of high-paying jobs in the pnvate sector.

BY BEN PERRIN l\.1tx one dozen law firms, 27 trials, 90 \vitncsscs, 108 ftrst-year advocates, $7,500 in food and drink, and several topless students over three nights and you have the rcctpc for tlus year's first-year trial advocacy pro gram. By all accounts It may just be the b1ggest one in the history of the law school. "\\e had so much mterest from law ftrms that we had to turn etght down," said Daniel Anthony (II) who orgaruzcd the program this year With the help of Brandon Porter (II) and Student Law SoctCt} Prcstdcnt Jcnrufer Matthews (III). The program is sponsored by SLS. Th1s year's trial advocacy program was held from Oct. 22-24. First-year students represent either plainnff or defendant in teams of two. Witnesses include other ftrst ycar.., upper-years, roommates, friends and anyone else who could be coerced on short notice. Lawyers from several downtown firms served as judges.

This year, two different fact patterns set negligence actions in motion. The student lawyers ftled statements of clatm and defence as well as prepared oral arguments, rcadted witnesses, and attempted to learn procedure on the fly.

"It involved a little more preparation

than I expected, but It was a great experience," srud Mansa Wysc (I). "Pan of the attracnon was the chance to interact with someone from the firms."

"I hadn't really thought about litiganon before," said Jenn Janueson (I). "I'm more interested than I was before. But for some people, this expenence ruled it out."

Josh Hunter (III) was a witness in this year's program, but has been involved since Ius first year. He is also part of the Moot Committee, which runs the second-year ~ompulsory moots and compentive moottog program.

"It was fun - a chance to try out all the thmgs you sec on television," said Hunter. "lt also takes a bit of the tension off of the 'b1g bad firms' image. These lawyers arc regular people."

But trial advocacy may have become a victun of its O\\n success. Hunter notes that the Curriculum Committee is eyeing it as part of a comprehensive revtew of aspects of the mooting program. "\X'e arc looking at the possibilit} of a first-year program," said llunter. "I can't say more than that."

"1 thmk the SLS ts in no w-ay jealous of this projl'Ct - we don't mind if someone else takes it on:' said Anthony. "l f the moot commtttee wants to run tt, Sl.S has no proh\cms.."

PLEASE SEE • TR\,._l ,._0'1/0Cit.C'C' ON PII.GE S

5

Community Notice Board IFht~l: ,\ U ofT Chri'!tnas Carol

Details: The holiday season is fasr approachmg. Here is a chance to make a small dtfference 1n tht•livl"s of the hun gry and less priv·ilegeJ of "Joronw. Just hnng in c.mncd food (or bah} tim~ula) dunng the last two weeks of class. Then Watl"h it multiply! Thirteen la\\· firms \\ill match our donauon to the Food Bank. That mean~ for every can ) ou hong m, you're rcall) donating fourteen cans!

IFhtn & U7 hm: Dec. 4, 7:30p.m., ()rcat Hall, llart House

/Jelm/s: IX.-aturing special n:adings by Canadian theatre luminaries lUI. Thomson, Charmion King, CBC Radtn pcrsonaltt}· Kevin Sylvester, and songs by the I !art House Chorus, the Christmas Carol Committee presents a reading of '~\ Christmas Carol"' to ben efit the ll of T rood and Clothing Bank. Tickets arc on sale at the J !art f louse Theatre Box Office by calling -ll6-978-8668. Pnccs arc $10 for ·tu· dt:nts and S15 for noo-srudents. Coffee, cider and snacks will follow. ~fore information is available at http://ww~:gc'OCi­ tics.com/uoftchrisonascarol.

• This month Ultra \'ires tntroduces us nC\\• Commumt}·. otice Board. tudcnt groups, clubs, and organtzanons are welcome to announce conferences, seminars, bcnefiu;, and other events free of chargr.. Please send details of the C\ ent in the above format (\\nat, \\'hen & where, details) to ultra.virl'S~~utoronto.en.

Please hm1t announcements to 100 words m length. Ultra Vires rcscrvt'S the right t<J Jccline pubhshing announcements.

• rr~hat. The St:cond Annual Holiday

Canned Food Drive IFhen & lf-'hnr. Nov. 25- Dec. 6, collection box located just inside the law library doors

Dershowitz defends Israel at talk Professor condemns U.S. divestiture pet\t\on

BY MICHEl BESHARA ( .. on.!l.\\tuttt"lna.\ '1\nd 'hum'4\n -nv)'-'Y. \a:~'Y..:'~'

l) r ho'WnL "

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l )c-rslu>\\ lt7.. 11 1-l..rr' •• n.II.I.u l"rntc.ssor. J.,rtl\' a mlk <~n nclccl "l)n~-snng frozn \1omtur lsr.u I

l:tu r nfh-.u~l th:lt the llaiNunt:rn luihorio optc·cl (( >r ,, cron_o.; rn und rluu ".11 <It x.·s nt:.t k 1 to\\ ho" en ozlt.t.:. ) c~ for un Jznsn cr

.tnJ rhc Culwrc on Campus." C)n •'-'o\. S ar Tn~tead, f)cr:;lum trz .trguccl. ccrronsnt "·'' Hart J louse, .md speaking before a crowJ 1111 ,·{fccriH' ~tmtl'g)' ro inJun• :m OH'rn"llc that includt·d swdenrs, profc.-;sor,, mvirnl tion from Israd.

The dJ\ cstin1re petition unuld accomguests, ;md a small contingent of <t-cunt) plish Iurie in pracnce, cl~imcd I ~crsho\\1tz, guards acccssorized with 'ec:Ct ser·d.c~-sl) lc since roo much umversuy fundmg comes carpicccs, Dcrsh<)\\itz \\-as h1ghly cnnClll of from Jt'\\i~h and non·Jt"\dsh cnntnuutors a dtvestiture petition circulating in several who do not agree with its terms - and no L S. universttics. univcrsit} would risk antagomzing a very Thl petiuon calls on the U.S. gO\·ernment large ,ource of revenue. ,\{ore disturbmg to make militarr rud and arms sales to I sracl than the pctitton, he indicated, arc cffons to conditional ~n withdrawal from the boycott sctentists and academics from Occupied Territories, mcluding not building Israeli universttit·s. This \\"aS de ·cnbcd as "a any new settlements and vacating cxistmg sort of ;lpartheiJ against Jew1sh academics settlements. \id and sales would .tlso be which unfortunately requires only the concondttional on Israel's endmg its usc of sent of individuals rcvtewing applications legalized torture. The pctiuon further calls and sc:lcctivcly tossing some away based on universtocs to divest itself from Israel onl) on country of origm." and from L.~. companies that sell arms to OershO\vitz rold the audience that he and Israel unol the above conditmns arc met. others at Harvard arc working on fifteen Oershowttz argued that our society has petitions of thetr own, criucal of ~liddll become a "topsy-tun)' world" where efforts · Eastern countries that pracucc torture, arc made to Isolate and dclegitimize a hangin~. imprisonment with~mt .trial, and democracy that has a very good human other glaring human rights nolanons. The rights record. He stated that Jordan killed purpose of these petitions is to make pcD-' more Palestinians in one month - Black pic think about why they stgncd the dt~csu­ September 1970 - than Israel has killed in 53 years of combat, and that no moral com· ture petition and whether they would s1gn these pennons as well. Dcrshowitz quoted parison could be made between a "terronsr Lawrence Summers, the president of organization that deliberately targets innoHarvard L mvers1ty, who called the tlt\'CStl cent civilians and a government that inad· turc petition "ann-Semitic in their actions, tf vcrtcntl} ktlls innocent bystanders."

Dcrshowm: noted that the I sracli nor their intent."

Ocrshowitz was also crincal of Bill Suprlme ( .ourt recently banned the usc of Graham, Canadian Minister of Foretgn torture, and that Israel has tried on several \ffairs and former Universtt}· of 1i>ronto occasions to comply with United anons Resolution 242, which he helped m draft. law professor, for his "anti-hrael stance." 1f The resolution calls on Israel to \\1thd.raw Palestinians are allowed to get land lx.--causc from the Occupied Territories. Ocrsh0\\1tZ of terrorism, Dcrshowitz concluded, then, also criticized Palestinian President Yasser in the words of one of his friends, "terror· Arafat for rejecting Israel's withdrawal-for- ism is coming to a theater near you."

6

ULTRA VIRES NEWS --Second-years on auto-schmooze during recruitment season Dc2r HELMuT, \Thy arc the second-years so artificial?

-DmtJISifd

ever going to keep up in the December tests?

-Terrified

Dear Decs-gusted, Ah, second-year syndrome. Believe it or not, there 1s a reason for their behaviour. It's firm recruitment time. By the middle of November, most of them have been through more interviews, callbacks, cocktail paroes, power breakfasts, corporate-sponsored lunches and business dinners in one month than in their entire pre-law lives.

They're exhausted, confused and stuck on auto-schmooze auto-pilot. They don't know \\·ho you arc, they don't know who their friends are, they don't even know who they arc anymore, they just know they must nod and smile or they won~ get a job. Add to this strenuous networking program the piled-up schoolwork that isn't getting done, the intense competition going down between best buddies, and the sleepless nights spent wallowing m self-loatlung as they all calculate how much it will take to appease the debt god, and you've got a bunch of people who aren't exacdy radiating oneness with themselves. Be kind, Dees-gusted, and cut them some slack. Hopefully they'll stan to seem more human as their Christmas vacation approaches. And besides, you too will be doing this next year. (Even if you think you won't.) \W..\.M\IT, \l.vet'j(lnC:. here seem!. brilliant. How am \

\)or

Dear Ternfied, Meet the B curve. The B -curve is your friend. In fact, you already have a B - you just need to keep it. Let the brilliant people have theu- \'s - they'll be working beside you on Bay Street m a couple of years regardless.

Listenmg to the brilliant people talk about how much they know is likely to stress you out, so stay away from the library (unless you need to ask the brilliant people some questions).

Focus on what you need to learn, and do some practice exams. Most of the tests arc open-book, so do a summary of all those details you forget and bring it with you, because, hey, you can! Concentrate on undcrstancting the material, not memorizing it, and once the test starts, you'll find it's all there. Call Mom, get enough sleep, and take little study breaks. And, Terrified, bear in mind that there are people here who cannot be out-studied except at great personal cost, so use your sanity and don't even go there.

Dear HELMUT, I'm a first-year who's dating someone in my section. I really like this person but am concerned about mamtaining some degree of independence, the gosstp train at "Aavelle High:' and being distracted from my studies. Any suggestions?

-

DEAR HELMUT Feeling down? Health Enables Legal Minds at the University of Toronto (HELMUT) offers advice Dear L I \W P, I want to say get out of the house before it catches fire 'cuz this one's going to burn. But I 'W'On't. The truth is, dating another law student d<.>es have its difficuloes. However, if you've met someone you reallr like it would be foolish to end it before it starts. So focus on making the situation manageable.

Mamtam mdependence by sttting apart from one another m class, studymg in different locales, and hanging out with non-law friends Qf you have none, try to make some in-school ones that aren't close to your partner). You might also try limiting couple discussions about easements, adus re11s, and other delightful legal banter. As for gossip, you can try keeping the relationship covert, but I don't suggest it - people know what's going on and secrecy tends to fuel rumors.

Be open about things, but maybe hold back on excessive public displays of affection (they aren't what Weinrib means by the "duty of care")- that'll minimize disapproving glances and murmurs of resenonent.

You've dealt with study distractions in the past or you wouldn't be here, so just handle them the way you always have. Good luck!

Col a qmstinn for IIEL\fUT? P11t1t in the "Dtar 1/EL\IUJ'" ba>.· l!Ytbe nmilfoldm. And if.JOifftJrtlin,.~ do~·n or lookingfor info on how /Q gtt adtict of tbt nrore profts.rionalleind, e-ntail afysia.datirJ@utoronto.ca, cati!J.clark@utorontn.ca or talllaralennox@botnlailconr. HELMUT (lltalth Enablts Lrgal Minds at U of T) is hm to prot>rdtyou U-ith resources about htalth and ~'t/1bting if.JO" nud tbnn. Your pritoaq »-ill be

respemd.

Financial aid CONTINUED FROM MFACULTY," PAGE 1 on behalf of the Student Caucus.

Recommendations to the faculty include providing students with earlier estimates of financial aid and hiring an assistant to the financial aid director, while recommendaoons to Scotiabank include increasing the non-guarantor debt limit from $70,000 to $125,000 and improving Scotiabank's customer service. Recommendations to the University of Toronto include reducing the mterest rate on outstanding fees; allowing students to pay fees in instalments rather than upfront; and allowing students to pay by credit card.

www. ultravi res.ca

Looleingfor Love in All the Wrong Places

DAVIES WARD PHILLIPS

& VINEBERG LLP

Toronto • Montreal • New York • Beijing • Paris

NEWS

19 NOVEMBER 2002

Bridge Week generates strong responses Students hear range of views on law and terrorism

BY BEN PERRIN

for Ontario in 1\hani v. Canada, and the voluminous federal Anti-Terrorism \ct, formerly Bill C 36. \ consensus began to emerge that the first fc"W days of the bndge were devoted to more liberal and left-wing VIC\\· points, whereas the final day of the bridge was clearly more conservative.

