Ultra Vires Vol 4 Issue 6 2003 Mar

THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSIT Y OF TORONTO FAC ULT Y OF LAW

•

u tra vzres MARCH 25, 20 0 3

VOLUME4 ISSUE__G_ _

SINCE 1999

WWW.ULTRAVI~ES.CA

Articling scheme outmatched Ousted two-tier system problematic

BY BEN PERRIN T he Law Society of Upper Canada has decided ro terminate the matching system fo r articling positions, replacing it with more umfied rules similar to those that apply to the summer job application process. . .\fter consulting the SIX Ontano law schools and McGill Cmversity's l'aculcy of Law, Convocation voted on February 27_ to adopt new rules that abolished the m_a tchmg program. The pre";ous system consisted of firms that participated in the match and those that followed separate rules for making offers of employment.

The matching program, also employed by other pmfes~ional programs like mcdt· one was run bv the '\ational ~1atchmg Scn~cc. The com.pan. charged participating law firms per position they offered through the match ltrm parucipation has always been voluntary.

Confusion among ~tudents about the sys· tem, pressure from the firms for early acceptance of offers, and high costs tO the firms participating in the match were all apparent.

The relevance of the march has been steadil) dechning. The decline has hastened given the increased rehance of fmr:.s ?~ their summer programs and a loss of cnucal mass" participanng in the match.

The number of frrms participating in the Toronto match in 2002 was 37, down from 60 ftrms in 1998. Based on statistics gath· ered br the Career Development Office on ' the graduating class of 2003, onIy ..,t._'"Ofto ~ f students reported having found thctr arn· clcs through the match. . . .

The match still exists for arnchng post· rions in the Calgary market, which has not experienced a similar decline in usc of the matching program. . .

The new ru\c~ apply to the aruchng

procc:;s for this summer. 1mcrvk·~-s bcgm "lt c.hdn't mnk<:: scn-;c:- to ha·'<~ a two nercd on a :\onday mornmg, ..,;\th offers hcmg t~ of offer nnd a c. ptnn • u -n-o" •na W :dno.<hy M & :ro."IV-~..ko1~"""111e'-"""' 4 hour pcnud m \\ hrch offers arc left open Bonnt .uldhcrg, \ 1 tant Dean, C:1rr r lor suinm<'C posmon:;. howe \ c:r, the rJC\\ Scrvu.cs. " \\ c supported cl•mrmwon p( th e anidrng ruk:. only kee p rht• frr~! round of dual sysrcm." \ccordmg to ( ;oJJbcrg. prohkms haH' offc~ open unttl that Thursday at noon. always cxilm·d with the rwin system, sin ce PLEASE SEE MLsuc ·~ ON PAGE 2 the match was nL·vcr made mandatory.

Students condemn accessibility study Provostial report allegedly plagued by bias

BY SIMREN DESAI On \pril3, U ofT Provost Shrrlc.:y '\leuman wlll ask Governing Councll to ranfy a law school tuition h1ke for the entering class of 2003 to S16,000, an increase of 14.3% from the current level. Citing her controversial "Study on Accessibility and Career Choice at the Faculty of La'";" '\leuman wtll argue that the increase is acceptable because recent hikes in tuition at the faculty have not influenced accessibility, financial aid, and career choice for U of T law students.

She will, however, face strong opposition by a coalinon of student representatives from within and without the law school who arc furious over what they sec as a faulty

methodology and manipulative interpretation of the finchngs in order to silence opposition and push a tuition htke through Governing Counol (Gq. Faculty Council member Lindsay Forbes (II) points out that "there is sclecoon bias in the sample since it reflects only those stu· dents who accepted a spot at the sch09l, and not a rando1Tl17ed sample."

Other students argue that the examination of a future accessibility threat using ret· rospectivc data is a flawed approach. "The last class considered by this study paid $5,500 in fees and we're talking about tnpling this [tn 2003]," stresses ,\aron Delancy (II), another Faculty Council representative.

Students celebrate at this year's Law Ball, h eld a t H art House. Over 200 students and their guests attended the event. Pboto courluy ofJ'1dflint Kong.

The study grew from a GC resolution passed last spring, immediately subsequent to irs approval of the frrst of five $2000 annual increases in tuition mandated by the law school's contentious five-year plan.

Governing Council resolved that "there should be no further substantial increase in tuition fees for the J.D program in the Faculty of I.aw until the Governing Council is satisfied that there has been no reduction

UVINDEX • • • • •

STUDENTS ON EXCHANGE, PS-9 EXAM STRESS RELIEF, P14-15 ACCESSIBLITY RESPONSES, P16 LUST FOR THE LAW, P20-21 YEAR IN REVIEW, P26-27

PLEASE SEE "FACULTY,~ PAGE 2

All research and no files makes Jack and Jill very bored students. www.casselsbrock.com/student.asp

ULTRA VIRES

NEWS

2

lSUC terminates articling match

UV Briefs

"ARTICUNG • CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Law candidates fail to win Governing Council seats \1uhammad Basil Ahmad (Ph.mnacy) and Bruce Cameron (Engim·cring) haYL' been elected as tlw two student rcprcsl·n tatwcs on Gm eming Council uithin the consutuCnC) that mcludcs tht· lau· school's J.D. srudcnts.

The constituency mclu~es eight other professtonal faculties: dentistry, educanon, engineering, Ia\\~ medicine, music, nursing, pharmacy, and phystcal education and health Th<..'ft' were 1,899 'mcs cast b) an electorate of 10,099, u1th l':ICh student entitled to vote for up to f\\O candtdarcs. David Kolinsky (TJ) and Robm Rtx (II) rcccivnl 254 and 260 \'Otcs, rcspccti,·ely. \\ hm asked about his campaiJ:,'ll, Kolinsk) comrncnred, "I woukl venture to gut ss that c-rruul is more crucial than postcring or spc~king to classes."

Saehin Aggaru·al .\lcanwhi!e, Q..aw/.\IBr\) ·was ekctcd as the srudcnt rcprc~cntauve on Gmcrning Council within the con~tirucncy that include' the law school's students enrolled in joint graduate programs.

This constiruency includes all graduate students \..'nro\k-d in hum:miue~ and 5ocia\ "C\cnc~ "{'T~tam11. \here wcrc

2.2':1 ,·ott.:<;

an ck~tllTatc of 6,3<>3. \ggarwal cxpn•,scd di.,,1ppoinrm<:nt ar the voter turllnut, uoring r/Jar "{t/t sccmcJ char all of tile unJcrgraduarc f.1cultic:s u ere able ro gcr a far /;ugc.r tumour from thCJr consnmencics than normal.

The same didn't apply for my gradu;~rc consorucncy, ~.-here the turnout was hahcJ. 1 hope u':; not a sign of incr<..-ast:J \Otcr apatlt)." \ddcd \ggarwal, ·'It's unfortunate that our law candidates split the bw vote and permitted other faculn<..'S tu displace the l'aculty of Law on Gm:ermng Council. Nonetheless, as a law/:\.lR,\ ~ro­ dent. 1 am in the umquc pnsition of being able to advocate for both group>, gtvcn that I am familiar v:tth both sets of c.a&t hy

tnmon follows through on a plan to unplerncnt an cm-lmc s}stem.

Last )Tar stuJl·nts wc:re forceJ to S\\ c:at through lct11g ltneup~ and delays in tht· ~cptember stnmpedc to register. In response, thl· admmistration agreed w try and come up with ll solunon. "\'\'t• dectdl'd t<l go \\ith the onlinl' system bl-causc yuuc frankly. it \\aS time," said \ssistant Dean l.ois Chiang, who is on the Sntdcnt \ffairs Commmce that is looking i.mo the issue. "We arc fully intending to have thi- up and running for May." Implementing a new S):item mean$ commg up with new software. t;~ing ROSI (the Uni\crsity of Toronto's online "Repository of Student Information") uas considl'rtd as an option, but it is con· sidercd curnbl'r>omc und difficult to usc by thl' aJmimstrativc staff. It might have also rClJUircd scrapptng the school'~ priorIt) sptem. ROSI uorks on a first come, first scrn:d basis, whereas the current system is designed to gh·c studcnts ~ more or less equal chance of getting inro their prcfcrn·d courses.

Studl'nts scC1l1 open to the change. ''As long as tht·y Jon't compromise fairness, no one would complain about making it easier to usc;· sa1J fir-:t year srudem Steven Tanner_ Tbt• devc\opmcnt of the new softv.•arc \S 11u\\ "' the ptO\)(>l\a\ smgc. \ )etn\\s on how the nnv S) stem ~111 opt t:ttt' won't bt• kntm n wllrl \prrl "ht•rJ ( hi.wg is ,(./wei ukJ to discuss the proposal wHh a student subcommmcc. But student reprc-

st•ntatiHs arc happ) with what they've been hearing so f.-.r.

"J...ois [Chiang) ha~ been been wry supportive on this issue,'' says Forbes. "\'\'e have confidence 111 the process."

- Jonaihan Desbara!J

Law students fare well at Client Counselling finals

The ,\merican Bar ,\ssociation Client Counselling Competition 1:\:ational Finals ISSUes." took pL'Ice March 14-15, 2003 in St. Josh Paterson (11) currcndy serYcs a~ a Pctl'r~hurg, Hmida. The t ' niversny of Covcrnor.

Toronto Faculty of Law team (Ben Perrin Bunina Butt & Jeff Shafer) placcJ 4th m:c.:rall and were the only CanadWl team to qualify from a • orth Amcncan pool of 127 teams. The team was sponsored by Borden l..adner c;ervais LLP, Blake Cassels anJ Graydon LLP and the Faculty of l.a\\o: Registration for upper-year stuJcnts - Htnjamm J>mm could become a lot easier if the admims-

On-line registration may be in place by summer

Sweet 'n Lowdown Sweet

Spring Fmr "Debt" Rork a11d roU

Pro Bono j tdi Cormtil Osrar Nigpt Jt. Pahid:. i D<!J

One of the original problc.:ms that the matchmg program was designed to address wht·n it was firM implemented in 1988 is thl' phcnommon of offer hmuding. While tht• L \. • :uional Assoctation of Law J>laclml'nt prohtbits students from holding more than four offers at the same time, these guideline!' arc ,·oluntary. How<:vcr, Goldberg doe!> not sec a similar need in Ontario h'lvcn the short time frame for

offers in the new rules. "l'lumarely, the elimination of the match, anJ the crl'ation of a 'Wednesday offcr time' u1ll go far to b·c.:l the pbtymg fic.:ld for 'Iim>nto articling employers ;tnd will bl'nefit students who arc going through the articling application and intnview process," said (;old berg.

