THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO FACULTY OF LAW
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u tra vzres VOLUME 4 ISSUE 5
SINCE 1999
WWW.ULTRAVIRES.CA
FEBRUARY 11, 2003
Students look forw~rd to V~lentine's D~y
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Students stunned by cap on clerkship applications Court of Appeal eliminates U ofT exception BY BERN INA BUTT \ recenr pohcy decision of the Courr o f AppL'lll for Ont:~rio to hmit the nu"?ber .o f ckrkshap applications from rhe l ' nwcrsl(y of Toronto foaculty of Law has lefr both mtcrested students and J\ssistant Dean of Can.:er Services Ronnie (;olJbcrg feeling ~hortchanged.
(~oiJbcrg also sraunchl) contests the court's a'1,'Umcnt that the enforccmcn_t c:: che rule "shouldn't ha\·c comt· as a suCJ?nsc. In past years, II was the court's pracncc to send a letter detailing the apphcatton procedure. \ftcr the receipt of the documt·nt, there \\,IS a usually an exchange by phone bel\n·cn ( ; 0 JJberg and the court. • ottcing the absence of correspondence this ) car, and having heard that the court might reyuesl letters from De~n Ron Damcls ru accompany apphcattons, c;olJbcrg called asking for clarification, but receJ\ ed no response. On Jan. 2-l, the dead·
\lison \'\'arner, a staff lawyer at the court, insists that an order to fill the twche clerbhlp positions, "fiftc.:cn candtdart·s from L~lch law school is a more than large enough pool for {the court! w ,cJecr from.'' \\arner note , "Smce 2<Xll. we ha\ c askc.:d all of the Ia\\ schools m Ontano ro hmir the number of applications that rhey send to the court to fifteen candidates. \\'e arc of the' i~.:w that the schools have better kno\\ ledge anu resources to do this \Citing process than uocs the court." <..:.u\dberv,, hov.cvcr, hokh a very dlffcr<nt •'leu l mil th1s }C".dr, U ofT h;~s nlw':llS ol5k«f for, .w<f been gr-.U1Ct'tl, .In c:xcepnon /me for rht• applications, a clerk at the court from the lirrut. \rgues Goldberg, "Thi~ contacted Goldberg, and a "heated debate" reflects {tht· courr'sJ unJcrstandmg of the ahour tht• discontinuance of the exception num!x·r of our applicants and their calibre." ensued. \ ftt:r chc decision \\:as finali7.ed, ~he IS Jisappomted that the court is "not Goldberg c-mailed students tnforming them willing ro cnrcnain the excepoon an}morc,'' rhat only fifteen applicanons were being fora feeling due, in parocular, to her "bdtef in warded. the stellar abilities of our students." In selecting the fifteen applicanrs, the Goldberg "hope[sJ that they succeed (or arc Clcrksh1p committee used the criteria estabg~ven an opportunit) to succeed) in whatevhsht·J by the court, namely students' traner they wish to undertake." sc ripts, cover lettus, reference letters, writGoldberg's enthusiasm and "respect for mg samples, and C \ s. The commtttce is the Court of .\ppcal as an institution and chatred b} Professor :\farrha Shaffer. the1r clerkship program" stem in parr from Besides CJoldberg, Dtrector of Career the fact that she herself clerked at the court, Development Programs Ltanne Krakaucr an expenc.:ncc she docs not hesitate in calland Professor 1\braharn Drassinowcr coming, "one of the greatest years of my life." prise the committee. De:;pitt· their differences, Goldberg retains Th1s year, there were 28 applicants, "tremendous respect for the clerks and the JUstict·s and for Alison (whom I know from PLEASE SEE •cAP," PAGE 2 m) O\\'n law school years).'' In Goldberg's opinion, rhe court attracts extraordinary canJ1dalcs, and is Jomg itself a dissen ace b} nor lookang at all the contenders. She "would love for rhe court to accept all apph canons from all schools.'' • U OFT ACADEMIC PLAN, P3
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Goldberg emailed students informing them that only fifteen applications were he\ng forwarded.
(I) and Slll'llh Coad (T) pucla:r Upe •• rh~ •trlla: a pot~e.
t>f }ttmu AltCiary.
Daniels and student reps clash on budget cuts BY BEN PERRIN There was talking, bur was there any communication going on? After an important meeting hdJ last month between sruJenr representatives and Dean Ron Damcls about pending budget cuts totalling Sl mtl lion, neither stdc agrees about what exactly went on.
ro the plan from the student perspective." "One rhing that I found noteworthy about the meeting \\1th the Jean was that he regards salary increases as parr-and-parcel of 'retaining existing programs' rather than, 'strengthening and expanding the £.1culty,"' said Rix. "This is inrrigu1ng because it means that most of the extra resources acyuircJ by tuition increases will end up going tcmard this item [faculty salary increases) almost exclusi\cly - leaving behind other spcnJmg Items that impact upon student services.'' Ddancy had the same vic\\· of the mt·etlng: "We learned that commitments in ch<.· Five-Year Plan that had resource implications, that none of those \\·ere gomg forward, except for some of the faculty salary incn:ascs."
Robin Rix, a srudcnt representative on !·acuity Council, and ;\aron Delancy, Exrcrnal Chair of the ~tuJent Caucus of l·~cu lry c _ouncil were.: at the Jan. 2.1 meeting Wllh Damcls. ,\s reported by Ultra V1res on Jan. 21, the purpose of the meeting was for students to give input on which programs should rake priority over others. For their part, Rix and Delancy left the mecring with Daniels deeply concerned that srudent services would be takmg the brunt "If the salary increases go ahead, I think of the cuts, \\ hilc facull) salary increases that student scnice increases have to go would go forward. Damels on the other hand characwrizes tt as "a ve11· strong start PLEASE SEE "STUDENTS, w PAGE 2
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( >thcr schools have been critical of the exception granted to U of T, given the fact that last year, five of the twelve clerks hired were from th1s faculty. Goldberg dtsmissed their objection as unfounded, since two years ago, only one clerk was from U of T.
• IRAQ SHOWDOWN, P6 • FOR AND AGAINST OTTAWA, pg • ROMANTIC LIAISONS, P10-11 • LOVECASTS,P14
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