"I think that for the first three days, the speakers were Ideologically similar," said Hardey Lefton (I). "It was only the last day that contrary viewpoint<; arose."

"I liked the diversity of speakers and the opinions they represented," said Lydia Pilch (I). Other students found some of the speakers to be offensive.

Tartq Remtulla (I), a student who was in New York when the September 11th attacks occurred, says he has spoken with some students that found bridge week divisive.

"I think there are some students that are pretty upset with what happened," said Rcmtulla. "There was almost an equaoon that terrorists are lunatics like serial killers. J do nor condone terrorism, but there are political reasons that motivate them to do what they do."

Rcmtulla's main concern was with comments by Clifford Orwm, Professor of Political Sctence at U of T. "He made a lot of assumpoons about Islam;' said

Consistent with the topic It sought to address, the law and rcrronsm bridge week was controverstal and provocative.

Some students, however, think it went too far.

The first bridge week of the year ran from 'Jov. 4-7. Nineteen speakers addressed topics ranging from racial profiling, international law, civil liberties, and litigating a terrorism case. Participation in the three bridge weeks held dunng the acaderruc year is a compulsory part of the first-year program.

In addition to faculty members, several notable speakers participated, including Court of Appeal Justices Laskin and Rosenberg; Richard Mosley, architect of Canada's Anti-Terrorism Act; Barbara Jackman and Donald Macintosh, opposing counsel in the Ahani case; Alan Borovoy, Director of the Canadian Civil Liberties \ssociation; and Jonathan Kay, Editorials Editor at the National Post.

The academic basis for the conference came in the form of a series of essays prepared m the wake of September 11th by faculty members cntidcd "The Security of Freedom."

Further readings included recent judgments of the Supreme Court of Canada 10 Suresh v. Canada, the Court of Appeal Rcmtulh. "lie had an academic t>Cr,..pcc-

7

I Professors' salaries CONTINUED FROM "DANIELS'," PAGE 1

"\\'e cannot hope to foster a distinctive Canadian legal consciousness tt we arc too dependent o n L.S. rive but was being very political. He was recognition," wrote Professor.; Deni5c Reaume and very slanted m hts views."

Jim Phillips in the National Post on December 27, "The root of this terrorism is not 2001. "Imagine a law school as concerned "With the Islam," satd Orwin, "but the peculiar vulquality of its students' education as "With makmg a nerability of Islam to be used by those name for itself in the United Stares.'' who arc enraged about the world and "This would equate to professors just shopping wish to pull tt down." around for offers in the U.S.," srud Phillips, "~or only To make his point, Orwin quoted a would this detract from what people do here, but at leader of Hczbollah saying, "\'{e are not the end of the day there would be people who solicit fighting so that you will give us someed other offers who wac in no way intending to take thing, but so that we may annihilate them up. It doesn't seem ro me to be fair to either you." institution to do that."

For his part, Professor Ed Morgan, As of last year, only three professors from the faccoordinator of the bridge week, recogulty have left to teach at U.S. schools, while six have nized that the speakers program evoked left for Canaclian schools smcc 1988. strong responses from students.

If the Daruels proposition moves forward, it could "During the breaks I have some stu also VIOlate tht Five-Year Plan which called for a con dents coming up to me saying 'I couldn't tinued commitment to the "longstanding criteria for stand that last speaker';• said Morgan. assessmg faculty performance."

"Then another group of students say Daniels IS advancmg changes to the salary struc'thank you for bringing that speaker, ture at the same time the university is facing impendtheir perspccovc was really helpful'." ing financial challenges.

In fact, there was little that most of According to Langille, due to chronic undcrfundthe speakers could agree on with respect ing by the provincial government and market declines to how to combat terrorism, with one in recent years, faculty members have been told that notable excepoon: "No one thinks that it will take rime to fully implement the academic plan the government got 1t right except for \ and salary provisions. Further, the value of the the government," supposed Lefton. endowment fund has declined and the pcn~ion fund The next bridge week runs during the is no longer in surplus. first week of classes in January after the "\\c arc about to take across the board budget Christmas break, on the topic of the \aw cutS:' said Lang\\\e, "'this is biAAct than evet"jthmv, and ethics. v·•c."'vc c~n \_nc\u\.\\ny'» ,n.e ("..ommnn '::lcn.'!.e 't\:'1;\)\utl.on. "'\"hey ""'\\be ma•...wC:'

You're looking for an opportunity.

We're looking for

a future partner.

At Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP, summer and articling students are an essential part of our

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continued success. Our program is challenging and the demands are rigorous, but with over 500 lawyers and 160 years as one of Canada's

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To find out more, please visit our website at fmc-law.com/careers

For information on our articling and summer student programs, visit us at www.dwpv.com or contact: Frances Mahil Director, Student Affairs 416.367.6966 fmahil@dwpv .com 44™ Floor 1 First Canadian Place Toronto Canada M5X IBI Telephone: 416.863.0900 Fax: 416.863.0871

FRASER MILNER CASGRAIN LLP MONTREAL • OTIAWA • TORONTO EDMONTON • CALGARY • VANCOUVER

8

~-------- --~

INSIGHT

Student makes mark in Canadian litigation community

BY REENA GOYAL

W

ile the stress of intervi.ew \\cck may be over for all of s, the pn.-ssurc of findmg a summer job mar not be. If you arc one of the latter, the best carcl'r mon: may sull be just around the corner.

In today's rm:agrc economy and the restdnng prC'Ssurc to commit to a law firm early rn one's career, m} decision to defer my Ia t }car of law school \\",\S not an easy one to make.

Rather than ha\1ng compromised m} profe~sional prospects, ho\\·ever, taking tht• semester off has enhanced them by brrng W' en the opportumty to pioneer what will undoubtedly pro\'C to be a historical cvolunon in litigation technology.

I \\as lured b) Con1mon\\ t.."alth Legal Inc. m May 2002 to hl'lp develop ()mario's first full-scale Cl\;1 det'tronrc appt'al bnef for the l..a[arge cement at.tton ht-ard br the Ontario Court of \ppcal m late June.. Both Jusnccs Lout~e Charron and Kathryn Feldman opted to usc the e-appcal brief -a CD\~()\\ ama\gamatmg almost \6,0\)lJ page-;, mc\ud\ng over ';)()(.) \c~;a\ precc dents, Jmnt Compendl\lm and \ppt.'j\1 llook documt. nt:;.

"laking ad\ant.lge of thee-appeal lmcf. parnapattng counsel were able to tffiocntly manage and drrcct the court's attenuon to some 720 documents due mg oral submission:;. In turn. the judges were able to readily loc.'lte cited pages ~m mstant access to a completely h) perlinked, mdcxed and highlighted c-appcal

brief, resulung m court procecdmgs concludrng more than one Jay carlrcr than initially scheduled. \s current Chief Justtcc of the Student Moot Program, 1 also recent!} had the opportunit} to dr~cuss the proJCCt \\'lth c:tch of ·Jbc I lonourablc 1\fr.

Jusnccs Frank IacobuccJ,john Major and Ian Btnrue from the Supreme Court of Canada at the annual post Grand Moot dinner. ot only were the JUdges keen on the C< mcrpt of c-appcal briefs, but JustiCl' Iacobuccr r~~marked that he \\ould like to ~ee one m.tke ns way up to <)(rnwa.

The c appeal book, howe\ cr, is hardly a product of my own mnovati\c prowess. Many JUn~dlcnons in the U.~. and \ustralia arc alrcad} ahead of the g.tmc. \lberta, too, has recently established standards for the adrrusston of e appeal books.

So forget about ''hat C\'Cr) one dsc Js doing next summer, rc -d1scovcr yourself, find tnnovaovt: mtem~lups that Interest )OU, and get (lUt there and make your own mark to\\-atds an exoung and challengmg legal career!

Rrma <.oJal rs a tlnrdyear student. ln btr capact!J o.r u l..Jfi..f!.llllfJII '.frclp,JMOIJ.Y Consllltanl t1/ L0/111/IOIIJI'ttlllb Lt;t:t~llite:, .rbr ba.r .rpcnl

thefoil refllfllfr .rprakmg alzt111o11s dozmtoJJ.'It Toro11/o hn :firms rt e aj>Jifal briifs and other lill§llton mpport stiftu'Ort. Thts artidr uw rtproduad in t'tJSI part from the Ort. 25. 2002, issue of The l.Allyers lr'ttk& nith tht pt17liiJJton of I..txtJNexi.t BulltT'WfJrlh.s (.antula l.Jd.. 75 Cltgg Roa" Markham, ON.

could have given rise to liability. With some regularity the conversation also turns to the applicability of common law CONTINUED FROM "DRAFTING," PAGE 4 principles to issues that arc particularly relevant in the north - the legacy of residcndocumentary film maker, contributing to 1 rial schools, the problems of domestic rl:cording rhc oral histOf}' of the Inuit; violence, whether there should be a comHenry was formerly an RCMP constable; mon law duty to report suspected child .

Siobhan 1s a drum dancer, and Ntgel goes abuse, whether the value of hunting can canbou hunting in his spare orne. Many be properly quantified in the calculation of arc already involved in legal issues in the damages, or whether It makes sense to community. For example, ~tadelcinc hold liable public authorities, who arc recently spearheaded a project to u.Titc a struggling to get a handle on the matters brief to the parliamentary committee they regulate, for failure to ~xercisc rca~tudying the proposed Education Act. \ ~onablc care. The student:; struggle to reeMost members of the class combine these oncilc the traditional Inuit dislike for outside commitments not only with their adversarial processes u.ith their growing school work, but with the demands of desire to help remedy civil injustice. raising a family. Yet they still find time to But I know what you're all thinking make red and white gowns so that they "that's all very rnteresring, but what's the can drtss up as Supreme Court justices for weather like"? We've had snow for three Hallowe'en. They, too, remind me of my ~ weeks or so, utterly transforming the land".\crobat Bear~." scape. Thc snow JUSt makes the place As students they bring a unique permore beautiful. On the other hand, the spective to our discussion of negligence wind eM be brutal. \X'hcn the CBC North issues. Civil lawsuits arc rare in the territoweatherman says It's gorng to be "darned ry - the dtm:tnd' of the criminal justice \\indy" today he mt·:ms \\1nds of 40·60 system and in the familr law realm have km/ hr. Ma) be I'll have to buy one of been more urgent. ,\s a result, mishaps 1\uju's sealskin coats! that would cenamly result in litigation rn Best uishu, the south art· commonly let go here. Most Dmisr R!Lmmt of rhc students can recount events that

Letter from lqaluit

I

l

ULTRA VIRES

NEWS

Mark Dubowitz fuses interest in business and technology

BY BERNINA BUTT

IN THE ALTERNATIVE

"( )ne semester spt:nl at a business law school in Fr;UlCl' and spending part of articles at an J~raclt law firm piqued mr intcrcst in intl·rnarional busrness and high tech," a ftirmcJ Mark Dubowi[Z, Vice Presrdent of \'cntures at Brightspark, an SRS million seed venture capital firm that mn-sts in st:ed·stage ~oftwarc comparuc~. \ 1995 JD/M B \ graduate, Dubowitz .tpplics his business skills to the technology sector. lie has had a strong interest rn the area sina thc "tremendous technology boom rntcrnationally, in the Cnitcd States, Israel, and Canada at the time" of his graduaoon.

Dubowitz has been at Brightspark for the last twelve months, and his fervour has not. waned rn the k~lst. "I source and assess new opportunities for rnvestments, and assist currt.'nt companies rn mising capital from rntcrnarional venture capital firms in the Unitcd States and Canada," enthused Dub<l\\itz. He spends his days looking at dt'jlls, working u-1th existing companies to rai~c addrtional capital, serving on the board of directors of portfolro companies, and building investor networks m the U.S., Canada and around the world.

Although his present work "is not legal except as it relates to prcparing term sheets, anti negotiating linancrn~ terms," Dubowitz said his legal background has provl:n useful lie kav<.:s "the bulk of the legal work" to the General Coun•cl at Brightspark. ,\ftcr arricling and before joining the company, Dubowitz worked for a t<.:chnologr start-up m lsrad. lie also spltt his arncb between a pwmmcnt Toronto corporate bw ftrm and a ftrm based in Tel Avh~ ,\t the latter. he worked on ftnancings for Jsraeli high-tech companies.

Dubou.i[Z then returned to Canada and JOined Ventures \Xcst .M anagement Inc., a $400 million venture capital firm. \X'hilc at Ventures West, he led an investment in a Toronto-based software company, HoNetu"Ork Inc. To get more operations cxpcnence, he later jmncd FloNetwork as D irector of Corporate and Internaoonal Development. The company was subsc quentl>· b<?ught by DoublcClick Inc., a '\Jew York company that trades on theN \ SO \Q. Dubowitz stayed on as Director of International Development. \xrhcn Dubou-1tz decided to return to work in venture capital, his combined expc-

rnr

Trial advocacy CONTINUED FROM "RRST-YEAR," PAGE 5 There 1s some debate as ro whether changes to the first·year program would involve making it compulsory. Further issues include whether it is fair to burden student volunteers with managing part of a required academic program.