The new ruks can be Yicwed at w~-w.buc.on.ca or through the 2003 ,\rricling llandbook a\-ailabll' at the CDO.

Faculty Council student caucus responds to report "STUDENTS " CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 in accessibility Juc to the 2002-03 tumon increase and no career distortion due to previous subsranual mcreascs based upon a comprehensive acccssibthty and career chotec reVlcw to be conducted through the Provost's Office."

The report begins with a litefl!.turc review conducted by David Stager, Professor of I..abour Fconomics at U of T. Stager concludes that "while education debt rna\ be related to job choice, other factors arc ~)lOre likely to influence where students will ultimately practice.. [S]alary is an important factor independent of educational debt."

He also notes that ''very little has been published on the effect of ruition fcc increases on accessibility to law school."

Wht\c one "ourcc, a survey of third -yc;~ r bw :;luuent s \at a !>d>ool oth~.:r than \} ol q, did indi<.';llt' rh,ll "Jd>t load has an tmpa<:r on c;~rn·r choice," the rc~ults were d1Scounl·

1999 to 11"/o of students m 2002.

In terms of career chotec, the percentage of U of T graduates arncling at large firms mcreased from 37% in 1995 to 47% in 2000 The stuJ} explains that "[tjhc change 111 dus pattern 1s not statistically d1fferent for University of Toronto graduates as compared with the rest of the province." The increasing number of positions available at large firms and "the consolidation of legal firms" were other reasons offered for the change.

On Friday, March 21, the srudent caucus of Faculty Council released thl' official student response to the srudy. In it, the caucus cnticizcs the methodology and conclusions as scientifically unsound and biased.

The response notes that "the study fails to examine the socio economic back~rounds of Students who choo<e not to , ,H\.:tu\ 1hc 1 ,.u.. uhy t.Jt l..uw, puuc..:..uiJul y thu• ..

who <kcfin<' tlwtr of(<·rs of admt<su>n " Then· olrt• .tlso oh)c<:trons th,u " d1c stUU) rdtcs on data rclaung to career choice rhat

cJ by the Provost since "sclf-reportt:d <.lara suffer from Sl'vcral btases well known in the reflect tuition levels approxtmatc.:Iy one-fifth social sciencl's." Ignored was the fact that to onc-yuarrcr of proposed tuition levels," most of thl' data used in the rest of the and that "the study cites data rc.:lating to vispaper to suppott the case for ruition hikes IS ible minorities but fails to connect them ,dth dat."l rdating to the1r socio·cconomic also self-reported.

The paper goes on to examine admis- backgrounds."

Faculty Council's Student Caucus ha$ sions, financial aiJ, and career choice data gained the support of several non-law srukept by the hculty of Law between 1995 dent members of GC in thctr efforts to dtsand 2003. ~clfreported data was used to credu the study.

They plan to appear on demonstraa. that the percentages of admit\pril 3 to argue against '\cuman and Dean ted students who were black or aboriginal Ron Daniels when the matter is debated and both increased between 1995 and 2000.

This was qualified, however, with the voted upon by the GC. The full text of the accessibility study is acknowledgement that the numbers and differences in question were so small as to avatlable at bltp:/ / u.·uJW.tlloronlo.ca/govrnd/ preclude statistically stgnificant conclu- bac/ details/ap/ 2002-03/ apa20030227 .pdf. l·acult\· Council's student caucus sions. In fact, a closer inspection of the data reveals a lower registration rate among response can be obtained by contacting aborigmals in 2003 (5.5%) than in 1998 Robm Rlx (II) at robin.rix@urownto.ca.

(6.7%).

"Dramatic increases in financial aid at the Faculty over the past five years" arc credited by tht· stud)' with a percentage increase in ~rudents receiving financial aid. The commentary fails to note, however, that the entire increa~c is attributable to an expanded group of students receiving between 1 and 50% of tuition in aid, while the group receiving more than 50% of tuiOon in aid has actually shrunk from 15% of students m

See the light.

Read UV

NEWS

25 MARCH 2003

3

--~---

Financial aid report released New loan application procedure proposed dents will be notified of the amount they Will receive in \ugust.

L nder this procedure, interest-free l~ns ,\ review of the financtal aid program rcc· and bursanes will be awarded at the begm ommends granting mterest free loans and ning of the school year, in contrast to the bursaries earlier in the year and asking stu· current system, which does not award burdents for their income tax rerurns, but k·avcs saries until January. most of the program unchanged.

"This way, srudents will know how much The Financial Aid Committee presented financial atd they'll receive before beginning the report at a Faculty Council meeting on the school year," said Shaun Laubman, a February 24. The report, wh1ch focused on srudem member of the Financial \id the past five years that the current financial program has been in operation, was a rev1cw ( .ommittcc. \'V'hlle the Committee endorsed this recof the faculty's front-end financial aid pro ommendation, its implementaoon 1s subject gram. to confrrmation that this procedure Will not The report u-as the product of the affect the funds students rece1ve from Committee's consultation with Mr. Stephen provmcial or federal student loan programs.

Brown, an external consultant hued by At Brown's suggestion, the Committee Dean Ron Daruels to assist with the review.

Will also ask srudents to provide thetr per· For the most part, the changes to the front· end program are procedural rather sonal, spouses', and parents' income tax rcrurns, as well as their pay stubs from sumthan substantive.

One of Brown's recommendations is to mer or academic year earnings. Th.is inforset earlier dcadhncs for fmancial aid applica- mation will be used to verify srudcnts' finantions so that funds could be au.-arded earlier cial atd applications. ~mcc th1s procedure involves a tremenin the year. Incorrung students will receive dous amount of paperwork, the Committee the financial aid application along with their dectdcd that only a percentage of all docuoffer of admission, and the Financial Aid ments will be checked, although the inforOffice will prO\.;de an estimate of their manon will be requested from all students. financial aid cncidcmcnt uithin a month of Some students feel that this procedure is receiving the required documentation. rather burdensome. "It's one thing to ask For returning students, bursary appbca students to provide their own tax returns, nons will be due by June 1, and a provtsion al award letter will be sent by July. Following but it seems intrusive to ask for parents' tax return<' 5atd Heather l reuenck (\). venficarion of the rc\cvant documents, Mu

BY ADRIAN LIU

However, Assistant Dean l...o1s Chiang defended the decision. "The Comrruttec dtd cons1der the possibility that some students might feel that asking for income tax rerurns might not be a welcome request," she said.

"But we felt that students would understand the need for this request."

I..aubman expressed sunilar mclinations.

"This procedure is similar to appl}ing for loans from other institutions," he noted.

Perhaps the most controversial topic on the report revolved around the practice of parental deeming. Currently, the Fmancial Aid Program reqwres students who have been out of high school for 7 years or less to include parental income on therr applicaoons.

Critics point out that this approach is unfair because many students consider themselves independent from their parents, desptte the length of time that has elapsed since they left high school.

Mr. Brown presented the Corruruttee with an alternative "independence model" which could replace parental deeming. This model would consider factors such as whether the srudent is physically living uith the parents and his ability ro support himsci£ However, after lengthy discussion, the Committee decided not ro change parental deeming.

"The decision [to keep parental deeming] was not motivated by implementation concern!\, hut by reasons of principle;' Chiang

satd.

"We considered changmg the number of years m parental deermng, or usmg a scheme where srudents prove they should be exempted from the rule," srud Nathaniel Lipkus, a student member of the FmanciaJ A1d Committee. "But in the end, the rule could still be arbitrary and may simply shift financial aid &om those who need the most."

Another issue in the finanoal aid report was whether or not to place a cap on bur· sanes. \lthough Mr. Brown recommended cappmg bursary awards at tuition, the Comrruttce decided to maintain its practice of awardmg bursaries based on need.

"Capping bursaries at twtion is too restricnvc on students' lifestyles:' Lipkus said. "By awarding bursaries in excess of ruition, we can attract a more diverse student body."

Lipkus pointed out that many students have substantial expenses beyond tuinon, such as rent, food, child care, and medical costs. ln addition, the faculty plans to hire a Drrector of Fmancial Aid and ,\dmisstons, who will assist in implementing the changes.

The Committee is now revie""ing the Back-End Debt Relief Program, which is expected ro undergo more substantial changes than the front-end program. \Irhough discussions have begun, the Committee doesn't expect to fully deal with the Issues until early summer.

The Students' Law Society would like to thank the following firms for their generous contributions to the Clubs and Activities Fund 2002-2003 DAVIES

FASKEN~

WARD

MARTINEAU

PHILLIPS

\Y

FRASER MILNER CASGRAIN LLI'

& VINEBERG LLP

GILBERT'S Goodman and

Carr

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Gowllng Lafleur Henderson LLP

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HOSKIN& HARCOURT Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt l.l.P

l,owdown

J'(llr/et Fttrr Dtbl Jbod:; a11d aur Pro1:0s1 Got'tming Comttil l..J!YOIII on Oscar Night Curer Dtg

Correction In last month's issue, we inadvertently left out a worJ in a story by Douglas Sanderson on page 11. The line should read as follows: "But, if you arc a man of a ccrtam age, and you have spent countless hours trying to have sex and NOT get someone pregnant, then you have no id<:a how difficult it is to decide to have ~ex uith the intent of getting someone pregnant. I could not not complete the deed." As Douglas pointed out, you need two 'nots' in a row, or you don't have any reverse Catholic guilt, just Catholic gu1lt, which is not n:ally the point.

TORYS

BORDEN LLP

MILLER

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LADNER GERVAIS

NEWS

4

Dean~

SLS aim to improve collegiality at law school

NEWS

25 MARCH 2003

5

Student government unified

Compulsory moot programme to offer more flexibility

SLS, Faculty Council student caucus to be governed by single executive

Students will be able to choose to satisfy academic requirement in one of three ways

involn•ml·m can be mcrcased. ~larthc\\ s recognizts, howner, that professors arc

BY LISA MINUK Tlw tumultuous happc:nings at thl· Ia\\' under a lot of pressurl· in terms of time school m cr the last two )'l"ars have ~purred commitml·nts, and morl' itwolvemcnt wuh Tht ~tructurl' of studc:nt gowrnmcnt at thl· dfuns to imprmc the atmo~pherc at tlw studl'Jll life adds another dtmcnsion 10 thctr faculty'' ill rhange next year, as law students facuh). accordmg 10 Srudems' Law Socil·ty lt1 l'S, \oted m"trwhdmingl} to merge thl' \ccording to ~fatdlews, students arc pay- Studl·ms' 1-l\\" SoCiety (S IA"i) and the Joaculty Prc:sidcnt Jcnrufer \latthcws. 'There has been a lot of uphl":l\'al in the last couple of ing more and morl' to attend U of ·1: and Counol Studl·nt Caucus (I·C Sc..) in a :-.tarch )cars, with bmh the mark~ scandal and the arc rhus making a scnous commitml·nr 11 - 13 referendum. 'Jbere 11cre 137 \·orcs m fin- }car plan," note~ \ latthew~. "Certainly when they choose to come to £he faculty. favour and 13 opposed. these l'Vents ha\ c created rifts m the com- ''It's important that ~tudents sec the same The two bodic:s will remain disnnct but level of commitment [to the law school rmJmty," ~he addl d. wtll now he gowrned and represented by a community) from professors and the Dean Ron Daniels met \\i£h several stu single l'Xl'Cliii\C. The ne11~ bicameral govdent faculty council rcprcscntattvo tn administration." crnm~.:nt will retain thl ~I~ name.