However, the program is far from tntirely academic. ,\fter the trials on t-ach night, the participating firms sponsor dinner or dnnks at a local bar. On the last nrght of the event, a larger pri\'jlte party ·was held in the ba~emcnt of the Duke of York. 1\s the night wore on and the "free'' drinks flowed,

A monthly feature of U ofT alumni and their diverse career paths riencc in soft\van: operations and venture capital pro\'ed anractr\'e to Brightspark.

Duhowitz concedcd that he never had the intention of "spending too many years at a Ia\\ firm." ,\fter his summer experiences and articles at law firms, he \\'aS convmceJ he did not want to pursue a livelihood Ill that cnvironmcnt.

Admittedly, however, the market for a posinon such as his is "pretcy tough." Said Dubowil:t, "The technology market has come down significantly since rhe 1990s. \s a result of the slowdown in the technology marker, there arc fewer opportunities in venture capital firms." '\ievcrtheless, the market "mo\'es in cycles, and I cxpl:ct the situation will impro\·e in a couple of yt-ars," added Dub0\\1tz.

I;urthcrmore, "working in the area of sofru-arc operations rs riskier than in traditional Ia\\ firms hccause of the nature of the work. The life-cycle of a typrcal soft\\"are company is 3 to 5 years with companit:s started and then either bought out, taken public or closl·d down. Venture capital is al so a tiskier proposition. Your abilit}' to rais~' utlthuonal capital tclr your VC fund dtp~·nds on the success of the sofrware wmpanies in which you inv.cst. And pickin~ the wmncrs ts no easy task m any market. \X"hethcr one is suited to working at a vtnturc capital ftrm depends on one's personality. "If you arc into large, quick transactions, you would be better off doing Ia\\~ In venture capitals, there arc fewer deals and longer relationships that require more patience." .\lark Dubowitz can be reached at mdubou.i~brightspurle.com

He suggested the following wcbsites: Bnghtspark - www.brightspark.com Canad1an Venture Capital Association www.cvca.ca Info on the Canadian VC market www.canadavc.com Nanonal Venture Capital Association (US) www.nvca.org Database of research on the VC mdustr}' www. vcnturcsource.com \ C comic strip - www.thevc.com

several first-year male student:; and one female surprised lawyers and partners of the sponsoring law firms by proceeding to rt:move the1r tops. ",\mongst faculty and the Jaw community, there 1s a gencml duty for students to act as professionals," said \nthony who expressed concern with the behaviour. "You can have a good time, but you have to be professional."

1\nthony and one of the sponsoring law firms have corresponded regarding the incident. The firm's response: " \Ve were surpri~ed that It happened, but didn't think it mt'jlnt disrespect to our firm. If there is an} fallout or ncgatrn: impact at the law school we would hke to know about it."

19 NOVEMBER 2002

NEWS

Superheroes, surfergirls... the Solarium, Hallowe'en-style Thisyear's annual SL.S 1Ia!IOJve'en par()', held 011 Oct. 31 in the S olariiiiiJ, 1vas cl sartorial s11ccess, 1vith ret•ellers in a wide range of e1·eative and ryecatching costumes.

Collaboration 1vas the name of the game, as friends teamed up to make a collective splash at the Jve/1-attended event.

9

A NOVELlA I FOUR PARTS

10

Lust for the law

Deception, romance, intrigue ... exactly the brain candy you need to survive December drudgery. UV is proud to present the first instalment of a serial novella sure to set your heart aflutter ....

"It'll never happen," thought Lucy as she choked back her tears. Closing her laptop, she looked around the emptying classroom, and let herself go on a rising tide of ennui. She'd come to law school for the intellectual engagement, the dizzying social schedule, the fast track to success ... but all she'd found was heartbreak. As Professor Pordham passed her row, she forced herself to avert her eyes.

cg Professor Sharma watched Matthew Pordbam walk by, followed by a trail of wafting lecture notes and adulant first-year students. He felt his anger rising, and resolvedyet again-to confront his colleague. Turning back to his latte, Sharma felt his anger harden into resolve. "This simply can't go on," he mumbled, as he slammed the cinnamon shaker down.

Associate Dean Constance Wentworth looked up at the clock. Only 20 minutes until lunchtime, thank God. She looked around her pastel-green office at the wilting plants, the ever-growing stacks of files. Is this why she'd gone to law school? To read cover letter after cover letter and hold the hands of middle-class brats as they weasel their way to Bay Street heights? Her assistant broke her trance: "Tyler Groves dropped by. Can you squeeze him in for a resume workshop tomorrow?"

Constance struggled to conceal the shiver running down her spine. "Yes," she managed, "of course."

YJarl one - Concealed YJass.ions ooking through his ivy-lined win- cessful visual artist, an accomplished prodow on the third floor of Lafelle fessional-but she did tend to get ruffled House, Dean Kindle surveyed the about minor matters. "Probably a trifle," Faculty grounds with patrician he told Dora, as he picked up the phone. benevolence. He'd had a good run of it, he He couldn't have been more wrong.

"David," began his wife, "we've got a probthought with a soft smile. A stout man lem." with graying hair and a scruffy beard, Kindle had made his academic reputation ucy's view was less rosy. A 23with a groundbreaking treatise on fisheries law in his native New Zealand. His year-old with a round, pensive thesis had created such a buzz in the face, Lucy Grange was plain international legal community that he'd verging on pretty. She kept her found his life transformed- from a strugshoulder-length tangerine hair swept back gling junior professor in Auckland to a and her deep blue eyes guarded. Lucy star recruit at one of North America's pre- was seated at a table in the library, her mier law schools. books piled up around her. To her left, Kindle turned back to his large oak through a grimy window, she could see desk. Yes, he'd come a long way-and the outline of red autumn leaves still clinging to their branches. To her right, acquired a bit of a paunch, he thought with a grimace. Those first heady days as stacks of journals led off into legalistic a junior professor had ignited his passion incomprehensibility. And in front and for leadership, and in a few short years behind her, scores of her peers were busy he's found himself at the helm of the facparsing the intricacies of 19th-century ulty. And he'd done it well, whatever his case law. How was she going to get critics might say. Lafelle was bigger and through it all? Six weeks into law school, and she already felt overwhelmingly inadbetter than before-and world-renowned for its expertise in the law of the sea. equate.

His assistant Dora interrupted his trip She allowed her mind to wander ... down memory lane. "Your wife is on the What a strange series of events had led her to this cold library chair. Only two line-and it sounds serious." Kindle years ago she was on her way to a succhuckled. In the thirty years he and cessful career as a music therapist-a Sheila had been married, he had learned particularly rousing phrase of Vivaldi sudto manage her moods. Sheila was a sue-

B

B

Constance Wentworth settled into her desk chair and turned to her computer. At the age of 44, she still cut a striking figure: slender, almost bony, with sharp facial features hidden behind wide-framed glasses.

Good, she thought, time for a bit of email before my next appointment. Wentworth was in negotiations with a publisher about her doctoral thesis, completed some five years before. Attracted to the nineto-five hours at the career developtthew Pordham closed his ment office, she'd let her academic career slide to the back burner ... ffice door, and allowed but no more. It was time she got himself an exasperated the respect she deserved. sigh. Students were Her inbox contained 20 new mesbecoming more and more demandsages-some junk mail, a message ing as the years went by-he could from her assistant confirming her only take so much earnest discusschedule for tomorrow, and ... wait a sion oflegal issues. An imposing minute, her schedule. She couldn't man in his late forties, Pordham put this off any longer. She opened looked every bit the part of a the message, scrolled down to her respected legal academic. He was appointment at 3 p.m., and stared one of the most senior members of at the name: Tyler Groves. She the Faculty, and his latest book, pulled up his e-file on the faculty "The (ln-?)Utility of Taxation" had only brightened his star. Glancing intranet. Groves, born August 31st, at the mirror beside his bookshelf, 1979; from Nanaimo, BC; undergrad he flashed himself a boyish smile in physics. Could it be? Could it and said aloud, "You still got it, possibly be him?

Matty."

The thought was too much for her.

Just then he heard a knock at the She got up, left her office, and headdoor. Pordbam looked at his ed for the women's washroom. She watch-right on time. "Come in," was so distracted that she almost he said with what he hoped was a slammed into that new young procommanding tone. The door opened, fessor, Anil Sharma. "Oh-sorry," and Julia Struthers passed over his she mumbled. Sharma held out his sill. He was struck, as always, by hand and seemed about to speak. the luminosity of her pale peach Instead he watched her pass, worry skin. lines deepening on his face.

"Hi Professor Pordbam," she breathed. "Sorry if I'm a bit late." yler Groves was, as usual, "No, no," he replied, "do have a over in the student lounge seat." of Lafelle, bantering with Julia was reading for her Master his friends. He was a greof Laws at Lafelle. A tall woman in garious young man, bounding with her mid-twenties, she had an aura energy, but his emerald eyes were of intelligence spiked with a generquick to cloud over. He was enjoying ous dose of self-satisfaction. his first year of law school-new Originally from Texas, she still had friends, new books, new thoughts ... a bit of a drawl-a characteristic Too many thoughts, sometimes, and Pordham found incredibly sexy. of the wrong kind ... He tried not to "To what do I owe the pleasure?" think of Julia. They had met during he asked. the first week of school-he'd been "Well, first of all, I wanted to con- waiting in line to register, she'd gratulate you .. . rumour has it that asked to butt in-and he'd been when Dean Kindle retires next year, thinking about her ever since. you¡ may very well take his place."

Julia ... so beautiful, so sophisticat"Yes, well, of course that's pure ed, so smart, so evidently a graduspeculation at this point-" ate student ... would she ever agree Pordham paused, smiled, and conto go out with him? tinued, "but not ill-founded, ¡if you He sighed, and flopped his long take my meaning." limbs onto a plush couch. Opening Julia returned his smile-and was the newspaper, he found himself it his imagination, or her eyes staring at a seemingly familiar become a little brighter? "I do face-who was that man? Mid-forindeed-take your meaning that is. ties, tall and dark, poised to speak, And I hope I may take more than with confidence bordering on arrothat... The other reason I wanted to gance. Tyler had seen him before, see you is that I'm doing a reading but couldn't place him. He glanced course on the philosophy of tax, and at the caption:"Morgan Phearson to could do with your expert advice." announce his candidacy today."

Pordham struggled to retain his That's right-Phearson, the outracomposure. "But of course," he geously successful corporate tycoon replied. "Perhaps we should set a who was widely touted as the next regular time to meet?" leader of the Liberal Party. And acquired a reputation as a bit of a loudmouth. He had studied political science in undergrad and loved to tell people about it-especially Lucy, to whom he had taken a special liking.

"No, we were just talking," replied Lucy, with what she hoped was suitable coldness. Evidently not enough, though, since with an angry look at Jake, Danny skirted off with a barely audible "See-ya."

by Eugenia Styles

Tyler pushed open the door with his strong arms, and took in a deep breath of cool autumnal air. He indulged in a moment of reverie before joining his peers across the lawn. He sidled up to Julia. "Can I bum a smoke?" he asked with a peevish smile.

"Sure," she replied, with frustratingly seductive nonchalance. "But I gotta run-l'm late for my grad seminar." She left him drawing on a Marlboro light, his brow furrowed. Tyler watched as ominous clouds moved in to obscure the sky above Lafelle House ...

11

denly ran through her mind-when tragedy struck. On a solitary trek through northern Tibet, she had stopped to appreciate the beauty of a large gong which, without warning, had given a resounding ring.

Caught unaware, Lucy had fallen victim to an immediate and seemingly irreversible loss of pitch-ever since that day, she had been tone deaf. Her musical career tragically aborted, Lucy had turned, in her grief, to the LSAT. Somewhat to her surprise, she had scored well, and now found herself enrolled at the Faculty of Lafelle ...

"Hey Lucy," said a squeaky voice, interrupting her thoughts. "Have you done your readings for Constitutional?" Danny was a fellow first-year, a young-looking twenty-two year old with a shock of

A tall woman in her mid..-twenties, she had an aura of intelligence spiked with a generous dose of self...satisfaction. messy black hair and startling hazel eyes.

"No... ," she replied, having learned that it is not cool to admit to doing any work in law school, "I don't even know what was assigned."

"Oh-too bad. There's this really interesting part in the judgment that ..."

"Is this nerd pestering you again, good-looking?" interrupted Jake, a tall, lean classmate who had

wasn't he also an alumnus of the Faculty of Lafelle?

"Y~arth to Tyler," said Jake, tapping him on the head with a heavy casebook. "Come on man, we're late for Torts." There was an edge to Jake's voice which Tyler couldn't decipher.

"Right," answered Tyler, shouldering his knapsack. Whatever was bothering Jake, it would have to wait for later. Looking around at his buddies, Tyler started off toward class. "Time for some nuisance, eh boys?" ucy awoke with a start. Oh no, she'd fallen asleep in the library again-dass was already half over.

Screw it, she thought, I've had enough law for one day. She got up, stretched, and wandered through

E

c

7

the stacks toward the computer lab.

Halfway down the aisle, she slowed her pace, and felt her eyes drawn upward to the top shelf. Odd-she'd never noticed those leather-bound books before. Drawing over the stepladder, she reached up for the nearest volume and, pulling it down, allowed her curiosity to overtake her. She returned to her desk and slowly lifted the dusty cover of the ancient treatise. She turned the overleaf, and felt her pulse quicken as she realized what she had found.

"My dearest M- " began the love letter, hidden in the folds of the old book, "I could not bear to live without you ..."

Lust for the Law will continue in tM next edition of Ultra Vires.

12

ULTRA VIRES

OPINION / EDITORIAL

EDITORIAL

t-\oW LAX>N~~L ~ l"t"" AtJ_ ~~E~ SE""~ $'€ \

Something is rotten in the state of Daniels t :tppcars that Dean Ron Daniels has a new plan for how p rofessorial salanes arc to be increased. We say appears, because no one else is able to talk about it. !'\ot other member~ o f the administranon--only the dt:an can speak to the new scheme. Not most professors-the} 'rc either ill-informed o r cowed m to silence.

Not students-the meeting at wluch the salary incn::L~es were dtscussed was not publicized. Only a fe~ pro fessors d ared to speak out, and even th en only to " rip" L'v.

Something is pro foundly wrong wtth the culture o f a law school that encourages silence, ~uspicion , and subterfuge. If Daniels is contemplating majo r changes to how faculty arc remunerated, then we all need to be talking abo ut 1t. Especially since the $1.7 milhon faculty "recruitment and retention fund" was a major justificatio n for increased tuitio n in the Five Year Plan.

Rumour is that fund mo neys will be used fir~t to alle\;are the "compressio n"

factor-i.e. when baseline fac ulty salaries were b umped up in 2000, those hO\·ering at around th e $ 100,000 mark didn't get a coordinate in crl~Jse. T he rest would then be allocated to professors o n critena that place emphasis o n pub lishing in Am erican and international journals ami o ffers o f employment fro m Am erican schools.

E ven ap art fro m substantive co ncerns, this is yet ano ther example o f a culture which stymies effective discussio n o f tmpo rrant issues \\.i thin the facul ty.

Docs anyone else find it a bit strange that professors feel compelled to "leak" stories to UV to air their views?

What arc professors thinking about this issue? \lumni? \X'hat do you think abo ut tt? We need to create a culture where these issues can be debated freely and openly, m offices, in corridors, in these pages-and where these discussio ns have real tmpact o n administrative decision -making.

I

Pricing excellence I

\\'h o

f true, the m:v: scheme for professori.'ll <>a\ary increases raise~ ~eriou~ concerns.

~-no

~'nat

wt\\ \w. the. tmt-act on acadctmc fn:c· llun\• '\J.lb·a.t ate we \>'a.'f\"1.'. a\><>U\ the va\uc

\

o~ 1\tul.\ymg ( a.na~\tan \ega\ ~;ubiccti~ \.Vil\ ) clw cmph;tsls on rcscarch result in a sacri- /

lice of waching?

Criraia such as these will create incredible pressures to publish on t~pics of interest to foreign publishers, especially for untenured professors.

There's certamly nothing wrong \\ith pubhshing tn Amcncan and intcmaoonal journals-but there is :J problem \\ith makmg u the be-ail anu end-all of evaluation critena for law profe~sors.

wins

the

new

p lan?

\o11cs"?

Tho~c

who concentrate on

o( mu;:n :.st \'nmari\) to the Canadian k g a\ community. l )n and student"& who

\"\\'-'t!S

\~~tnl

professors who dcvow siJ,rnificanr tunc and energy to tcachmg.

By the old fo rmula, teaching and re~t:arch were given equal weight in the e\·aluation o f p rofessors' performances. If the incennves arc all in the research basket, students can expect wachtng to suffer.

And where is the unin :rsity in all o f tlus? ~laybc tt's time for Simcoe Hall to cast a more st:arching glance on the internal wo rkint,.-s of the law faculty.

I OPINION

.

. Questioning our Kyoto commitment

BY MICHAEL HUNZIKER

Canadians arc sc)f.delusional about environmental issues. \\'c like to imagine ourselves as stewards o f narure. T hat's why Ontarians call thl:ir electricity 'hydro' even though most o f it IS generated by splitting uranium atom s and burning ccJal. Jean Chretien likes to pretend he's con Ultra Vire5 is the indc.:pendent student newspaper o f the ce;ned abo ut the environment too. That's Faculty o f Law at the U niv c.: r~ity of ·rcm>nto. why he has prom ised to implement the Kyoto Protocol into dom estic law before Editor-in-Chief Salman Haq the holidays.

A srislanl Editors-in-Cbitj Bernina Butt, Alrxandra D osman Hardly anyone, anywhere else the world Editorial/ Opinion .\iichcl Beshara is still clinging to the illusion that the Kyoto Ftaturts Brenda Didyk \\.ill do anything to reduce the P rotocol Legal Issuu Ttm Wilbur greenhouse gas emissio ns. Most polluting Di!'m iom Ian Richler, Robin R.ix countries have no real com mitment:; under F m1ly Mak Produdion Af,magtr the agreement, including the ml producing Stmren DL 'Sai Businm Manager states in the .\fiddle East and Africa, as wc.:ll Copy r~dilor Caroline l.tbman as emerging Asian industrial powerhouses Onlint Editors David Khan, Jo hn ~orquay like China and Indo nesia.

Photo Editors Lisa Cavion, Adeline Kong Most l~uropcan countries don't have to sacrifice much etther. Europeans have an Conlributorr. Keith Burkhardt, Ronan Levy, Jacob Glick, Lisa .\iinuk, Paul Galbraith, affinity fo r nuclear power and imported Juda Strawoynski, Benjamin Perrin, Denise Reaume, Adrian Liu, Ian Kerr, 'Jazma Shivj~ petroleum- but impo rts aren't counted as part M1chacl Hunziker, Joanna Fine, Reena Goyal, Sidney Mclean o f European emissio ns under the Protocol.

The only countries that have any sort o f rl-a.l commitments under the protocol arc Ultra \'irl:S is an editorially au tonomous newspaper. \X'e aim to reflect diverse points of ,\ustralia, the United States and Canada. view, and we welcome contributions from students, faculty and other interested persons.

Both the Americans and the Australians Ultra Vires reserves the right to euit submissions fo r length and content. have anno unced their re fusal to participate.

Canada, responsible fo r only 2'1;11 of the Commumcanons Centre, Falconer Hall. 84 Queen's Park Crescent world's greenho use gase~, is committed to Toronto, O nrario, MSS 2C5, (416) 946-7684, ultra:vires@uto ronto.ca, www.ultravircs.ca. reducing greenhouse gas emissions to 92% Advertising inqwnes should be sent to the attentio n of the advertising manager at o f their 1990 levels by 201 2-a 29% reducultra.vires@uto ronto.ca.

ULTRA VIRES

\

with

ProfL~·~ors who publish in foreign journals.

tion from current le\·cls.

How is this to be accomplished? The federJI government has said that it docs not intend to penalize energy comumcrs. \\oc to any politician who comes be~ccn Canadians and thcir sport-utility vehicles or air-conditioning. A serious crack-down on centr.tl-Canadian industry isn't too likely t•ither as that would lead to job-losses in the heartland of Ltberal Party support.

Fortunately the drafters of the Kyoto Protocol have created a wa) for Canada to meet its target without actually doing much to reduce emissions: it can buy ermssions credits from countries that have already met thetr target, ltkc Russia.

Econom ically, Russia has suffered through a disastrous decade. The collapse o f the SO\iet Union led to the closures of tho usands of muustrial enterprises.

T hrough a bit of shrewd ncgotiJcing, Russia was able w set the ba~ dinc date for emissions reduction targets to 1990, before the collapse of its industry. As a result, Russia \\ill have no problem meeting its Kyoto commitments without doing a thing tO actually reduce emissions and can sell its surplus 'hot air' to countries like Canada.

The absurd result is that world greenho use gas emissions arc likel} to go nowhere b ut up for the next several decade~. It may sound silly that Canada will be paying Russia while neither country uoes much to actually reduce greenhouse gas emissions-but at leas t Canadians can con tinue to pretend they care.

OPINION

19 NOVEMBER 2002

13

A few steps closer to home

BY NAZMA SHIVJI On my first day of law school at the University of British Columbia, I emerged from the underground parkade and was greeted br the sight of the mountams extending beyond the Pac1fic Ocean.

Directly below, the immaculate Rose Garden buds were still in bloom. I couldn't help but fill my lungs and breathe it all in.

Stepping back I turned left. Juxtapo sed agatnst the natural beauty o f UBC's campus sat the concrete block that serves as the school's Faculty o f l-a\\.: T he view g reying somewhat, the air left my lungs in an inad vlrtcnt but appropriate sigh.

Yet, l 'm no t in Vancouver completing thtrd year o n a letter of permission fo r purely aesthetic reasons. My decisio n boiled umm to rwo stark possibilities: spend third year at the best school, or spend third year tn the be~t city. Eventually, and not without some though t, I ·was compelled to sray home fo r myriad reasons.

I hadn't seriously entertained returning home until second year. After a charmed year o f campus life in Grauuate House, I was face d \\i th the reality of finding affordable accommodation in ·Ioronto. I also felt the tuition 5tJUCcze more acutd). Living as a "starving student" in my modest ba~ement setting was new for me, and challenging at umes. \dd ro this the fact that my family and h <>) frienu were a fe\\. thousand kilometres aw-Jy and it's understandable why the tint on my glasses tcnde<.l to be more g n:y than rosy.

Desp ite the p ersonal 'd ifficultie:., I utJO}cd school. 1 coul<.ln't ask t(>r better peers, and for the most part, the teaching \\as outsmnding. M} participation m the Jessup .\toot was one of the big highlights, providing me the o utlet and boost I sorely needed during second term. Overall, Toronto afforded me the opportunity to grow and learn.

Therefore it wasn't until later in second term that I reached my decision to apply to L BC. In \ pnl, I learned that I had earned a spot m the Grand Moot, but the merest possibility of ancnding UBC tempered the excitement of that m:ws. My dilemma was placed in stark relief by the reahzaoon that the Grand Moot epttorruzcd what I'd be missing if I returned home. Spending tlurd year in Vancouver would mean losing out on the relationships I had nurtured over the past ~o years, the chance to build upon and share my skills as a mooter, and the feeling of case that comes from having survived

Nazma against the backdrop of UBC's Rose Garden two }l-:trs at the school.

So when t..;BC called in late J une 10 inform me of my acceptance o n a lcttc.:r-ofpermission basis, I was not as ecstatic as my fam1ly and boyfriend. "The grass is always greener," as they say, and now that I had the option to anend UBC I was S\\-aying back towards Toronto.

Sometimes, \ife demands change while simultaneously drawing you back to where you started. It was time for me to come home, for others and for myself.

Nonetheless, I knew that accepting was the nght thing to do. Looking back, I can't tmaginc what it would be like to be in Toronto right nO\\c For one, family reasons have made it especially important for me to be here in Vancouver. I'm also officially loan-free this year, not only because my tuition is less than $3000 as a vis1cing student (covered by my firm anyway, but what a bargainQ but also because I have the advantage of living at hom e. Admittedly, the best part of being at home IS not dreading the day r have to say goodbye to my loved

to rcgister in five minutes flat and make change~ as nc.:eded on a whim! ,\ s largely tmpressed as I have been wtth my tl"aChl't"s thus f:u, I admit that it has been difficult cracking the student body. One takes familiarity for granted until ir's lost.

Expcctt·dly, groups have already formed.

And somt• of these indtvtduals rL'llCt wtth surprise 10 my decis1on to come hcrl·. "And you carne he re?" IS not an tmcorn mon response.. Overall, howc\cr, I don't get the scnsl· that, \\ell, people care. For man)·, the thought of uprooting and headmg East never entered their nunds, maktng UBC the lx-st and onl) chmcc. There is thu 11 qu1et confidence and case among the student body, something I first sensed from a L:BC student at my firm who once told me, "W'e uon't so much look upon L' ofT with CO\)' as we do \\ith dista.~te."

Their pride b nor misplaced, howr.ver.

The student body IS more rtprescn tall\ C of the city's ethnic divcrslt), and L'Xchange students arc numerous. Soctal acti\; m is mon• eYident. Th1s contributes to a distinctly "B.C." feel to the school, \t htch ts also cmblcmaoc of the more latd-back student body.

I was surpriseu to talk to some students who wcn:n't tntercstcd m aruclmg. Whether this is a ~rmptom of the ttghter job market (a third of UBC's third-year class 1s without articles right now), or a sincere Jesire to a\oiJ a stock \ega\ destin), 1'm not sure.

Sti\\, it's rc£rL"'3hing to \cam o£ the dtff~:.rcnt ways pcop\c n oyx: to exil\o\t their t\egree.t>.

Despite tht~. UBC can also be comprti ti1·c. \ frcr all, rankings arc a f.1c1 of life at UBC, and for a fc\\, a \\"3.)' of life.

I mtss the comt}· armchair fn:ltng of third yc:u; in a way, I've had to start over. ,\nd I won't forget the enriching experience of the last two year.; in vibrant Toronw. HowL"\er, I now ha\·e the opportunit)· to experience the culture of a different school and become accustomed ro the local legal enviro nment.