Some students were not impressed 11ith January and discussed a few ideas designed Jennifer J\tatthews, su, president, cited the initiative. "The admimsrrauon has been to f.1cilitatl' opportunities for faculty and improl't.:d effictcncy, co ordination, and students ro get w know each other better in using a stratcgr of 'messaging' the students commumcations as the primary motivations more informal ~ertings. According to with PR campaigns to support th eir various / for the merger. "The new system will pre initiaovcs," said Alysta Davtes (II). "This has / vent one arm of sntdenr government fro m Daniels, possible ideas mcluded professorstudent lunches and small ad hoc colloquia created a rrusr problem rhc students here acctdenrall} ambush mg the orhc r," Matthews explained. bcrwccn a f.1culry member and interested are much too bright to be satisfied \\.ith students. " I asked the students ro nominate canned answers and there's been a f:ulure to Though there is no hostility between me a reprc~enrativc co work with me in esrab· recognize that," she added. groups, rhc fragmentation of student govern· "Until ~tudcn t s fed rhar their voice is lishing £he initiative and hopefull} we will ments ~ometimes led to mislllldersrandings. get ir off the ground this year," saJd Damcls. heard and positions considered, there will Last )'l":lr, for instance, the SLS's relation;\f:mhc\\·s is looking for Daniels to rake nor bt• collcgtalay amongst students and facship \\.ith the Toronto Ia"' firms suffered the k'ad on the issue. "/SrudcnrsJ do nor ulty," said Kctth Burkhardt (II,. Students because of confuston over me roles of the have a large: ability to get professors arc "forced back into the 'infenor studenr' rwo bodies. "The SIA~ 1s the bodv that deals role, and dtsmisscd by the "superior admin· invohcd m student life," she said. with firms. [ \sststant Dca~J Bonnie Professors have bern sigmficanrly istr.uion. It rake~ .1 fundarm:nral change in Goldberg didn't rcahze tlus and struck a involn:d tn orientation activities m £he List mindscr to alter thar ... not a free lunch or committee of l··csc representatives to disfl'W yean:, and \\anhcw~ is hopeful that £hat rwo,'' ht· added. cuss firm parnctpauon in srudem evenrs,"

BY SALMAN HAQ

1

ULTRA VIRES

DAVIES WARD PHILLIPS

said \ latthcws.

Though it \\,ts nobody's fault, the commiuec's dn·isions may haw been dtffercm had the SLS been able to bring its issul'S to thl' table. \hranda Gass-Donncll) (I), a member of I CSC, was abo en£husi.1 tic about £he new

"The new system will prevent one arm of student government from accidentally ambushing the other." -SLS President Jennifer Matthews SU\. "The new system will be caster for students ro navigate," said Gass Donnelly. " Havmg two separate bod1cs 1s confusing, because students do not know where to go With their concerns."

There were quesoons about me new body.

"Some people \vcrc afraid that the president, who would be the external contact for students, faculty, and firms, could potentially abuse their power in order to pursue their own agenda," Matthews acknowledged. ''\X'e tried to prevent that by clearly defining the role of president. ,\lso, the benefits of unity

PLEASE SEE "SLS" ON PAGE 5

& VINEBERG

BY DAVID KOLINSKY Faculty Council has approved changes to the compulsory moot programme that: will allow students w fulfill the academic requirement in one of dlree ways. hrst:, students will have the option to complete rhc mooung rtquircmcnt: in first year as part of an dccti\·c course. This option will be pro· vidcd on a trial hasis \x:ginntng in 2004-05, owing to the fact rhar teaching assignments have alrl-ady been set for the next school year. ~tudents rna} abo choose to complete rhc requirement br participating in a competitin: moor. Finall); the current compulsory moot will remain an option, although it mar be moved to rhc second term of second year, which is generally seen as a less hectic tunc.

I ,ast ( ktober, as a result of concerns over me quality of the compulsory moot programme, Dean Ron Daniels asked the Curriculum Committee to consider possible changes. ", umcrous students, facult)~ and alumm had complamed about the declining quality of the mooong experience," said Josh llunter (III), who sirs on Faculty CounctL "The dean thus asked the Curriculum Committee to ~rudy the pro· gramme and recommend improvements." lndeed, student experience would sug· gest: that the programme is in desperate need of reform " I J iu n't p~11 an) real effort

into [the moot!," says Daniel \nthony (11).

"The returns arc low when you don't: put much work in."

The Comnut:tce did consider eliminating the compulsory moor and rlplacmg it \\.ith existing acJv<x:aC) -related courses, but concluded that such courses would not be a suit· able substitute for £he compulsory moot, as none has a research or writing component. ~cverthcless, the Commirrce left open the possibility that there might be future alrcrnativcc to the three possibilities outlined in the

"Competitive moots provide a much more intense and realistic mooting experience."

- Daniel Anthony proposal. "The Committee can imagrne char other courses might be developed that would sacisfy, in some form, the three elements of the oral advocacy requirement: research, writing, and oral presentation " J\ccording to Hunter, the vast majority of students in a recenr survey supported a moot course with increased research and writing. "Unfortunately, rhe faculty docs not seem to be in favour of changing me firsrvear curriculum so soon after the lasr round ~>f changes (two years ago)," said Hunter.

StuJents rL":lCtcd positively to the idl":l of ~ati,;fying, th e mooting requirement through

a compeotive moot. "Competitive moots advisers to provide advice on research and provtdc a much more intense and realistic strategy, and awarding one credit £O partictmoonng cxpcncncc. othing is lost by not pant:~ in the upper-year moot. The upper· going through me compulsory moor. .. that year moor would also be made available to students m joint programmes who arc )OU can't get from a compcnnvc moot," noted J\n£hony. "The advantage of thts pro- "between" years at the law schooL gramme is flexibility-for someone who is mtcrested in mooring, it is a more in-depth programme, comparable to what orhcr "STUDENT • CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4 schools are domg."

Hunter \Vas also pleased at me prospect and the mcrcased legtOmlC) th.1t brings of moving the compulsory moot to the secmake the risk word1while." There is no ond term of second year. "The first semesprocedure for recall. ter of second year is a very bus} time for .\nother concern v•as that there rna} students and thus the moot shoulcJ be not be enough people left in the Sl..S moved. The second semester of first year system to do the work. The president would be a good time but something else take~ on new respon>ibilities as hl"au of would have to be removed to make room the FC..'-;C, leaving the remaining reprefor the moot," he srud. senmtivc~ to redi~tr:ibute the o ther ,\nthony agreed, nonng that "(iln light of respon~ibilities. all the other things I was doing, l stmply .\skcd lus thought· about the referwent for a pass. It's illogtcal to take work endum, David Germain (I) said. away from securing a JOb or writing a paper." "\X'hat?" ln terms of improving the quality of the Gcrm:un i.~ not the only wuntcrcsted experience srudents deri\c from rhe com· ~tudenl. Despite a <rgmficant effort to pulsory moor, me new proposals include Jis5l'nllnate information \\lthm the plans to h.ire upper-year or graduate stu· communi(}, the mtncaCil':S of sn1dent Jcnrs to wrire problems, hiring a coordina· gonxmncnt sccrm d beneath the radar cor for the new upper-year moor as oppo~ed of students u•ho an: not direcrly to having me moor court committee .ldmininl'oh ed in Jt. ister the programme, introducing lectures One I ·C.:~C n:prc~enrativ·e adrmtted, on r~:~carch, factum writing, and oral advo· "rl1is (referendum) nccdccJ m pass." cac.:y for participants, providing faculty

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ULTRA VIRES

HELMUT helps you through exams Dear IIH.Ml , I toss and turn at n1ght with my nund racmg about the tmpcnding doom that •s \pnl. llo\\ am I supposed to cope \\ ith I00° o final exams that haH· t!1c potencial to make or break In} kb'lll carl·cr?

- Jmrtd of lhe Ltller C

Feeling down? Health Enables Legal Minds at the University of Toronto (HELMUT) offers advice

I )car Scarl·d, tam pcrspl'Cth·c:s arc often ignored or yUtckThe first thmg} ou should try to do is to lose Iy disrm ~c:d-including my O\\n. Th1~ somethe ''make or bCL-ak the career" attinJdt•. time~ makes me fed mar!::inalized and alone.

Marks arc unportant, but they arc nor cvery- J\11) suggestion~~ thmg. Lots of people get great job~ \\1th - Jiltnttd S111den1 average marks, due to their stellar pc~onali­ cics. En:n tho~e students who have mer Dear Silenced, what HEI~\lUT prefer~ to call the "crcs- HEI~\lUT agrees that Ia\\ school can be an cent·shapcd lener" have gotten gn.-ar jobs. intimidating environment, cspcoally when Do your best, that's all you can do. Most the views heard arc sometimes the loudest, likely, the B-curve will fin d you. And when it rather than the most enlig h tened. H ere arc docs, accept it into your heart wtth Joy, like some suggestio ns for you. many a fine law student before you. \X'c: arc First, 1f your feelings o f alienation arc all the best of the bes t here at U of T law. severe or mhib1ting your ability to function, \pnl showers, but May always flowers. H ELMUT suggests talking to som eone who Exams will happen. The m ore prepared you will listen. For a list of on-campus social serarc, the more likely you are to remain calm vices, sec www.la'W:utoro nto.ca/ studen ts_ and to do well. So study hard, but take care content.asp?itcmPath=2/12/2/0/0&conte of your physical and mental health during ncid= 435. the exam period. Eat, sleep, and laugh. Take Second, these feelings may be minimized comfort in the knowledge that you are not by finding solidarity with o thers who share gomg through this alo ne-there are nearly your views. T here are a multitude of social, 200 of you in the same stressful situation. political, and cultural organizations both

Dear HELMUT, Though the law sch ool environment is full o f po\inca\ and socia\ debate, l find that cer-

withm the law school and the university as a whole. Consider speaking with members of these groups or becoming involved with them.