Sometimes, life demands change whtle simultaneously dra\\.ing you back to where you started. It was rime for me to come home, for others and fo r m yself.

So now when I climb the stairs fwm tht• parkadc, I don't need to linger at the vtew to rermnd myself why I came back. Seemg Curtis, the steps become lighter and the stghs increasingly less dramatic as I look for· ward to what each day at my "new'' school brmgs.

ones and fly across the country, agam.

Inevitably, however, my views of UBC Law an.• coloured by my loyalty to U of \!though I completed my Bachelor of J\rts at beautiful UBC, and thus have ues 10 this campus as well, I do not hesitate to concede that the Faculty of Law is simply a crcarurc of function. The Curtis building is bereft of the stately columns, well worn brick, and busts (the tmmitab\e head of \\ora) cmb\cmatic o£ U of "\~s \aw hutk\ings.

Even rhc most fen·cnr patrior of afJ.,'tlably the finest Jaw school m the W'Csr wdl admit the building plan has flaws, includmg the lack of women's washrooms on the matn floor (sound familiar?).

Perhaps my observations stem from the notion that attcndmg the best and most expensive law school in the country gives us a subconscious sense of entitlement. This was evident in mr discussions with some peers back East who were cominced I was compromising something by "transferring."

Sure, upon t;ntenng Curtis, the disparity m resources is tmmcdiately evident from the sub par, untnvtring counterpar t of the Rowell Room, functionally titled the " l nteracoon Area." But you can't judge a book by Its cover, as I have learned. l am pleased to find that the quality of tcachmg has been solid. The course sclecnon ts impressive, espcaally in the areas of hrst Ka~a Shizji btgan hu studiu at the U ofT Naoons and Astan Ia\\.: Moreover, rcgtstranon is all online. What a blessing, being able l'llroi!J of Law in September 2000.

·c

Ahigber quality of education

BY MICHEL BESHARA

I n an article in last month's Ultra Vires, Professor Phillips invites debate about Professor Trebilcock's comments regard· mg tuioon and acccsstbiliry. \ t a Faculty Council meeong, the school's resident law and economics guru argued that when price goes up, demand goes down, and that it is inevitable that some people will be deterred from applying or enrolling at U of T because of the tuition increase.

However, the school will be offering a better product, richer in intellectual chal-

I

lenge. The kind of student that the school wants to attract 1s willing to pay for tlus enriched cxpcn cnce and is not of the cypc ~; th limited ambioon.

Professor Phillips disagrees and argues that the school \\ill su ffer as a result of some bright students choosing not to appl}. Because admission is based on aca demtc mcnt and because more menton· ous students may choose not to attc.:nd due to higher fees, the school \\.ill have to accept less meritorious students.

This is only one possible interpretation.

Clearly, if there are a handful of exceptionally bright applicants that cannot

attend due to financial considerations, scholarships and bursaries can be offered in order to attract them to the school. But in general, 1t is unlikely that droves o f exceptional students will be d.tscouragcd from applymg. If this turns out to be the case, then polic1cs will have to be rccxam ined. \ s the quality of education goes up, the school will attract a number o f sru dents who, for non-financial reasons, chose not to come to Toronto. For example, an outstanding student living close to Dalhousie or to the University of Victoria mar choose to stay close to home because he or she docs not want to m o ve to the

big city. However, if the quality of educa· cio n and reputation of this law school were so increased, the school would begin tO attract SUCh students, no t JUSt from the rest o f Canada, but from around the world. Presumably the acadermc quality of the student body would rise rather than deteriorate.

Pro fessor Phillips further states that underlying Professor Trebilcock's aq,>u· ment is the assumptio n that anybody who wants to come to U o f T can afford to, but that some people arc choosmg to pay

PLEASE SEE M APPRECIATlNG• ON PAGE 14

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UofT the BMW of the lot

LEGAL ISSUES

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ULTRA VIRES

Chomsky not at his best

CONTINUED FROM~A HIGHER," PAGE 14

THE EXAM CRUNCH

Noted dissenter offers mediocre analysis of Middle East crisis

BY SIDNEY A. MCLEAN Painful - and ofrtn painfully misunderstood - history is hard to find tn the ,\hddlc Enst. Cold ...var geopolitics, totalit:trianism, largc-sclllc p<>pulauon displ.tccment and ethno-rcll!,>ious conflict ha\c bt·cn and continue to be played out on ~Iiddle Easr smL \'\"h1le many of our lives have bec.:n touched br rhl·~c events we remain frequcndy til cqwppt:d to come to terms '\\.ith thc.:m and the com plextty they represent. ,\nd so it was that hundreds of p<.•oplc flocked to Bloor Street United Church on l\ovember lOth ~carching for answers m the words of oam Chomsky. Answers were tn Comparing buying a car and a legal ed ucation is :;hort supply however, repl.1ced by facts frequcndy disrenonsensic al. garded in mainstream discourse. less for a lesser pro duct. Professor Phillips gives the example The focus of the evening was the possibility of peace o f buymg a B~fw, explaining that not everybody is in a posi in the Middle East tn general and the impending war on uon to buy a luxury car and that even if given a large loan by 1 Iraq in particular, framed tn terms of htstorical and conB~f\V, some people would not be prepared to inc ur such a temporary geopohcics. The "axis of evil" figured centraldebt. ly: the Bush-ism was turned on its head and used in referlt IS not fau: to compare the purchase of a car with getting ence to the alliance between the US, Israel and Turkey as a law school education.•\ car depreoatcs in value a.~ soon as a strategic configuration of power in Middle East affairs. you dnvc it off the lot, and while it 1s true that many people According to Professor Chomsky, this relationship would not accept a large loan from Br-.f\'V to buy a car, many originates in the post-war period where then, as now, o f those same people would gladly accept a loan that would Anglo-American foreign policy in the Middle East was permit them to attend an excellent law school because they orienred towards maintrurung control over the vast oil pc rcetve value in that. In fact, getting a law degree would reserves in the region. A senes of weak, yet "friendly," probably permit many graduates ro buy a B~fW in the future dictatorships were sustained tn furtherance of this goal '\\.i thout having to resort to a loan. under the shadow of British, and later American, power.

Peripheral states served as anchor pomts in the region, allowing the United States to maintain a s trong military presence in exchange for support in suppressing domestic It is true that education should be accessible unrest.

Chomsky suggests that the drive w invade 1raq is fueled to everyone, but the quality of education ) by not ju~t oil fidJ polinc<. bur also by the need to divert attcntwn ti:um domestic problems. I f rgh unemployment should not be lowered in order to make this anJ a ruing p ublic debt, combint·J wal1 the masstvc cuts happen. Rather, an effective loans, bursaries, ro social programs required to compensate for large tax cuts and increases tn military spending make for a very and scholarships program is needed. unpopular government. In order to o ffset these problems, the American political machine has resorted to peddlmg fear of the external "other" onto whom all o f , \mcrica's It 1 true that education should be accessible to everyone, woes may be pinned. 1..cgitimating this fear, however, but the quality of education should not be lowered in order requires action. Coupled with the long-standing desue on to make this happen. Rather, an effective loans, bursaries, and scholarships program is needed, and this is what the school should strive to implement. If students' cart:cr choices :tre ~ t:cn to be affected by large debts, then a loan forgiveness program can be put into place. ;"\.iany graduates frt:cly go to 'll:ork for large firms and would not require forgiveness, at koast not loan forgiveness. H owever, those who choost: tradiuonall) lowcr-mcome jobs 111 public sc.:rv1cc or opt for humanuanan·typc employment could sec part of their loan forgtvm or the repayments further deferred.

The tuition dc.:bate should be focusc.:d on ensuring a high qualuy of education. ,\s the school produces better lawyer~ who wtll hopefully get better jobs partly because of the school's reputation, these la\\1·ers \\ill earn more mont')' and '11:111 contribute more to the school in return. This '\\.111 permit more subsidws for those applicants who need financial aid.

Potential apphcants who perceive that they arc gctong an cuu· cauon that is commensurate '\\.lth the pncc of tuuion wJII apply and enroll if accc.:ptcd. B:--f\Vs should not he discontinued lUSt because most pt:oplc drive l·orus. not

I

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behalf of Bush J r. and Sr to oust Saddam Hussein, this rcpresenrs an irresistible opportunity to make good o n the thn:ats of the pasr two decades.

Chomsky presented a provocative, if somewhat recycled, set of facts. The strength o f his argument was hobbled though, by an overly descriptive presentation that was long on informaoo n and light on analysts.

Encouraging individuals to draw their own conclusions is clearly a noble endeavo ur, but delivenng a barrage o f information while refusing to discuss its meaning in any

Exam preparation time is upon us, and stress is in the air. Whether)'OIIr taclic is to work diligentfy, make l(~bt if things, or put things off, lake tJ hit if time to read the paper, grab a snack, or share a joh. Just retJJe!JJher to hep perspective, and that we are ali in it together, for good or for bad.

BY BRENDA DIDYK End of ltrm arrivu and law studtnl is kttn and tagtr to gtl »-'Orle done... evtnluai!J

The entrance-way was thronged with the usual collection of pamphleteers, while people chatted excitedly in groups about Chomsky-this and Chomsky-that depth seems to fall short, as though one can be party to the debate with o ne foot out the door.

Considerably more interesting than Pro fessor Chomsky's dJscussion of )\.fiddle East policies was the unmistakable sense of awe surrounding the event. The entrance-way was thronged with the usual collection o f pamphleteers, wlulc people chatted excitedly in groups about Chomsky-this and Chom sky-that; more than a few toted tattered copies of "Manufacturing Consent" in the hopes of sneakrng an autograph. When he entered, the room fell s!.lcnt and then exploded tn a standing ovaoon.

For one who so rebuffs the mainstream media and pop culture to be rhe object of a cult of personality was more than a little ironi<.:.

J\.foreovn, the.:· infornution

prc~c n tc.:d

was dc.:cidedly

less d un ground-brt·akrng. That Professor Chomsk)

tmprcsscs so many ind1v1duals to such a grcar c.:xtull wtth information thar is easily disct:rnible should o ne care to look - is a sign o f how trulr degraded our knowledge of world affairs 1s, and ho'.\ deep the an ti mtcllcc tualism in our society runs. And perhaps that, mo re than anything else, mo re than the invasion of lraq, the o ngoing conflict in the Middle East or the threat of terro rism , strikes at the heart of what we should really fear.

Cushy...

Cosmic...

Combustible...

FEATURES

19 NOVEMBER 2002

Maybe later...

We all do it. Maybe while we're watching television. Maybe while lying in bed. Maybe even with other people in the room. We feel bad about it later, of course - falling in to a shame spiral of guilt and remorse. But we won't stop. We'll do it all again. That's right.

P rocrastination . You probably won't go blind doing it, but you may get marks off for lateness.

In the curren t issue of Queen's Quarterly, Mark Kingwell, professor of philosophy at the University of Toronto, writes on a topic we can all relate to in his essay "Meaning to Get to: Procrastination and the Art of Life."

In this essay, .Kingwcll denies that procrastination JS mere laziness; rather, it has at its heart "frenzied displacement .. .driven by the tdea t hat there is too much to do" (p.

365). Rerruniscing back to his own student days, Kingwell uses the example of com pleting a PhD dissertation. Imposstble to com plete in o ne sitting, a dissertatio n may 5t:c:n'l like a task too enor mo us to even begin. In tlus way, Kmgwell identifies the

The problem of procrastination fear or difficulty of getting started as a cause three hours a night taking smoke breaks, of procrastination. But what arc the con- gotng for coffee, wandering around stituents of procrastination? How is It done? Studytown gossiptng and sur fing the net for He notes that it is not JUSt doing nothing. Dr. Who paraphernalia? l pomt further to the numerous clubs at Rather, the procrastinator may engage m numerous activities, just not the one he or the law schooL There arc at least three stu· she should be doing. Thus rooms arc dent-run journals (though chances arc at least two more were proposed tn the time u cleaned, dishes are done, socks arc sorted but the blank monitor continues to blink, took you to read this article), numerous begging for a few paragraphs, or even JUSt a public interest law groups, two clinics, outreach programs and support groups. It's not good introductory sentence.

Even law students do it ...

While Kingwell focuses on the highly developed procrastination skills of graduate students, I could not help but wonder: does the same apply to professional students like us? The graduate student, says .Kingwe!L is prone to procrastination because his work feels "at once pressing and pointless" and is "devoid of impact on the outside world" (p.

368). Surely, law students, studying urgent issues of great importance to the regulation of society and the rights of the individuals all about the pizza lunches and resume in it, must be inspired to action and never padding. We're looking for something, anytempted to put off for tomorrow what can thing to do besides getting down to work. be done today. Hmmm ... something do esn't Like the waiter at the Academy who takes your order with a palm pilot but never sound quite right.

Kingwell notes that many procrastination comes around to ask you if you want anoth activities may make us look as if we are busy er one, law students are engaging in a comand accomplishing something. He points to plex form of procrastination - the illusion the photocopying of articles for " research" of efficiency. In its mildest form, the illusion (although not actually getting around to of efficiency may be observed in the student reading them) as one of the widely practiced who watches television with a casebook activities of procrastination (p. 369). In this open on his lap. In its more advanced state, way, his articulation of the art of procrasti- it will result in students signing up for any natio n may indeed be a ppropriate to law stu- dub and activity they can.

While som e students like Hart H o use dents, as well. Fo r who could be a more parregular Sachin Aggatwal con tend thar cram · adigmatic procrnstinato r than the Jaw stu· dent who spends ho urs in the library pur- ming twelve h o urs of gym time m to a week porong to study, but who actually logs up to actually makes him more efficient as it

Third-year student waxes poetic on law school experience

BY BRAZILIAN FlYING SQUIRREL (PSEUDONAME) Year I J'm going to sit in the front row and be a star, Undcrgrad taught me that's where the good grades arc.

Hey, I'm five minutes early and the first row is full of life, And why do I hear a rumo r that I asked out J amie Nelson's wife?

OK... I'll be keen and talk to professors after class is done, God .•. this requires p atience and waiting to sift through the serum.

I am so keen, I am working so hard, I am so keen, I am working so hard.

Exams arc co ming but there'll be no shame, My professors like me so much . . . why do I ha\"C to have a pseudo namc?

Year II Blur Moot . . . blur job stuff... blur breakup with a girlfriend ... blur meet a new girlfriend.

Year III L ENCZNER SLAGHT ROYCE SMITH GRIFFIN 8AIUUST£R!

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For information about opportunities for a student to learn to be an advocate see our website at www.lsrsg.com or contact Perry Hancock, Student Co-ordinator at (416) 865-3092, e-mail ph.lncock@lmgcom Sum 2600, 130 ADOAID£Sn.££T V.'I:ST, TO«ot<tO, O>ITA, IO, CANADA M5113PS

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HIGHER & LOFT LLP "More than ;ust hot air"

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I haven't done any reading and exams arc ncar.

No sweat, I'll manage .. . there's still time for beer.

O ld professors I knew sec me and give me a vacant gaze, I p refer conversations in the cafeteria with .Maria these days.

I'm late fo r class but that's no bother ro me, I'm sure I wo n't d isturb the class when 1 stroll in with co ffee. ~lid-class breaks arc 20 minutes if I come back, The professors n o lo nger like me cause I'm so slack.

Exams arc co ming . .. so what if ther<•'s shame, ,\nd ' "·hat is that sense o f comfort ... oh ytoah ... a pseudo name

It's not all about the pizza lunches and resume padding.

We're looking for something, anything to do besides getting down to work.

forces him to organize his rime and acts as a stress rchc.:vcr, others admit that even a beneficial activity like running can be a form o f work avoidance. " People will do anything instead o f studying," says third-year student Jay Streeter, who recently procrasrinated enough to run a half marathon with friends and fellow students Julian Jubenville and Bruce Ellis. Jay also said that he never runs alone, and that he enjoys the more social aspects of his particular form of procrastination. "~fisery loves company," said Jay. Misery, indeed. Perhaps Jay's comment touches most deeply on our reasons for procrastination - work is unpleasant. It's more fun and interesting to hang out with your friends. It's more interesting ro torture yourself at the gym. It's more interesting to attend commitree meerings. It's even more interesting to smoke, wluch procrastinating smoker Dave McKechnie admits "is not terribly interesting."

In this way, it is clear that procrastination is not the sole domain of PhD candidates.

Rather, It seems as though a student will procrastinate as far as he or she is able. Whereas graduate students have the luxury of extended procrastination over a number of months and years, law student procrastination is cur· tailed by the semi-annual event of exams and paper due dates. But to be sure, we'll push it as far as we can go. As one of my friends observed, "I am always the most brilliant in the last few hours before a paper is due." l.>ro pc\led out o £ inertia only by (ear, \t m1y be ttue that pco p\c such as my £ti.end work best under pressure. O r, maybe he just tells that to himself as an excuse to get started.

'Xell, I'm sure he'll get around ro it later.. .

Rrst-year student puts faith in summaries

BY IAN KERR The fast approaching December law exams are a scary thought. Everybody is gunning for the right side of a precipitous B curve.

The principles are piling up and my textbooks have been gathering dust for several weeks. ForturJately, exams have nothing to do with education. Exams have to do with the quality of your summary.

It always seems like the calibre of my analysis varies widely from day to d ay. There ts no predicting what will show up show up on exam day, genius or mediocrity. When required to perform for one particular hour, on one particular day, I feel that the exam I wnte depends more on chance metabolic conditions in my brain than on overall apotude or preparation. If my mind tsn't click· ing on game day, a familiar and funcoonal summary will be invaluable. The alternative is to agoruse for an hour over a sollborn C paper.

My strategy is, in fact, to rely almost exclustvely on course summaries. Many students scoff at this sort of approach. Many say that summaries give one a false sense of secunty. Many say that this approach is the slacker's preference. Summaries are so out

of favour that professors are beginning to switch to closed book exams because they feel they get better results. My belief is that summaries hurt exam results only because students don't know how to use them. In my mind, the secrets to an A+ summary arc indexing, practice and usable prose.

The larger the summary, the better.

However, I want to get at speofic mfo rma cion as quickly as possible. A clear and simple mdcx of all relevant tides is essentiaL Most people write out a summary and the first time they actually use it is dunng the exam. In order to properly prepare a summary, I use it on exam questions and then assess for effectiveness. I will go back over the summary and refine all the rough spots; polish the areas that held me up or confused me on the test run.

The last thing that I have no ticed about summaries is that they are written to get concepts across; they are no t done in particularly good English. l use summaries wtth well-written sentences, specifically tailored for ease of customization. It is essenoal to be aware of how subjects and tenses change when transferring summary text to an exam.

Keeping these things in mind, I hope ro master the fine art of summary dependence.

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horoscopes

DIVERSIONS

-Just go with the flow, Pisces ...

BY BRENDA DIDYK Aries: the Ram

f\{l

March 21 - April19 ~.tars, Roman god of war, rules your s1gn. Mars was a real fighter. He liked to ~ee hunself as brave and unconquerable, always ready to throw hunself into the bloody fray. Btt arrogant, really. So all the gods had a good laugh when Vulcan ensnared Mars and his lover -yenus (Mrs. Vulcan) in a magic net while they ":ere fooling around. Hahahaha! My point? Beware followmg your passions this month. It may lead to unforeseen and embarrassmg consequences.

Leo: the Lion July 23 - August 22 The Sun rules Leo and you will respond very bad!}· to the darkness of the wmter days ahead. Wear lots of yellow and orange, or, 1f you have one lying around, carry a ruby m your pocket w fend off the wtmer blues. Watch out for back pain towards the mtddle of the month don't hunch your shoulders so much when you type out your summaries. Don't burn out, baby.

Sagittarius: the Archer November 22 - December 21 You arc ruled by Jupiter, god of all the heavens, a.k.a.

"Zeus". Naturally, you see yourself as above it all, too good for the mundane tasks of quotidian existence. Is this why you haven't done the dishes in three weeks? Do you think your roommates like doing the dishes all the time? Your s1gn 1s associated with the Narcissus flower. You know what happened to hun, don't you? Having gazed at his own reflection m a river until he died, he then turned into a flower and his girlfriend, Echo, was left weeping and wailing. This ~~!d happen to you if you don't watch out. And it's not a t . : : :phor either.

1

Virgo: the Virgin August 23 - September 22 Tawus: the Bull Modest and pracocal but also highApril 20 - May 20 strung, you arc prone to ulcers and other Traditionally viewed as dependable and stomach troubles. Be careful - or horrible determined, the fact that Taurus is ruled mdigestion will force you to flee m a desperate flight to the

by Venus, goddess of love, is often over- washroom during Tax. Sure, you think I'm gross for bringlooked. Underneath it all, Taurus 1s madly passionate. ing this up (no pun intended), but you will thank me when The <JWedy stubborn bull, standing still in a green field, you hesitate before accepting that next free pizza lunch. dreams of running through Spanish streets in a Keep an eye out for romantic opportunities toward the end D1onysian frenzy. What secret desire do you hold close of the month. Don't be as standoffish as you usually arc to your heart, Taurus? You ~ill find an opportunity to and you may have a new sweetie for the New Year. reveal your hidden side toward the m1dclle of December (think i\fisdetoe and spiked eggnog).

Libra: the Scales September 23 - October 22 You prefer to operate in partrterships, but Gemini: the Twins beware the pitfalls of comm1tting too May 21 -June 20 soon. You are tempted to make declaraShould we be surpnscd that one ruled by ~lcrcury is so mcrcunal? Quick to react, you tions of love early on m romanoc relationships, and have a changeable nature and tend to super- you always tell fnends you will study With them when IK\a\\ty. \.'i!atch ()Ut\ Othc~ may not uml.cntam.\ why )"OU arc you don't really want to. Why, l .ibra:l ~'hy must you lie n (\c\<.\<: and become angT)' '>:ith 'jOU. Ret.\'-\ any tcmptauon to us all? The on\y thmr, you »hould rc;\1\V commit to to nattl·r peopk- you do not really like this month - It may from now on 1~ to "a} only what you really mean. \bo, mah• thm.s,;s c;l'_l' :If the time, hur rmvarJ., tlw nJCI of rhe "11tch where you s1t for the next month. You arc prone mcmth, ll \n/1 onf.r lt:.ul co drs;1srcr. Someone will o\·crhcar W problems in the buttocks .tnd m) crystal ball ts scndmg me an image of bubble gum ~wck m the seat of JOU make fun of her nc\v plan 10 4uir smoking. your new corduroy trousers.

Cancer: the Crab ~ June 21 -July 22 U ("'\ Scorpio: the Scorpion Cancer is ruled by the moon and hke the ~ October 23- November 21 moon you wax and wane. ~omctimes Ruled by Pluto, god of the netherworld, shining brighdr, sometimts run:aring into your shell, vou possess the scorpion's deadly sting you react bascu on your emotions and mtuitions. \\'hilc and have a n.ry dark sense of humour. )OU pcrcctvc yourself as sc.:nsitivc and fragile, you pos· Don't Jespa1rl '\Jo need to run off to mor~ess grl-at strength. Keep your eyes open for the full tician's college quite yet The winter, when all nature moon - ib silvery sheen will give you keen powers of rests, is your time to builu your energy, to retreat to perccpnon. Thinbrs will be revcalcd for what they realyour cold slimy cave, gather your secret strengths and ly arc: you will realize that your girlfriend dyes h~r hair emerge revived, refreshed and regenerated. Time to or that your boyfriend has been lying about gotng to take over the world? Soon, m> Jcar, very soon .... the gym all semester.

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ULTRA VIRES

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m.

Aquarius: the Water Bearer January 20 - February 18 As an \quarian myself, I wonder if any of you can relate to my frustration about our crappy symbol \X'hat docs a water bearer do these days?

You nev(•r sec ads tn the paper reading: "\1\:arcr lx:arcr \,\;<.Ultcd for th1rsty t:ro\\·d of hoat race aucndt·t.•s." \\'as

this ev('r a recoJ...>nlzcd profcss10n? , \nythtng would be beJCcr- !he l.ton, the R;un, the Scorpion. hn·n our pl.lll et sucks. Uranus. Not only the: subJeCt of juvc:nile puns, Uranus ~11s a h1ghly unsuccessful umvcrsc ruler, over~ thrown by his own son. I le's a has· been. Not only that, we arc prone to ankle mjunes. Great, just what I need.

Pisces: the Fish February 19- March 20 \X tth t'-:t:ptunc to rule you, you arc all about the ocean waves: changeable, mys· tcrious, a little green and smelling slightly of fish. You may floundc..r slig~rly in the next few weeks, but have no fear. Soon you wtll find a new current and ride along m a sc..a of blissful contentment for the next lit" de whlle. Just go \vtth the flow and all wtll be calm. \X'atch out for bhstcrs on the 20th and 21st.

V 7\

BLAKES 2003 SECOND YEAR SUMMER STUDENTS

Andrew Gordon, Amanda Heale, Beth Hirshfeld, Michael Hong, Mark Johnson, Ronan Levy, Elizabeth Lim, Robin Reinertson, Wendy Saunders and Michelle Wood

joinblakes.com MONTREAL OTTAWA TORONTO CALGARY VANCOUVlR LONDON BEIJING

SUMMARY JUDGMENT r

BY PAUL GALBRAITH Bowling for Columbine \\'nnen, produced anu directed

by ~hchael

~toorc

*****

The first time I ·ever sa~· an actual person \\ 11h an actual gun was at the tender age of 16. On a trip to .\lontana, I wa<> in a conve· nience store With a woman in line in front of me. I could not stop staring at her backs1dc Director Michael Moore examines gun violence in America in the new release ... because of the 9mm pistol holstered on Bowling for Columbine. her belt. I was, frankly, enthralled.