7

Conscious movement towards work-life balance

La tly, tr} to maintain persp1.'Cti\T. If a certain \iC\1 or sr.mcc: is promtnc:nt at the Ia\\ school, that doesn't mean it is so l'H'f}· \\hac. Tlwugh 1I I •1.\lUT appreciatt·s that the hallo\1 cd halls of the law school often ~~:em li!..c tlw l'lltirt• univc:r~e. It IS fi>rtunatl' Iy the c.tsl' that they arc not.

DEAR HELMUT

NEWS

25 MARCH 2003

5pend the bulk of your umc: volunteering with a firm that can't afforu an artichng studem, to get experienn· and a good rcfc:.rc:nce. You can also try to do an lntrrnshtp or similar stint :11 a non prolit.

If you hkl· Ia\\~ hut .trcn't sure about laW)l'nng, )Oll can appl) to do an I.L.~I. Thi~ tnl·ans more loans, but It .tbo keeps the Dt.:ar IIFJ.\lll'l: Jebt-collcctor at bay and g1ws you another I'm about to graduate from this place, I crack at the guided recruiting process. don't have any articles lined up, and I'm tcrTherl' arc also non-lawyer jobs tn the rifit·d. \Vhat am 1 going to Jo? field-working for a legal publisher, doing - Jrdrli11td legal research for a prof or company, marketing for a law firm, organizing legal conDear Stdelincd, ferences. If you write, try submittmg pieces Thw.: arc ahvays a few folks who don't get to legal magazines to get your name out articles right a-w-ay, so HEL~ICT suggests there. These things expose you to lawyer you find out who they are in your year and contacts, and allow them to judge the qualimake friends. You can offer each other a lot t} of your work for themselves mstcad of o f support while you're going after the arti- relying on the marks+how-many-biZ-Iawcling positions that D O, rest assured, come courses· you took equation. up during the spring and summer.

Even if It's a tad uncomfortable, tell Having a gang can also prevent the ten- everyone you know that you're looking. A dency to put yourself down because you lead can come from anywhere, and you realdon't have articles. Recruiting IS not a ratio- ly need to put o ut those fee lers. nal soence, and people fall through the Finally, be kind to yourself. The type of cracks for all kinds of reasons. You're at this hustling you'll have to do for the next little school in the first place because you're a while is a given in a lot of other fields. But good candidate. Sirrularly situated buddies it can be exhausting and demoralizing when can help you analyze what to do from here, you were expecting a more secure future. be sounding boards for how you're feeling, Remember, you'll be learning to look out for and bolster your confidence. yourself, and that's a skill that will stand you Take some time to figure out what you in good stead your whole life. Best of luck. really want to do. If you're dead set o n \awyerdom , you can get a part-time job and PLEASE SEE " HELMUT: PAGE 7

Women lawyers strive for flexibility

BY JOANNA RNE

balance is different for everyone, and there is no formula. ''There is not one pomt where we say now we have balance-it's a process. . . it will change over time and over your career."

It was clear from the diverse experiences of the lawyers that balance requires conscious decisions about what is important to you. Jillian Robins, now pregnant wtth her third child, has worked out a part-time arrangement as an associate at Baker & McKenzie. Her chOices have come at a cost, as she IS taken off the partnerslup track

way to change that wtth the help of supportive partners. Although Robms said that Is a balanced life possible m the legal proit may not be possible to have it all, things fession:> At the work-life balance session, are starting to change in the legal profession. the answer was clearly yes. But, it may not be Lalch Moshiri took a leave from her praceasy, and it requires making conscious cleo tice at BLG to work as the firm's recruitsions about priorities in your lift!. ment director, a position that allows her to The panel, organized by Women and the work "school" hours and spend more time Law and the Career Development Office with her two children. In response to stu(CDO), brought together women lawyers dent quesnons about having children early, working at various downtown Toronto Moshiri said, "Don't assume large firms do firms, including Borden Ladner Gervais, not support It." Blaney McMurtry, and Baker & McKenzie.

Moshiri also said that you do not necesSusan Black, Vice-President of Catalyst, a sarily have to give up the partner track to non-profit research and advisory organiza "I believe it is possible [to achieve have a family-"it may just take longer." \t non devoted to advancing women in bustBaker & McKenzie, Robins explained, a ness and professions, was also present to balance], but I don't believe it's female lawyer working four days a week discuss the organization's groundbreaking easy." - Lianne Krakauer made partnership. research on flexibility in Canadian law firms.

Work-life balance is not just about balThanks to the session, students were able while working part-time. She has also ancing a family with work. For Rebecca to hear how some lawyers have maintained accepted the other down sides to negonat- Chan, an associate at BLG, cornmuruty balance and were encouraged to start think. mg part-tunc work: stigma and a reduced involvement with her church and Habitat ing about these Issues early on. Although the salary. for Humanity is important. Her advice is to room was filled mostly with women, Black Robms stressed the importance of be "disciplined while at work. Don't stretch stressed "this is not a women's issue, It is a researching firms, adding that "[t]hc first the work dav out to 18 hours. Do something gender-neutral issue." thing is to know what your prioricy is and try fun everyday," and be sure to take all of your Lianne Krakauer, Director of Career to fit yourself into an envuonment that sup· holiday time.

Development Programs at the CDO, ports your mterest." She warned, however, ,\!though flexible arrangements arc possilaunched the event with some general that "no one is going to hand you your pri- ble, don't expect to negotiate in your art.ic\ing thoughts that were reiterated by the panel- oricies on a silver platter ... you have to ask intcn:icv.-s. .\\1 of the women stated the lists. " I believe it is possible," she said about for things." importance of puttinF, in your nme and achieving balance, "but I don't believe it':; When Robins ftrst approached her fum, pru...-lng )'<>und£ so ~h2.t )'<>U a<c '" 2. \l<> \\\on easy." S lw hig hlij!:htcd th e fact that wor k !if<•

th<•y r cllp orulc, \ ncgativc:\y, hut she found n

reminding the students that smart law firms want to keep its lawyers, as "there is an econonuc cost to turnover." Similarly, Brinley Evans, an associate at Blaney McMurtry, urged students "not [to] underestimate the comrrurment of firms to their lawyers."

Government and part-time positions as m-house counsel are other employment opnons that offer flexibility.

Krakauer hopes this will event will become an annual workshop. "It was definitely one of the highlights of my career!"

HElMUT "HELPS" CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6 Need to talk with HELMUT? If you•re feeling down or looking for tnfo (m how to get ad~icc of the more professional kind, e-mail alysia.davies@utoronto.ca, cathy.dark@utoro nto.ca. tamaralcnnox@hotrnail.com o r tanq.rerntulla@utoron to.ca. HEL\ tuT (Ht:alth Enable:; Legal ~\inds at t of 1.) is h ere to p rovide )OU v.'lth resources about health anJ wc\1\x.~ng \£ you n eed Ul.cm "Yo w: \)nvacy ~'\\\ \ )C rc'a~"Ctcd

tn \\\.'~C>t\ate \ ate< on \ \\ac.\<;. added tn t\n \-.y

301h Annual Gale Cup Moot I Joe Concours de fa.Coupe Gale Fraser Milner Casgrain llP and the Ontario Bar Association wish to congratulate University of Toronto law students and their coach for placing third in the in the 30th Annual Gale Cup Moot competition that took place on February 21-22, 2003:

Fraser Milner Casgrain s.r.l. et I'Association du Barreau de !'Ontario felicitent les etudiant(e)s en droit de I'Universite de Toronto qui ont rem porte Ia troiseme place au 30e concours de Ia Coupe Gale, les 21 et 22 fevrier 2003, ainsi que leurs conseiller(ere)s pedagogiques :

William Thompson, Maryth Yachnin, Brock Jones, Sana Halwani Professor/Professeur Ed Morgan Student Coaches/Conseilleres: Dena Varah and/et Stephanie Wakefield

Average age of all lawyers in the Toronto office: 34 Average age of partners in the Toronto office: 46 Year the youngest lawyer in the Toronto office was born: 1976 Years Eddie Goodman had been practicing by 1976: 29 Total number of bagels consumed on "Bagel Fridays" at Goodmans each year: 6 ,500 Rank of sesame seed, cinnamon-raisin and poppy seed bagels: 1, 2 and 3

University of Montreal won the Gale Cup and has qualified to represent Canada at the Commonwealth Moot Competition in Melbourne, Australia on April 13-17, 2003 and will be sponsored in part by the Harold G. Fox Education Fund.

L'Universite de Montreal a remporte Ia Coupe Gale et representera le Canada au Concours du Commonwealth qui se tiendra a Melbourne (Australie) du 13 au 17 avril 2003. Une subvention du Fonds pour I'education Harold G. Fox l'aidera afinancer ses frais de deplacement.

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25 MARCH 2003

9

Charm and intelligentsia in Budapest

South African legal lessons a major draw BYTIMWILBUR

BY STEPHANIE WAKEFIELD

w.

'"'"r" ""

Un;"~;:I

I Jwd<d ro of Cape Town (UCl) for my last semester, I was well a~'are that there were bt.-aches and mountains in C:tpt.• Town. I had been to Cape Town before, and I knew it was one of the most beautiful cities in the world. I knew that the w<.-ather would be sunny· and mild most of the rime that I would be here.

I can't deny that I have taken advantage of all these things while I have been here. But despite my attraction to the natural beauty of Cape Town, I like to think I carne Wlth nobler inrenoons.

I carne to Cape Town to study law. I was fascinated by the South African constitution, and 1 wanted to know how the law has helped or hindered South Africa in moving from a racist

W

I

I

University of Cape Town set in the natural beauty of the South African city. Photo courtesy of Tim Wilbur. that many students and professors at UCT share my enthusiasm for the South African constitution. I didn't see a lor of cyrucisrn about giving judges the right to adjudicate on socio-economic rights like health and housing. South Africans are aware that their constitution is admired throughout the world. Law students at UCT seem exored about how their

I came to South Afnca with an optimistic sense of what the law can do for those who have been oppressed in the past. pariah state to a dcmocraoc nation.

I carne to South Africa with an opri· rrustic sense of what the law can do for those who have been oppressed m the past. I knew that South Africa had drafted its constituoon based largely on Canada's Charter, and the Charter and the South African consotution are both adrntrcd by constitutional lawyers throughout the world. I have always had a strong aversion to arguments against so-called "judioal activism," and I felt that the strong rights entrenched in the South African constitution, including the right to health and housmg, were positive developments for South Africa. The South African Bill of Rights is more progrcsstvc than m any other consotution including the Charter. Canadian courts, I thought before I came here, have a thing or twO to learn from South Africa.

When 1 started my classes, I realized

country produced its constitution after havmg overcome such a violent past. 1 was excited to see how energised South Afucans are about the positive role the law could have in shaping a just society.