The strongest thesis of this movie full of The mesmerizing effect of guns and why (populaoon alone doesn't account for this; \mcncans seem so eager to usc them to kill the per-capita figures arc just as bleak). questions is that Americans arc saturated one another is the subject of ,\fichacl However, an explanation for the killing with media and go,·crnmcnt paranOia to the point of perpetual hair-trigger anxtcry. A .\toore's latest radical grandstand, BowbiJgftr proves elusive. fIe points out that Canada has just about hilarious yet disquieting comparison of the Columbine, winner of the Cannes Film fcsti\·al 55th Anniversary .Award (crl':tll·d spccif. as many guns per capita (a rather shocking 7 "Africanized Killer Bees" phantom terror ically for it) and recipient of perhap~ the million of them in only 10 million house- and the dread white ..\me rica feels from the longest standing ovation in the Festival's his· holds, as it turns out), and wonders whr much-hyped threat of The Black .\talc IS tory (over 20 mmutcs). The ftlm is at least as Canadians seem so manr times less likely to both witty and provocative. Moore pmnts captivating as any holstered handgun bounc· usc them to shoot one another. A simple out that in a period where gun violence ing gently off a giant leopard-print kc>tard. anti-gu"' anti-~R. \ polemic on America's dropped 20 percent, media coverage of 'in,\lichacl Moore put himself on the map gun Yiolence· 1s not pursued b) ~toore, a lent crime has risen over 600 percent. .\nd as a filmmaker with 1989's Roger and Mt: a former charnpton marksman and lifetime of coun;c the spectre of 9/11 has thrown a shot of gaso\inc on the hot coals of corporation devastates the small town in member of the NRA. .\foore's affinity for guns ha~ clt•arly ,\merican fear, re.~ulring in an e\·cn greater whtch Moore grew up by packing up and lcavtng, and grccJ is the.: reason. Jn ebbed over the years, however, to rht· point desire to surround themselves with powerColumbine, the questions Moore presents that in a riveting scene he confronts ful, loaded weapons. provide no such easy answers.

Oft-maligned scapegoat Manlyn Manson Charlton Heston, chairman of the 1\, RA The problem he addresses is this pn.pos Heston's answers to Moore's quesoons arc is a revelation m Columbrnt. When Moore terous level of gun VlOlence in America. \t uniformly awkward and in equal measure interviews hun about the fact the two killers the time of Colun1bine's filming, US yearly pathetic and confused. The mighty Moses ts listened to his music constandy and idoli7ed gun deaths totalled 11,217, compared with reduced to a tottering fool who cannot him, he presents an articulate argument to 381 for Germany, 139 for Canada, 68 for escape the glare of '\1oorc's camera except the effect that fear is a major fuel for mod· the Lntted Kingdom, and 39 for Japan br shambling shamefully away. ern capitalism, as people freneticallr con·

Coffee, the Ethiopian way

BY JUDA STRAWCZVNSKI

Lalibela Ethiopian Cuisine 869 Bloor Street West (416) 535-6615 At Ossington subway station

The tray comes with five litdc white cups, and what I assume is a steaming pot of coffee. On closer inspecoon, I realize that the pot 1sn't steaming: it's burrung. Smoke is billoWing out of its top. It's no aftcdunch caffeine fix, but a strong, flowery incense wakeup call.

This is pretty, but not coffee. \nd we're just two people, yet there are five cups. We must look confused, because our server returns to tell us that our coffee IS coming.

Looking at the tra), she adds, 'This is all pan of the ceremonial coffee tradition." \pparendy, so is popcorn. It comes m a ~ide straw bowl that invites finger-picking.

We stare at the bowl. From the bar, our server calls out, "It's OK. You can cat the popcorn." So we do. I hope that it is

17

Michael Moore takes on the Second Amendment

Thir month CII r introdutts a nen• arts tmd nil flirt page uiHch. 111 the /an• school tradition o/ gro,m ind11cillg lf!fllp11111, n-e ttre collin..~ ·~r111nmary jndgmml. •· ll i11leud lo pri111 all ma11mr o( reritll'.f-nJOlifJ, books, pk!]J. COli rrrts. QJs, ric. lj )'OII'rr inltmled in contlibul· i11g, let tt.r knoll' a/ ultm.tire.r@llloronlo.((l.

II'( Ill'!) CIJCII Sllbsitfizey!l(r if{ort.r.

Raring: Capricorn: the Goat December 22 -January 19 Ruled by Saturn, you arc destined to drive trendy automobiles purchased from iiber-friendly dealership "teams." After you buy the car, they will call you to "follow-up" and also to "touch base." Later, they will engage in "outreach" and "dialogue." They will turn many nouns into verbs. For example: "Let me nutshell that for you" or, "Can I Christmas tree this fax to you?" What docs It all mean? Go read something highly literate ro serve as an intellectual purgative and escape all this jargoned nonsense. Something Russran and humourless should do the trick.

DIVERSIONS

19 NOVEMBER 2002

caramelized, but It is plain, salted popcorn.

Perplexed, I keep munching.

Popcorn seems to be in keeping with the spirit of the meal. Both It and our main course are finger foods. We ate lalibda ($17.00 for two people), cons1song of spiced lamb, beef, legumes, and potatoes, all spread over a layer of if!itra, a pancakc/ pJta affair.

The idea IS to tear off pieces of m;tra, use it as a napkin with which to grab a pinch of the foods, and then pop it all into your mouth.

The food has put an end to the rumblin' in my tumbltn', and now that I've wet-napped my hands clean, a litde coffee would draw the meal to a perfect close.

Our server re-appears with a second pot.

"Coffee," she reassures us. She pours out a spoonful of the strong-smelling treat, and swirls it around in the first cup. 1 guess that maybe, like a good wine, she will ask one of us to taste it and approve of the drink With a nod of the head or a compliment. Instead, she pours out the contents of the first cup into the next one. She then lifts up this second cup, and dumps Its coffee into the third.

She does this once more with the fourth, and then stops this game of musical cups by

filling thts fourth cup with coffee from the still-steaming pot. Next she tops up my cup, and invttes us to enJoy the ceremonial cof· fcc. The fifth cup remains untouched. The two remaining ones are left stained but oth· erwise empty.

After a while, the server comes to see how we're doing. She politely asks us if this is the first time we've tried ceremonial Lduopian coffee. We smile dumbly and nod yes. We learn that the ceremony normallytakes place on Sunday (which we of course knew, but were only free on a Friday- after· noon), that the burning stuff now smoldering away m the corner is Ethiopian incense, and that coffee may be drunk with milk and/ or sugar.

We arc shown the back of the restaurant for more answers. A p1cturc shows a woman pouring out coffee, eyes fixed on some obJect tn front of her, oblivious to the mar~ ital dispute next to her on the big~screcn television. She is filling one of several litde white cups. A bowl is off to her side.

Incense adds a smoky taint to the picture, so we cannot be sure whether the white food contained within it IS popcorn. ·

sumc to muigarc the angst fostacd b) media panic-propaganda. \X hen a~ked what he ~ouiJ say to the boys tf llll'}' coulu talk to him, he ~tares that Ill' would ay norhing-he would listen to ~hat they had to say, lx·cau. c: noboJ) in their liH'S sn·mcu ro.

I le 1s surprisingly intclhgem and cngagmg.

Perhaps tht· most sarisfymg featun· of Colstmbint is that it is capable of whips.twing the VIewer from outragl' to pathos to laugh· ter to tears and back agam. In one parttcu• larly haunting sequence, .ccunt} camna footage of the massacre ttsclf 15 shown, ~ith frantic 911 calls prO\iding a grim accomparument. \\archmg the t\\'0 k11lcrs stalk through the school and throw homemade bombs behmd m crturncd desk to snuff out potcntial ~urvivors IS gnpptng and positively gut·wTcnching. Yet the tnumph of t\\ o of the survivors whl'll thl'} confront tlw K -~lart corporation and a k to return the bullets lodged in their bodies for a refunu is astounding and leaves cvt:n Moore spc:ech-

PLEASE SEE •GUN" ON PAGE 19

America's dumbest home videos

BY IAN RICHLER Jackass: 'The Movie Directed b)· )c££ Trcmamc Starring Johnny Knoxville, Stew 0, Jason "W'Ce.Man" 1\cuna, Ham Margera, Chris Ponrius, Ryan Dunn

Rating:

***;

A couple of years ago I w-as lucky enough to be lning in the States during the brief run of the jackass sencs on ~m~ The show wa~ sort of a combination bctwc:en Cundid Cumtra, pro wrestling and .A111trira's Ftmnitsl llolfte T''itkos. Sunply put, a bunch of friends would film each other doing very stupid things. .\ly favourite episode fL-atured a gu} in a pink bunny ~uit being chased by a bloodthirsty police dog. If that is not your cup of tea, you mtght want to cut your loss· cs and stop reading now.

Canad1ans never got a chance to catch the show, and so most are probably a bit mystified by the ads for the movie. Which could explatn why there were only about eight people in the theatre the night I went, none of whom were women. {Interestingly, I ran into two other U ofT law students.)

The movie follows exacdy the same format as the show: brief clips of stunts or other shenanigans, with no unifying narrative. In one scene a guy pole vaults into a tree. In a variation on the theme, one of his colleagues bikes off a ramp and lands on a cactus. -\nother scene involves someone waking up his parents by serong off fire· crackers in their bedroom. Several of the troupe's high Jinks arc much grosser - this ftlm IS not for the squeamish.

Many have interpreted the success of Jacka.rs as a harbinger of \\'estern c1viliza· cion's decline. That may be. But who can deny that there 1s something inherently funny about secmg a guy with a raw chicken in his underpants fall into a pond full of alligators?

18

Me 1, Judges 0

BY PAUL GALBRAITH You know, sometimes I amaze myself. I was sitnng there m Property the other day, and the prof was talking about some sunken puate ship, Tbt T11bantia, and it totally hit me.

People should be able to keep the stuff they find, even if it was maybe someone else's before they found it, but we totally don't know who that person was before. It is theirs now. So I told my class that and even though tt took a while for them all to under stand, I think I managed to clear some things up there for sure. h's pretty amazing I have only been in law school two months and I can see it all so clearly already. I hope the rest of the class catches up soon, and I hope we read some decisions by some smarter judges, because the ones so far haven't been all that and a bag of chips!

Lord Haldane? Gutless Mowatt-lover (what did Sir John Eh ever do to hun?).

Watson? Elementary. Fuller? Half his cases don't even tell you the decision, they just drone on about what he thinks about stuff.

Holmes? See Watson, supra. Lamer? Yes, he gets lamer every rime I read one of his manifestos, erm, decisions.

The judge in the aforemenooned T11bantia case was, urn, I think probably Lord Denning or Lord Clarence of Thomas or one of those ones, or maybe the guy who runs the library now (Bonng Laskin?). Those Lord t)~ arc so dumb. Lord Denning actually said in <me ca.c;e that "\i\n the summertime, vlllagt• cricket is the delight of everyone." \\ h.1t. Unr. In the summcrrimt·, .1 su:ccr job

----

ULTRA VIRES

DIVERSIONS

DIVERSIONS

19 NOVEMBER 2002

19

FROM THE SIDELINES at Osiers is the delight of evcryonel I really can't believe some of these people get elected to the Supreme Court, I swear.

They have the whole tedious thing down, which is entirely in their favour, but the} make so many mistakes. Even our professors can sec It sometimes.

Ltke my Torts prof totally thinks this Andrt.'WS guy IS stupid, and I agree. He wrote an opinion in this case about a lady who got hurt by a bomb in the train station and said the people who run the train station should be held liable for some idiot setting off a bomb in their train station. Yeah sure, advantages model capitalist pig! I should write a paper on that case for the Law Rcvu.:w. I'll just compile a bunch of the stuff I satd tn class inro a paper. Easy.

As an economist, I should also teU you that these judges arc htghly mcfficiem. They take so 1-o-n g to get to the point. Plus, it's not even ltke it's interesting followmg them around to get there. What do I care if some backwater judge m \ustralia or wherever had some point to make in a case about dingo farmers?

That pomt is ... urn just a sec ... okay, that point is completely irrelevant with respect to this fact pattern. Indeed, it is intuitively obvious to even the most casual observer of the case that the learned judge in question was mistaken as to the application of the principle slart ligalllm rex in the preceding case. I believe it should be dismissed forthwith\ \.'<.'ith costs!

Man that felt good. Sometime:; at night before l go to bed I practice that one.

Sopmk.1 just got Oll11NI.

c5ollo Voce Uninterested m corporate law }Ct unable to rcs1st the lure of Bay Street blingbltng, Sotto Voce regrettably got caught up m the perennial courtship ritual that IS the second-) car summer job rtcruitmenr process. The nadir came a couple of ~'Ceks ago at a s~·.lnky grab-ass hosted by Goodman&. While Sotto \'oce ~tood in a comer, double-fisting shnmp cocktails and chatting up C)sgoode co-eds, we couldn't hdp but man·el at the depths of obsequiousness to which our cherished classmates merrily stooped. The most common strategy seemed to be to approach the greyest (and presumably most powerful) man in the room and then tell him how great his farts ~mell.

"Oh, you arrange mortgages for shopping malls - how fa.rdnatint." And so forth.

The other day in Admin, CoUeen F lood let slip that, back in her salad days in New Zealand, she hung out at the beach with none other than TI"s Xena, Lucy Lawless. l•lood n:vcaled two Juicy tidbits about the Warrior Pnnccss: first, Lucy Lawless is indeed her real name and not some corny stage alia:;; and second, Lucy's apparently ample bosom is enhanced by- gasp! - a push-up bra.