II

My classes only confirmed to me that South A fuca IS a great place to study law.

It wasn't until I left the main part of Cape Town that I began to really qucsoon whether the law has actually had a positive effect in South Africa. I began to do volunteer work in Khayelitsha, one of the many black townships that surround Cape Town, through an organization at UCT. This organization sends groups of UCT students to work on projects in the townships of Cape Town.

My project involved working with high school students. We arc supposed to help these students produce a newsletter that looks at the history and future of their communities.

What made me feel more cynical about the law was what happened when we asked the students to talk about thc1r comrnunity.When asked what defined their community, the teenagers urunedi ately talked about the crime. Crime, as I knew already, is rife in the townships, but tlus fact hadn't really sunk in before I spoke to these students. I asked them what the police do when there is all tlus crime, and they would just shake their heads and say tha( the police don't come to the townships. ''They arc scared to come;' these students told me. ''The gangsters all have guns and the police don't really help." \lthough the fact that crime 1s so bad in South Africa is not a revelation to anyone, 10cluding Canadians, these students made me think twice about my enthusiasm about South African law. Did it really matter to these high school students tf judges could pronounce that everyone had the nght to health? Would a pro-

grcsstve consotutton make any difference if the police refused to enforce the most baste cnrninallaws for the majority of the population?

I don't really have an answer to these questions. I am not sure if a wonderful constitution will really make a difference for these high school students in Khayelitsha. Like most South Africans, however, I find myself looking at the recent past of tlus country to regain a sense of opomism about South Africa's future. South Afncans arc understandably often referring to how things worked under apartheid, and understanding how things work today through that lens. The law under apartheid was a very cffccove tool for oppression. It 1s impossible not to sec how effective the law was un<..l<:r aparthc.;td in oppr<:ssm17 the maJority of South Afncans.

TrontcaUy, when I become cynical about the law, I often thmk about the role the law used to have under apartheid. If the law can be so effective under apartheid, I tell myself, then It must be effective in some way today.

What this effectiveness means, I have yet to discover. I don't know if the entrenchment of many rights 10 the consotution ·will make a difference. But, tf South Afucans are world experts in how the law can be used for wicked ends, then I think South Africans must be experts in how the law can be used to for just ends. This is why learning about the South Afncan legal experience has been such a worthwhile experience, and far more enriching than the beautiful sun, beach, and moun tams that I enjoy everyday.

Loving the law in Amsterdam

BY LISA LOISB.LE OK. IT W \S GREY, R \INY AND \X1NDY. The canal nearly teed over, and people complained about the cold when it dropped below freezing. I complained, too, but then thought: "Thank God I'm not 10 Canada."

Now it's March, the crocuses and daffodils arc up, and school's out in a week.

Ah, the life of an exchange student in Amsterdam, the mythical land of narrow hou~es ringed by magnificent canals, cob· blestone streets, throngs of confused tourists, and other (m)famous attributes that keep the tourists pouring in. l wa~ de!.perate to go on an exchange

program, not only because I had never been overseas before, but because I wanted an opportunity to actually live in the culture, rather than simply be a tourist. I had a tonne of options at the International Students' Exchange Office-but it seemed everyone wanted to go to Amsterdam, so initially 1 was strongly pushed towards tak ing a spot in Lund, Sweden. I thought there was no way I was gomg to Sweden in the winter, so I held out for a spot 1n Amsterdam. And here I am, along with six other U of T Law classmates.

The first few weeks were odd but exhilarating. Learning to navigate the twisting, tiny streets of Amsterdam was the first challenge-if I only got lost twice a day I con-

hen the plane finally touched down at Ferihcgy airport in Budapest, I was thinking much less of thL Danube than about avoiding the mafia run cab companies which l'd bn•n told worh:d the airport. The legions of pickpockets conjured up by my imagination and a fc:w gutdebook w':lrnings also came to mind. I must have looked crazy to the airport officials, clutching my bag while my eyes darted cvcry,vhere in paranoid confusion. .\ty first impression of the Cll1 was of endless graffiti and the identical Soviet· style concrete apartment blocks that surrounded the colourful capitalist moderru 11 of the university's residence building.

Canada seemed very wealthy and very far away.

I soon discoYered the picturesque decay of downtown, Wlth the crumbling stone fa~adcs of the 19th-century Austro-Hungarian Empire left largely untouched by Communist architectural dcprcdaoons. I also discovered that hardly anyone spoke English, no one spoke French, and everyone met my mangled attempts at Hunganan with blank incomprehension. Most of the young and elderly people were friendly, although I rcali~cd that the service industry and smiling at strangers are very much \.\'estern phenomena. 1 learned not to

sidercd myself lucky. I quickly figured out how to get to school (which 1S located at the bottom end of the Red Light Distnct) and prepared for the start of classes, which included attempting to get my books. If you thmk the three hour line-up outstde the U of T bookstore is bad, you should try the Dutch system. You get the name of the book and head out to your local bookstore and hope they have it. And if they don't, well, you order it and hope they get it before the end of the ~emester. .\nd if they can't get it, you're out of luck unless some merciful soul will let you photocopy their text.

Law school here is quite a different gig than in Toronto. FtrSt off, law is a ftrst degree in the Netherlands, so most of the

students arc in their very early 20s, and when they hear our ages, they assume that we're mature students that have returned to law school after working for a few years. !'Jo one has a clue that in Canada, law IS a sec· ond (or third, or fourth) degree. Also, the number of students 10 the law school 1s phenomenal there are thousands of law students, from all over the world, as UvA prides itself on the quality of its international legal education.

All international law classes arc conducted entirely in Engli~h, and I was immediately stunned and impressed by the facility with English that all the professors and

PLEASE SEE "ODD" ON PAGE 10

disagn·c

wll h

the grumpr ttckct inspec-

tors on the metro, some of whom seemed to take a sadistic pleasure in fin ing confused tourists.

Budapest has taken its turn with other Eastern Europ<.-an ones as the cliched Paris of the cast. While I wouldn't rush to equate their atmospheres, Budapest definitely has an abundance of pastry-laden cafes serving tiny cups of coffee to lingering intelligentsia looking out onto narrow streetscapes and statucd squares. And if you can tgnorc the concrete bunker~ of

the older \\c~tern hotels and the absence of a boardwalk, there's plenty of romance in a mghttimc walk by the Danube, sofrl} illuminated by the glow of the Parliament buildinj.,>S. the famous chain bndge ltnking Huda with Pest, and the palace up on C.'lstle !!ill.

The university proper, founded just over ten yt.-ars ago by billionaire expatriate George Soros to promote open and democratic socieues in the former Eastern bloc, is a five minutes' walk from the nver, and a multicultural mecca for the city. I met relatively few Hungarians, but befriended classmates from Romania, Armenia, A:t.crbaijan, Uzbekist:tn, Lithuania, Croatta, Poland, Belarus, Georgia, Estonia, and the l kramc, to name a few.

Most of these classmates had grown up m countries gradually emerging from reprcsstve rcguncs, and many looked to the West Wlth an uncritical eye as a source of mspiration and careers. The United States-George Bush jokes notwithstanding-is a land of freedom, opportunity, and potential investors for

Stephanie and Asta from Lithuania drinking mulled wine and eating Hungarian pastry at the Christmas market in Budapest. Photo courtesy of Stephanie Wakefield. perceive challenges to its authority and did not always treat us like independent adults. Rules and exam schedules some-

I soon discovered the picturesque decay of downtown, with the crumbling stone fafades of the 19th-century Austro-Hungarian

Empi~e

lift !ar;ge(y untouched f?y Communist

architectural depredations.

Eastern Europe, while Canada ts idealized for the racial harmony that did not seem easily attainable back home. \csogcs of authoritarianism were evident in the somewhat disorganized university administration, which genumely cared for the students, but was quick to

times seemed to change almost daily. \nd during one of my final exams we were mistakenly given a test for a different subject. \\e were almost made to write it on the theory that the curve more or less made everything a matter of luck an}'W3}: The quality of the courses varied

widely, and there was much less focus on hard law than at the U of T. Some classes were bad to the pomt of being painful, but I did get the opportunity to \earn about subjects, like transitional justice and Roma rights, that 1 never would have been exposed to in Canada.

Of course, as an excbange studen\., rntnd v..oa~n't alway; on tn)' !otu<.\tct'>. \")unn\l. rn~ ~nuT t'nnn.tn '"' \~uda~t.. \ rna.na cu \<> '-1~\\ \~1:-a.U!.\ava, \~1:a ru ·•

tn'j

Vienna, Salzburg, Krakou; nnd a numlx"I of pwn•s

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lfunKRTJ: ( Jc

U~IS Ill

/'rogue,

Budapest, chat my camer;1 got srolcn). I also "-is1rcd chffcrcnc part.~ of Buda and Pest on my way co partie.~. restaurants, museums, and bars.

I still speak \·cry linle Hungarian, and with all the other places 1 have ycr to visit, 1 doubt I'll be back in Budapest for a wlulc. But I'll never forger the four months I spent there. I went in search of adventures and new experiences, and I found them. nelt

Singaporean international community welcoming

BY SARAH CORMAN I feel for all of you in the middle of the deep freeze. Fortunately, here in Singapore, the temperature is a little cooler than usual as well. It's averaging

about .10C !ugh, 24-C lm\. \'\'e arc being spared the brutal heat that is normal tn the penod follo~;ng the C:hirwse :--:e\\' Year but that would, I imagine, be thl' envy of most Torontoruans.

I spent Chinese ~t.'\\' Year 111 Singapore's Chinatmm surroundeJ by

masses of bargain-hunters snatching up the New Year-related products as prices plummeted just past the stroke of midnight. S10gaporcans love to shop. They also love to cat and the food here is absolutely fantastic. The popular way to cat is at "hawker centres" which resemble our food courtS although a Little less sterile, far more interesting, and much cheaper. On campus, a full meal goes for about: $2.50. The hawkers to choose from usually mclude Chinese, ;\1al:ty, lndian-the three largest ethnic groups in Smgaporc-as well as Japancsl', Thai, and \Vcstcrn-evcr hL-ard of the popular Western dish "chicken leg stt.:w"?

Hehevc it or not, I've en.'ll had a few sticks of gum, too. lntrif,'l.ll'd by the famous Singapore 1:,>1.1m laws, I dtd a little research. It\ not illegal 10 chew it, it's not Illegal to po~scss it, it mi!-,'ht be tllt' gal to import It for personal usc, but it's deli nitcly illegal to tmport it for sak· or sell it.

There has yet to be a case to Jetcrminc whether "irnporrauon" includes import·

mg for personal usc only.

Most Singaporeans (mcluding law professors) seem to feel quite comfortable importing small quantities for personal usc. These gum laws actually aren't so bad at alL They work-J have yet to step in a wad of gum or find one stuck to the underside of a desk at the 'l"aoonal L ntvcrstl) of Singapore r-; l;S).

"JUS 1s a very pleasant place to study.

The ~tudcms arc extremely friendly, albeit a little shy sometimes, the faculty arc a very interesting bunch, and the campus has some real gems, like a bL-au tiful outdoor Olympic swimming pool and a new cultural centre. ,\lmost all exchangl' students live in a 3,()()().room re~idencc complex that many profs claim is far nicer than thetr condos. It's an architecturally attracri\'C three-year old complex with opcn·air corridors, lots of windows, pla~as, fountains, ~ports courts, food centres. and a very nice gym. lt'~ no Grad I louse. All U of T e-xchange stutknts lucked out: and got rooms ~ith air-

condmonmg and private bathrooms.

NLS has successfully cultivated a v<.ry large mtcrnational cornmurucy. 'l"CS students come from all over Asia as well as other parts of the world. There arc plenty of exchange students from around the globe-we seem to be a much a higher percentage of the srudcnt population than at horne. Every member of the Ia~· faculty has done graduate \Vork in :-:orth ,\merica or Bmain, and there arc mmy \·isicing international faculty. :\lost exchange students at r-..l ~ take a lot of international law courses, of which thcrc is an extraordinary selection . .\1y most interesting class is lntcrnarional llum;tn Rtghts La\\; a rclativcl} new addition to tht.' • US curriculum, which I' a class of 20 students ~1th representatives from Chrna, I {ong Kong, ;\1alaysia, Indonesia, England. Germany, Canada, anJ the l ' nitcd States, a~ well as Singaporc. TI1c range of pcr,pL'Cth'CS ts

PLEASE SEE "UNDERLYING" ON PAGE 10

LEGAL ISSUES

10

ULTRA VIRES

Scholar for a new century

T

Fulbrigho >:<w Conouoy

S<ho>b~

nauonal legal developments relating to indigenous pcopl~:> enrich our understandmg of the conceptual anJ normative undcrpinnin!,'S of ethnic, cultural and national minonty rights. 1 am also examining whether the emergent mtcrnacional legal swus of mJigcnous pcoples and of c.:thnic, cultural and nattonal minorities, viewed together, explain the emergence of a more pragmaric conception of the right of selfdetermination.

We are developing what we hope will be an innovative methodological framework for reconceptualising the field of conflict.

In asking these questions, I hope to high· light what is often obscured in analyses of these Jevclopments, namely, that they reveal the field's relation to the legitimacy - or justice- of the distribution of sovereignty produced and maintained by the international legal order. 1 abo hope to determine the extent to which they arc transformm~ the funcnons anJ purposes of the field Itself Scholarship on the nature and mission of mternatronal human rights law has been pre· occupted \\ith the distinction between uruvcrsabsm anJ relativism.

The developments under study arc com plemencing the field's tradrtional preoccupa· cion \\ith this debate with an additional nor mative mission, namely, to monitor the distributive Justice of public international law in the name of ethnic., cultural, national and inJigenous populations within and across national borders. Human rights, on this

Odd but exhilarating Amsterdam

Underlying quirkiness endearing

"LOVING " CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8

"SINGAPOREAN " CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9

European students exhibit. These student.~ all speak a minimum of three languages, most of them have more (and here I was thinking I \\"a.s cool because I can speak broken hcnch w.,th a thick Quebecois accent). .\nd the best thing- we get field tnpsl \X'e went to The Hague and to Utrecht, and some people, I heard, wcm on a bicycle trip with their class. I think that U of T law would be much improved by offering field trips. It would offset the pain of paying exorbitant tuition a little. But only a little.

But the ~xpcriencc is incomparable-where else would I sit in a class with students from Germany, France, Poland, Hungary, and Sp:t.in and talk about the1r domestic legal systems and tducarions? The Faculty of La\\· ho~tcd a party for all the international qudenrs, and we all had a

chance to meet and chat. We discovered quickly we all had the same things in common-strong opinions, anxiety over job opportunities, and the inability to resist a free drink.

Of course, tt really is an adjustment, especially l:i\ing in a grotty student rez rife with mice, rats, and rowdy ,\mcrican teens who never sleep. Better though, arc the Dutch, who are very tolerant of the way we anglophoncs slaughter their language (I have since got quite a bit better-you just have ro ger over the embarrassment of sounding like you're suffering from a strange throat disorder).

At any rate, spendrng a semester at the University of J\mstcrdam definitely brought the fun to law ~chool, and JUSt when I thought the words "fun" anJ "law" couldn't be used in rhe same sentence.

11

Law Student v. The Evil Landlord, [2002]

2003 Fulbright Ne1v Century Scholar and Faculty of Law Professor Patrick Macklem explores the links between indigenous law and minon!J nghts

Program is an inrcrnarional imcrJisciphnary rl'H.oan:h program JcsigncJ lO aJJress major challenges of the 21st century. ,\s a 2003 Fulbnght ~ev; Century Scholar, I am working \\1th 30 otht·r .scholars from arounJ the recognize thl· internarionallcgal significance \\'orld on issues relating to sectarian, ethnic of indigenous cultures, territonal comrrutand cultural conflicr wirhin anJ across ments, :tnJ forms of governance in the face national borders. \\'e arc developing what of sm crc1gn power that thn.oatcns these \\"C hope \\ill be an innovative methodologimrcrcsts. cal framework for reconceptualising the The st'ConJ dl·vclopmcnt relates to rights ficiJ of confltct stuull":;. \\c an: also con- of cultural, ethnic and national minorirics. structing a research and policy agenda International human rights law is begtnning detaihng priority areas of stuJy, incluJing to complement its focus on individual civil, the rok• of rdigious nationalism anJ reh- political, social and economic rights \\.ith an gums insrirutions in proJucing anJ rcJucing acknowkdgemcnt that minorities within conflict; rcconfigurations of sm·crcignry and across sutcs possess social, cultural and produced by peace processes; repertoires of poliucal - and perhaps economic and ternconstitutional design possibilities; the nor- tonal - inreresrs that merit internatiOnal mauve Jcmands of international human legal protection. Regional and international rights law on peace processes; tht· interna- institutions arc beginning ro consider new tional polincal economy of peace; and post- interpretations of existing international accord issues such as dernilirarizacion, post- instruments in \\'ays that foster mulcicultur· accord ,·iolence, and the role of ex-prison- alism and ethnic pluralism. ers and paramiliraries.

Less recent, but equally significant, is a E:tch New Centun· Scholar is also pursu- thirJ dcvelopmenr relating to the right of ing an individual rcstoarch program relating sclf-determinaoon, which protects the interto the theme of sectarian, ethnic and cultur- est of all peoples to determine therr own al conflict within and across national bor- political future or destiny free of external ders. ~1y research \vill examine three devcl- interference. Histoncally, rhe right of sclfopmentl> that suggest international human dctcrmlnauon conferred international legal nghts \aw il'o incrcasmg\y attending to such kf!;iumac.y on effort,; by co\onized peop\cs conflict in way.~ that possess the potennal ro geograph1call) separate from their parent bmadm the naturt• and scope of the field stares to attain independent statehood and and, in so doing, alter its functions and pur- the right legirunatcd an impressive record of poses. dccolort.ization Bur the field has begun to The first de\·elopmenr relates to the comprehend a more flexible concept of selfemergent international legal status of determination by distinguishing between indigenous peoples. Much of international external and internal self-determination and law governs relations among sovereign between an inherent and contingent right, states by and through a distribution of sov- thereby enabling the right's extension to ereignty historically constructed on an non- or post-colonial contexts in ways that exclusion of indigenous peoples from the protect a people's territorial and political communi!:) of nations. In recent years, autonomy short of independent statehood. mternational human rights law has begun to ] am examining the extent to which mter

LEGAL ISSUES

25 MARCH 2003

truly fascinating.

Law school here, as in many other parts of the world, is a frrstentry program so I'm a bit of an old geezer. Students begin law school here at 19 for grrls and 21 for boys (after 2 year of mandatory military service). The courses arc evaluated more hkc first·entry courses in that there arc almost always multiple modes of evaluation, such as a paper, a presenta cion, and an exam.

You can walk around Singapore, shop 'til you drop, sec a movtc at a theatre that looks like the Paramount, have a coffee at Starbucks, and feel lrkt you could be an)where in tht \\'t .tern world.

But, fonunatel); you can also go to a huge outdoor hawker centre for a spicy Smgaport"an St'afood noodle di"h and a fresh Dragonfruit juice, and then go sc.:e a Chinese Orchestra performance. It's c.:asy to

Apartment-hunter files human rights complaint

BY ROY LEE

account, possess international, as oppM~J to domestic, legal significance not simply because they appeal to univc.:rsal values but because the) operate as mechanisms that promote distnbuuvc jusricc in the international legal order.

The rcs<:arch is based on qualitative analysis and companson of different forms and justifications of protecting indigenous anJ ethnic, cultural and national minoril:)• intensrs m international human rights law. I am focustng primarily on the work of the UN Human Rights Committee; the UN Human Rights Commission Working Group on the Draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples: the European Court of I Iuman Rights; and the Office of the J ligh Commissioner on Natrona! Minorities in the Organizaoon for Security and Cooperation m Europe.

I hope my rest-arch will contribute to devclopmg new approaches to the fulbright NCS Program's theme of addressing sectarian, ethnic and cultural conilict \\.ithin and across national borders. It focuses on the role of law - specifically, interna tional

This is astor} about m} apartment· hunting ad\·cntures of last summt·r, which turneJ into a mini·crusadc against a company that managc.:s dozens of high·nsc buildings in "lcmmto. The campaign enJed several weeks ago, when my fricnJl} Canada Post mail carric..:r JroppeJ off a cheque made out to me in the amount of $970.

But back to the beginning. Last June, I \\'liS fretting about my imminent eviction from Grad House's concrete bliss. Another Grad House survivor (who \\.aS organizcJ enough to have found a place for the fall by the previous MarchQ told me that the kc} was to start early.

I began my massive search in early June.

One place caught my eye: an apartment budding about five minutes from the law school. I stopped by after work one day to take a look at the apartment, and asked for an application form. And so began the battle. To protect the identity of the guilty, I will just refer to the antagonist as ... The I ~vil Landlord.