Isn't Hallowe'en just the most wonderful time of the year! Sotto Voce managed to make tt to the b1g shindtg m the Solanum and \\liS 11ot disappointeJ. \X~ wt•rc ddighrcd ro St't' so many first years \\car 111g costumes that would make Christina Aguilera blu~h. Some suggestions for

next year: mermaid, cat and \X'ondcr Woman. Please oh please, Wonder ~·oman.

Speaking of first-year debauchery, sources say a bunch of the young"uns whooped it up at the Duke after trial ads, all on the McCarthys tab. It seems the open bar helped get the party surted befort• long. the crazr kids were dancing on tabletops in various states of undress. ~o word from the firm on whether this was all part of n plan to rcbrand itself from stodgy old-boys club to rowdy frat house. If it was, it sure worked.

Seeing as how December is approaching, Sotro \'oce ha~ got a beef to air regarding exams: we\·e had it up to here with profs who come up with "zany" and/or "hilarious" fact patterns. Rather than stocking your scenarios with screwball characters like "Dean Don Ranicls" and "Prof. Matt Packlem," couldn't you just do us all a favour and usc 'W' and "B'? Sorry to deflate your literary pretensions, but frankly, no one is interested in your hackneyed romans ti dif. Thanks in advance.

Shameless plug ahead! Check out In Dissent (www.indisscnt.com), which bills itself as "the online journal for cynical law students and lawy~.:rs." The bramchild of a friend of ours at ll Vic l..aw, l n Di 'cnt 1s a trt."llsurc uovt" of ~auncul goodm·ss. Tc:ll 'em Sorro Voce ~l'lll

)

ou.

Cot titip? U7ntc to Jdlra.tim@Ntoronto.ra.

Out with the old, in with the you BYA~NDRADOSMAN

lr's paper-writing rune agam, and UV has some $nappy advice: oh-so-familiar pap<.r otlcs have got ro go. Reallv \X'ho wants to read yet another two-clause dozer, aIa "The Supreme Court's J\pproach to '\le4>:ligcnt Rcprc~entation: An ,\nalysts." o, no, no! Be creaovc! Be cool! Here arc just a few suggestions for original paper riri<.'S ...

"Thn:c-in the-morntng blues" "Well, l ~'l· dce -dah!"

"Nothing ... I was just mumbling" "Babble, babble, babble, H U~f!" "\X'hatc\'er" ") lo\'e bridge week."

You know us. Now eat with us.

The UV launch part_y @5paha. T uesda_y Bpm

15 years for unne·cessary roughness

BY KEITH BURKHARDT

'11'1- should IIO!Jif 011r son after Brrll Fatrt. ll'r ro111d sptll his naml' 'Btrt', b11t pronom1cl! it 'Brttt', JIISI to coflliflllt tnessing witb emyone's mmd."

- A[y gir(frimd u-htn asktd uhat sbt uw1ted to lltlfllt hrrfirs/ soli Last month, I picked on baseball. No one complamed; not a single person ratscd an objection. In fact, the biggest controversy was whether Sandy GiU, Megan <.;t<.wart or Sachiko CruJIWa was the "anonymous quote person." This month, I w1ll attack something more near and d}!ar to all of us . . . football.

I'll start by saying, "I am ready for some football!" Labour peace, fiscal solvency, manageable seasons, and a strtct drug poli cy make it a very different (and much more enjoyable) game than baseball. However, like baseball, football has ltS "problem."

Th1s one 1s not money; it is crime. \X'hilc Albert Belle, Jose Canscco and Pete Rose can be ringers on any baseball version of the jailhouse bombers, football's tc~m IS among the deepest. Go ahead; pick an 'JI L team and it will not take long to find a guy who shared a cell ~;th a guy who knows a gu} who dates a girl who ::;hares a cell with Martha Stewart. Equally disturbing is the fact tl1at the problem is not new.

Think about Hall of l-ame cahbre players like O.J. Simpson, ate Nc'W-ton, Michael Irvin and 1\.lark Chmura. These guys went for the Big 4, and 1 do not mean "Shoe, car, clothing line and soft drink" as we all learned in Jerry Maguire. These four arc murder, drugs, guns and sex.

Unfortunateh, current players have not learned from those who have worn orange before them. You would think after the Bcngals chose a colour scheme, players would want to avoid that uniform at all costs. Instead, when the referee turns on his microphone, I usually expect him to recite Miranda Rights, not state, "l'pon fur· thcr review ...."

If you aspire to be a criminal law·ycr,

Randy Moss: soon to be sharing decorating tips with Martha Stewart in

Sing Sing? here Js a sampling of the first day on the job with your newest (and nchest) clients.

Please ask Danuen Robmson wh\ he drove into Giants Stadium in ~cw York accom· panied by an assault rifle, three empty 30round magazmes and two boxes of ammunition containing 100 rounds each. Query Ra) Carruth on his role in the drive-by shooting of his pregnant wife. Get a straight answer out of Darrell Russell as to "'hy he filmed a fnend having ~ex \~;:ith a drugg(·J football "groupre." Fit,•ure oul why Najeh Da\'Cnport was caught in a closet in a woman's dormitory after defecating in a clothes hamper. ~urc, none of these guys arc pcrenmal Pro Bowl stars like Sunpson or Irvin. llowever, even the stars of the "NIL of Tomorrow" cannot stay on the straight and narrow.

Randy Moss ts right at the top of this list.

Contrary to popular belief, the Minnesota Vikings are not implementing new "Randy Ratio" plays mcludmg the desperaoon play C'Ha1l ~1ary-Jane"), screen toss ("Smoked Screen'') and quick out

("Reefer Rlght''). This gu\ is good enough to break every Jerry R.tce record, but PR problems, drug issues and almost runmng over a police officer keep pulling him back to Earth.

Edgcrnn James, a top rush~.:r when he isn't hurt, admits to always carrying a gun, and remaining a member of a gang he was in as a teenager. Equally potent rusher Deuce Mcl\llistcr, reccndy got pulled over for speeding and driving ";thout a licence.

Fmall}~ we cannot forget Ray l.t:~is, who has yet to get an invitation to a Supcrbowl party this year. \\'onder why? \X ell, last time he got invited to watch the Superbowl in ,Adanta, two guys ended up dead. Ray walk<.'ll on the charges, and promised to talk wtth th<. families of the two men who died. Sure Ray, and OJ is srilllooking for the real killers.

Next January, when you arc waiting in the course selection line, spend the first hour or two thinking about whether a spot in "Sports Law" or "Entertainment Law" will benefit your career in sports law, or if you will have more industry knowledge after taking "Criminal Procedure" and "Sentcncmg and Penal Potier-"

Lawsuit of the month

BY KEITH BURKHARDT l~ttrcll Sprewel11s swng the New York Post for $40 milijon after the paper nllt·gcdly gave an incorrcct account of ho~· the • Y Kmck player broke a bone in his nght hand pnor to the start of NBt\ trairung camps. The Post stated that pte\\ell injured the hand when he attempted to ptmch the bo} friend of a girl who had vomtted on hiS yacht, but connected with a waU mstcad. The paJX'IS filed by SpreweU's four artorncys seck S40 million in damages and $250,000 for the fmc imposed b} the Knicks when Sprcwcl.l did not rcpon the injury in a umcl} manner.• pcC\\dl believes that the Post has sulhed hts reputation and credibtlity. , urc, and the .1 ay Lcno jokes ha\ c damaged L·vcryonc's opinion of Dennis RoJm:ml Th1s is the guy who once choked hts own coach! Of all the lines ~Tittcn about this lawsuit, the best has to be, "Sprcwell is the quintessential Kruck. .

Adept at choking, but awful when it comes to lumng the open man."

Gun culture in America CONTINUED FROM "MICHAEL," PAGE 15 less.

Happily, though more than a bu unrcalisnca/1)~ Canada comes our a big winner m rhc filin. The interviews wirh our feUow citizens portray our country as a paradise of safety and social conscience, in contrast ro the Hobbesian war of all against all in 1\merica. ~loore's clever JUXtaposition of Canadian and American news coverage helps establish the thesis that the fundamental difference between the two countries is the climate of fear fostered in the United ',tares. In Windsor, peering across the DltrOit R1ver to the former murder capital of the world, Moore asks an official about gun violence in the two neighbouring cities. In three years there had been hundreds of incidences of

gun "'o\cncc m Dcuoit. \m.\ across the srrc:1m in Windsor? One, caused bj a man from Detroit who .,role a gun from a m:111 from ,\finnesora.

Rich and informat.ion-intt.:nshe, thrrc 1s a great deal to ingest throughout Co1Hmln11f..

From a confrontation with the man behind COPS, with its "if it bleed~, it leads" mentality to a hilarious yct simplistic animated history of the Urutt:d Stat~:s, Moore takes hold of rour ancntion and doc~ not let go.

This the kind of pro\·ocarive film }OU ~;n want to discuss ~;th friends at length, and it should be required vit:\\ing for all \mericans. Whether or not rou agrt:c "ith Moore, he will fully engage your heart and rrund while gluing you to the screen.

is

..

20

ULTRA VIRES

DIVERSIONS

-:---

Ultra News: Not-So-Real News From Around the Law School Jilted student chucks McBinch highlighters

Wrestling team falls to 0-18

Leon (IT) threw out all his McMillan Btnch h1ghlighters last week after lus application to summer at the firm was rejected. He had grabbed a "handful" of the highlighter~ at last year's Career Day and had been us1ng them regularly ever since.

"They're fine highlighters," he told Ultra Vires, "but now it is rune to move on." ln a related development, Leon replaced his Gowlings coffee mug with the Toronto \rgonaurs mug he used before starting law school.

Student forgets speech, remembers hairdo

Iufl Richltr

Second-years assigned more stuff On top of applying for summer jobs, fulfillmg compulsory mooting re<]uttcmenrs, and keeping on top of a full cour~e load, secoml-ycar students ha\·e bt·en assigned yet anothl:r task: the construction of a gargantuan copper statue of "Boxer," the workaholic horse from George Orwell's Animal Farm, on the grass Island in the middle of the law school's parking lot.

The statue depicts Boxer with a wL-ary glint in his e~uine eyes and one hoof ra1~ed sluggishly m the atr. ( )n tts ba~c 1s tnscnbcd Boxer's motto: " \ tnust work harder." ,\ccorJ.inr, to Dean Ron "~apo\con" Dantcl~. rhc hor~t· svmbolucs thl· l:m

~chool's attitude toward its second-year students.

Meanwhile, J\ ssociate Dean Tony "S~ucaler" Duggan announced plans to divitle thl sccontl-year class into working groups to complete the task. "All of our sruJcnts arc the best, but some of our stutlents arc motl' best than others," he proclaimed before streaming students into their alpha, beta, and eps1lon working groups.

- Robtn RiX"

Take back the hyp! tudent group has been formed to hypocrisy. "Hip for H y!>" plans to organize :1 .'ah•« of workshop~ throughout \ new

reuc~.:m

the year, ranging from "\X'orking tn New York wh1le decrytng ,\mencanizatton" to "Think c;lobally, Ignore Locallr" The first workshop, "Cclebrattng Your Inner Hypocrite," was held in conjunction with Toronto summer job inteniews.

- Alt>:andm Dosman

Dean promoted to majors Worried that they could not fullr ruin the sport of baseball, the owners of ~lajor Leagut• Baseball u:ams have nametl D<.-an Ron Damds as Bud Selig's replacement as :\tl.l\ commissioner. "( )ur goal to ruin \tncnca's pasttnw '1.\.,ts httllng a slump under Selig," said ~l'W York

ZSA Legal Recruitment would like to congratulate

Sina Muscati

runiversityofOttawa-FacuttyofLawJ

on receiving the

ZSA Award for Innovation Law. This award is given annually to the second or third year LL.B. student at any of the six Ontario Law schools who submits the best paper on a topic within the field of innovation law and policy.

Sina~ paper is titled "Embryonic Stem Cell Research and the Law."

l

This Award is administered by the Centre for Innovation Law and Policy based at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law. For further information visit the Centre's website www. innovationlaw. org

z

~A L

RECRUITMENT

Yankees owner Georg<. Stembrenner, "but we arc confident that Daniels can do the job.

1 mean, look what he did to that Canadian law school. It gives me chills."

- Honan Lti!J & Jacob Glick ·

Cl

<l•ll• • II'CHOU Otl

""• •ou '

....

Donald Macmrosh, a bndge week speaker, hcltl students completely tn thrall last Wednesday. "1 was just tn awe of his crazy, bouff.1nt hairdo," exclaimed ftrst-yL-ar stutlcnt Ross Cleeton. "\Vhen he moved his head around, it was like watching hedgehogs mate!"

Asked about the content of :\1acintosh's speech, Ross hesitatetl for several seconds.

"Urn ... I thmk he said something about terrorism being bad."

• LJM ,\Iinuk

Fir~t-year arrested as advet!ie posses:;ion scheme goes awry

New York summer student blows it all in one night llolt'~ shares plummet on rumours of Schneiderman sabbatical

'\1oott·r nmkcs moot pomt