Before The Evil Landlord's agent (the "~uper") was willing to give me the applicaoon forms, I was subjected to a barrage of quesoons. Was I a student, he wanted to know. I had been warned about this, so I answered, truthfully, by saying that I was

husnan n ghts 1"~ - in <.·nnsntutlng and t<-~<~­

c urrently working full time at a legal :ud

ogninng ethnic, cultural, nauonal anJ indigenous populations as legal actors, anJ ts thc.:reforc intimately connected ro challenges associated with assessing the normaovc anJ legal legitimacy of claims br such populations for self-determination and greater autonomy. It also focuses on international legal institutions whose work is geared intensely toward producing solutions, mediated through legal forms and discourse, to vexing problems associated \\ith sccrarian, ethnic ami cultural conflict.

clinic. But the Super saw nght through me,

forger that tlus country is only 40 years old, and is a "democracy" that has, by no mere fluke, onl} seen one poliocal party in power. It 1s also a ~ociety in which Confucianist values pervade-values such as respect for elders anJ authoril:)•, primacy of family and the community, and a recognition that the needs of society rank above those of the indrvidual. I sec these values in my fellow students. ~mgaport-ans look around at therr Southeast Asian neighbours and appreciate their comfortable lives.

In exchange for this comfort, they seem to be happ} to work hard and accept authonl:)'.

There is the external appc..oarance of orderliness at ~US but, surprisingly, C\'er-ything is really quite mcfficicnt. Add/drop here makes the wait lists and line-ups at U of T look like a good time. I've also le-arned to appreciate my ''TCard"

like I never knew I would. Toronto looks qutte high-tech compared to Singapore in this respect who would have guessed? NUS ts just switchrng ro a ''TCard"-type system for pnnting on campus.

However, it took me a day of ac.lministratrve run-around to learn that without a Smgapore bank card, I cannot add money to my student card an}where on campus. Only one entity has figured out how to transfer cash to student cards-the local 7-Eievcnl I think an NUS law professor hit the narl on the head when he told me that it is precisely the ineffiaencies beneath the orderliness that keeps ~rngapore human.

Quirky and lovable Singapore is an extremely interesttng place to get to know, and NCS 1s a great exchange school Srngapore is also conventently located for travel around Southeast . \sia. For anyone thinking of coming here, I would highly recommend the expcncnce.

All in all, it's a pretty darn good way to beat the third-y<."ar malaise.

and stmply informed me that if I had not been working full·time for three years, then I had to get a guarantor. Only when I agreed c.lid he give me the application So I couricrcJ the guarantor forms to my mom in Vancouver, while I Jid my bit here. l had to go to the bank anJ ask the bank manager ro confirm how much money was in my account, as ·well as how long my account had been open, and whether I had ever bounced a cheque. I also had ro get a money order for first and last months' rent, ro be submitted along With my application. \1) mom had ro give me copies of her finan· eta! account statements and the latest prop· erty assessment notice ro prove that she was a home-owner. 1\ll of this was on top of the credtt check that The Evil Landlord would be doing on both m y mom and me.

When I called The Evil Landlord's main office ten days after I submitted the applicaoon, I was told that I would not be given the apartment unless I paid six months' rent in advance! As I was retrieving my jaw from the floor, I calculated that they were basically asking me to hand over my enure summer's wages by the end of the business day if I wanted the apartment. I pleaded for more reasonable terms, but The Evil Landlord would not budge.

My last hope was the law school. As we all know, the faculty is committed to cn!'urmg that every student ha.'l enough money to cover tuition and living expenses, including

rent. 1 figured that a letter from the fmanc~'ll aid aJdsor at the premier law school in the country, Jetailing the funding that I was expectt·d to receive from both the government and the facult); would surely be enough to pcrsuaJc C\'en the most reluctant Evil l..:tndlord to reach for the appro\'al stamp.

Unfortunate!}~ even the magical powers of Aladdin could not OYercome the C\ ilne~s of The E\'il Landlord. ,\nd so back to SlJUarc one, except it was now hotter, smog-

I know this is not the type of injustice that will motivate millions to take to the streets, but I figured if there was something I could do about it, I should. gicr, and a month closer to eviction day.

When I eventually did find a place, I turned my attention to seeking redress for this treatment that no doubt many young adult students are subjected to. I know tlus is nor the type of injustice that will motivate millions to take to the streets, but I figured 1f there was something I could do about lt, I should. Plus l had promised A\addm l wou\d "go after them."

The Ttnant Protution Act cou\d give me no 'l'rotcc.ti.on, t.\nc.e 1

went

to

the

wa!o

Commission and filed a complaint against The Evil LandlorJ, accusmg them of discrimination on the bastS of age, occupation anJ source of income. The remedy I askc.:d for was a public apology to be publi$hed in the Toronlo J'ltlr, or, m the alternative, S970 to cover expenses such as bank fees, courier charges for sending guarantor forms to my mom, and lost wages for when I rook rime off to go on my second apartment hunt.

The whole process took barely six months from start to finish. I called the complaints hotline and spoke to a caseworker, who explained how to file a formal complaint. I spent about half an hour typing up my recollection of the events and putting together the documentary evidence, such as my e-mail correspondence with The Evil Landlord.

The Commission then drafted the formal legal documents, which I stgned in octuplicatc. The Evil Landlord was officially served in December, and the case was assigned to a mediator in January. I received a phone call during the first week of February, informing me that my case had been settled for $970.

I did not get the public apology l was hoping for, so l figured I would publicize this myself. Hopefully, you wtU never encounter The Evil Landlord. 'But 1£ you do, l hope )'OU will l'.pend the half hour i.t u.kL'1>

not )Ct a tctYd.nt. 'E><> \

Ontario

Human

to f\\e a COtn'l'\alnt. ,._nth the \\u.man R.\~'n\t,

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Rights

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iI

I

12

OPINION & EDITORIAL

EDITORIAL

IReflections

Lawyers are people too

A

t a recent session sponsored by the COO, law students were told a healthy work-life balance is possible. Most of the attendees were women. "\\~ork" m<..-ant 16-hour days in an office tower. "Life" meant having kids. There's something -wTong with this picture, and tt goes deeper than personal scheduling.

Succe~sful applicants to law school arc generally pretty unpressivc. People come with fun, exciting, backgrounds and cxperi· cnccs. Then they have a tendency to become either narrow-minded technicians or \\l>efully repressed.

Maybe narrowing one's interests is a necessary part of entering a professiOn. Or maybe there's something about what the profession values that encourages downgrading the importance of other activities.

Pointing out that the legal profession is a bit behind the times in terms of true

work·lifc balance is not radical. Even Go\'Crnor-General Adrienne Clarkson blasted the legal profession for its chilly reception of women during a ceremony granting her an honourary doctor of laws at Osgoodc Hall.

We're not advocating a dilettante approach to the study anti practice of law.

Entering the profession entails acquiring substanti\'c lq,>al knowledge, as well as certain legal research and writing skills. But there is danger in forgctung that the law is but one way of looking at the world.

It would be nice if the structure of the profession was such that 'life' meant more than women going to flex-time In order to take care of the kids. It would be nice if lawyers engaged in serious 'extracurricular' activities the length of their career.

Best of luck, class of 2003. Be good lawyers - and people too.

Fantasy-pattern Xenia, Yvonne, and Lsuzsi arc ftrSt-ycar law students. Xerua \\.':15 walking west\vard along Harbord Street, at a moderate speed, when a squtrrcl dropped onto her h<..-ad from a tree overhanging the sidewalk.

Xenia screamed and shook the rodent off sending it flying into the front \\.mdshield of a passing car. Yvonne, the driver of the car, was engaged in an arumatcd conversa· rion on her cell phone at the time, and was unable co keep control of the wheel upon impact by the unfortunate animal. She swerved, ramming into a stack of garbage cans. One of the aluminum lids took flight,

I

I

ends, and, most stgnificantly, increased our level of JOurnalistic savvy.

L'V has come a long way in four years.

We started out as a twelve-page, black and whtte newspaper with stories such as "Flavelle renovations to increase student space." This edmon of UV is our 24th issue· -and no longer arc our arnclcs so benign. In FebrUaJ:)· 2001, we broke the grades scandal, transforming C\' into a national newspaper, at least for a few weeks.

Last year, we followed the acrimonious debate surrounding the five-year plan. And •this year, we covered the fall-out from the plan-everything from contentious acccssi· bility studies to secret meenngs over faculty salaries. Through it all, I believe U\' has stood out as a cructal forum for students, professors, and the law school community as a whole to discuss, debate, and opine on the controverstal issues of the day. ,\s U\' enters its fifth year next fall, I hope that you, the students, connnue to support, 1mprove, and cherish this paper-and make sure it remains the best little legal publicaoon m the country. -Salman Haq

Name game in the name \Of freedom

I

OPINION

25 MARCH 2003

13

Affirmative action opinion piece sparks responses

\X'ow, what a ride. I first worked on an issue of Ultra \'tres m the fall of m} first year of law school. ow, more than two years and sixteen issue~ later, l'vc learned a couple of important lessons. hrst, Tim Horrons cof fcc and a walnut crunch arc an excellent energy boost at 4 o'clock 10 the morning. ~econd, and only a little more importandy, Lltra \'ires is now an tnsotuoon ar this law school.

The humble beginnings of UV date to September 1999, when, appropriately enough, the matn headline read, "Law stu1 dents launch newspaper." For the next two years, U\' was admuab~y led_ by its founder and first cdttor·In·Chief, ~lcbssa Kluger-who remains to this day one of its strongest supporters, not to mention an indispensable source of journalistic advice.

September 11, 2001 marked a day of immense tragedy, but also the date of the flCSt issue under the reign of co-editors oah "Down with love" G1tterman and Dan "I love caviar" Murdoch. Dan and '-.oah expanded UY to twenty pages, introduced me to never-ending production week-

and whizzed like a well-tossed frisbee down OPINION the Sidewalk. The lid rut Zsuszt, an aspiring Olympic ballroom dancer, in the shin. She is currently in hospital, being treated for a bone fissure. There is a 40% chance that the fissure predated the frisbee-garbage-lid incident. The squirrel could not be saved.

Discuss the legal issues raised, as well as the p<>ucy imp\icati()m., ~h()uld you happen

BY PAUl GAlBRAmt co bclic•\·e these arc ar all relevant to the ) "Up~atc. ~ow Scrvmg in AU House Office lcgaltssues C".tised.

You may refer to any books, save those Buildings: Freedom hies,"' r<..':td a s1gn that catalogued in the Bora Laskin Library.

Republican Reps. Bob Ney of Ohio and Good luck!ll Walter Jones of North Carolina placed at the register In the Longworth Office Building food court on March 11, 2003.

Yes, that's correct. The name of what you might refer to as "French Fncs" has been Ultra Vires is the independent student newspaper of the officially changed within the hallowed halls faculty of Law at the university of Toronto. of the uS Congress to "I'reedom Fries" (the Bnosh .\ mbassador lobbied hard for "chtps" but was politely ignored).

• Editor-zn Chttj Salman Haq Ney, cha1rman of the House AJsiJtant Edttors-in-Chiif Bcrnina Butt, Alexandra Dosman \dministration Comrmttee, explained the Du~tmonJ Ian R.ichler, Robin R.Ix change: ''Tlus action today ts a small but Editorial/ Optmon Michel Beshara symbolic effort to show the strong d1splca Featuru Brenda Didyk sure of many on Capitol Hill \\-1th the !~gal Im1u Adam Rock actions of our so-called ally, l'rancc."

Production .Managtr Emily \fak I'm sure !·ranee, the country that saw BunnuJ Afanagtr ~1mrcn Desru nauonal protests against opening any CoP.J Editor Caroline Libman McDonald's restaurants, is absolutely On/int Editors David Khan, John Norquay this affront to its narional digni· crushed by Photo Editors L1sa Cavion, \dclinc Kong ty.

Ccmmuni!J Notirt Board \1anager Jennifer Villcbrun Of course a press conference was called to roll out this spiffy new nomenclature and ensure that nobody missed tht show ow, Conlrib11tors I'm not certain anyone at the press confer Ben \rkin, Keith Burkdardt, Sarah Corman, Naclinc Dechausay, Jonathan Dcsbarats, encc explained to Representative Ne) that Joanna Fmc, 1\iikc Fishbein, Paul C'r.tlbraJth, Hf Ll\fl T, DaVld Koltnsky, Ro} Lee, Greg the "French" in "French Fries" has to do Levey, Ronan Levy, Adnan L1u, L1sa Loiselle, Patrick Macklem, MAPIL, Ltsa Minuk, Dan with the way they're cut Gulienned, also Murdoch, Ben Perrin, Leigh Salsberg, Aristotle Saran tis, Amy Salp~yn, \1cgan ~rcwan, known as frenched or french·cut) and not Juda Strawczynski, Stephanie Wakefield, :-.faggie \Vente, Tim \''ilbur their country of origin. I Iowcvcr, I tlo know that when yuencd on the matter, the hcnch Embassy m Washington had no immediate . Ultra Vires is an editorially autonomous newspaper We aim to reflect diverse pomts of comment exctpt to say that French I 1ries VIC\\; and we welcome contributions from students, faculty and other mtcrcsted persons. actually oriE,>ffiated in Belgium.

Ultra Vires reserves the right to edit submissions for length and content.

Oddly, this sort of culinary jingoism has Commumcaoons Centre, Falconer Hall, 84 Queen's Park Crescent a precedent that lands France and Germany, Toronto, Ont4trio, \ISS 2( 5, (416) 946-7684, ultra.vircs@utoronto.ca, ww\\:ultravires.ca those strangest of bedfellows, together Advertising inqutnes ~hould be sent to the attcnoon of the advertising manager at again. You ~cc, the Americans (who else?) ultra. vircs@utoronto.ca stopped calling patties of pressed meat "hamburgers" during World War I anti start-

ultra vires

ULTRA VIRES

ec.l <:al hng them Salt~l>ury Steaks. This

explains why when I once ordered n Salisbury Steak in the hazy days of my youth, I was shocked to find that 1 wasn't getting such a great deal on a steak after all.

Damn that kruscr! Since Germany is opposed to the war, too, are these lawmak· ers going to drop "hamburger" again? Will "Home Fries" become "Homeland Security Fncs"?

Oh, but the fun doesn't stop there. To ensure standardization of these new uses, this pccuhar little name game finally pro· vidcs US educators with the opportunity to dump useless French Class from school curricula and replace it with the more agreeable Freedom Class. Diplomaoc relations with France wtll surely take a further nosedive when Freedom Dressing, Freedom Bread, Freedom D1p, and Freedom Oruon ~up arc Introduced on American menus.

Americans will take their Freedom Poodles for walks in the park and play Freedom Horns in their fine symphonies. Only time will tell if the Americans find themselves drinking hcedom Wrnc or VIctory Gin. I shudder to think what the great lovemaking nation of !·ranee will think when one can only find Freedom Ticklers m grimy .\mcrican bathroom vending machines.

Happily, however, the thin veneer of nationalism can now be used by millions of American teenagers to justify their enthusi· astic Freedom Kissing sessions. And just think of th<.. uproar in Quebec when most of its population finds themselves referred to as Freedom Canadians by conscientious \mcrican patriots. Tabernac! Sorry, pardon my hecdom there.

Our talc gets even more bizarre. !•or breakfast, the Congress of the United States of \mcrica will now official!}' be having

Pl EASE SEE "FREEDOM," PAGE 13

looking forward: A reaction to "The double bind of affirmative action"

BY MEGAN STEWART n a piece entitled "The double bmd of affirmative action," which appeared in the February issue of Ultra Vires, Brock Jones poses the quesnon which man1 peo pic ask themselves: "[!Js afft.rmativc action, based on ractal preferences, necessary?"

Jones, having Ih>norcd all of the posiovc effects of afft.rmativc action programs, goes on to state that afft.rmativc acnon programs arc not only unJUSt, but that they are opposed by many of the people they seek to help.

Jones concludes that tf we \\."ant "to leave bchmd the mistakes of the past and move forward imo an era of liberty wtthout regard to race," we must abandon governmentsponsored programs wh1ch allow preferential treatment to be given to minority groups who have historically been marginalized at the least, and enslaved at the most. This, according to Jones, is the only way to move forward if "true equahty" ts what we seck.

This is a laudable goal. In countncs such as Canada (and the United States) where muluculturalism is as much a patt of life as is hockey, we should set the example that all people, rcgardJess of sex, colour, creed, race, ethnicity, or sexual orientation arc to be treated equally. But as the Toronto Starpomt ed out in irs ~e ncs o n "Race and Crime,"

I

Letters to the Editor

Affirmative action an entitlement, not a concession Dfar Editor,

injustice-they arc about dealing 'With pre· sent and future injustice. ,\ffirmative action policies recognise that women and members of certain marginalized groups face sy~­ tcmic barriers to entering the upper echelons of the labour market, and to gaining access w educational institutions. The best way to eradicate the institutional barriers

the popular media-n becomes dear that certain mmority groups arc enntled to special considerations. .Affirmativ~o• action should be seen as an entitlement and not, as Jones Implies, a concession that :;hould come or go accortlmg to prC\':tiling political fancy. It is a form of reparJtions, as due to minonties today as the financial reparations dis· tributcd to Japanese victims of inrernmc~t or Jewish victims of the Holocaust.

This is because social and psychological outcomes for minorit} groups arc still deeply affected by past injustices and the institutions that were created to mstanti· ate the social order.

Will centuries of legalized oppression ever be fully redrcs~ed? In a compassion· ate society, truly monvated by a de~irc for inclusion, that question is less interesting than this one: ·what acnvirics can we engage in to bring all marginalized people closer to the center of participation in social production? Affirmative action i.~ one of those inclusion-oriented activities that should not be disengaged until we look around anJ realize that it has become unnecessary.

Affirmative action programs do not aim to correct for history, but to use history to correct present injustice

J\s a Canadian \\·ho lived the last six y<..'3CS in the United States during some of the most contentious recent debates about affirmative action. I feel like a sea~oned consumer of arguments from both sides of what is often a political divtdc So, it was with interest that I read Brock Jones' article, "The double bind of affirman\·e action."

My interest quickly turned to disappointment at the short·stghtedrrcss and thinly veiled social Darwinism reflected in the argumem. Jones suggests that a pri· mary flaw of afftr mativc action lcgi~lation - 1\:adint Duh,IIIS'!J"• Grculuatc student <ll is that It '"olates 1he principles of the Ontano I nstitutt for 5 tudies in Eductaion l~1ual Protection Clau se in ord<."T to h ring (OJm). mo~c egalit arian future th at wi\\ never lx: 1r will ne\ er be because frican ~\merica n s, Laonos, a nd Na rn·~· \ mericans v.'lll end up with creJenrials

about a

Systemic racism remains a prob-

lem in Toronto (and in the rest of Canada today.

systemic racism remains a problem in Toronto (and in the rest of Canada) today.

If this type of concern Is the social reality, then programs such as the one in place at the University of Michigan are still neces-

sary.

Jones emphasizes that affirmative action programs "breed resentment" and "suspicion" in society, since people who benefit from these programs arc viewed as less meritonous and less qualified for the posiOons they hold. In fact, resentment already exists.

Before affirmative acoon programs existed, Whites were suspicious of As1ans who came to North Amenca and "undercut" the labour force by providing it with cheaper human capital. Resentment and worry are typical feelings that any group holding

D~ar Ediror, I n the Fcbnt:uy ,.SU <' of U\~ J~rockjrmcs wrote an (_'ditorial :;taung tllat proponenrs and professional qpporruruties that they of .tfft.rmanvc action ha\-e nus~cd d1c ha\·en't earned. ar the expense of unfor· point, by premising their po~itton$ on runatc Whites and ,hians, leading to "the IJclief that ccmun dc:o:ignatcd groups injustice just as great as during the days of can explain a\"l.'llf their lack of success slavery or J im Crov.: Right? Wrong. Of because they are Vlctims".

It's funn}; because I tl10ught that afft.rcourse, wrong.

Once one considers the hi~tory of mativc action programs were prcm1scd race-based injustice in America--of on the notion that certain groups could legally ~ancrioned violations of libtrty, explain their success because they made education, and dib>nity suffercJ by otherli victims.

Afncan and Native Americans, combined - Maggie Wente, Clas.r o/ 2002 with pen'llsivc negative stereOt}'J'ing in

power feel when they believe their status is threatened by another group.

Today, these programs operate because of a dispanty that is mandated in Canada by our Charter of R.tghts and Freedoms under s.15(2): if a law, program, or activity "has as its obJect the amelioration of the condioons of disadvantaged individuals or groups," it is protected by the h.tghcst law of our land.

Moreover, though the result may include feelings of resentment by \'Vh.itcs and even by other minonty groups in soctet}, they provide a great opportUnity to many people who may not otherwise have had a realistic opportunity to attend school, work in a particular field or other such unjust siruaoons.

This is the main point. Affirmative action programs are not about correcting past

that exist is to include members of the excluded groups among the decision-makers who dectdc whom to admit to msotuoons, and what criteria to usc. Members of excluded groups arc best able to identify how apparently neutral criteria of merit can be used to perpetuate exclusion, and can pronde alternative criteria in order to remove these barriers. But \\.ithout a sufficient number of members from marginalized groups, the identification of systemic barners and their rcmov·al remains impossi· ble. 'the rekvan<:c o£ histone in\ul>U<:c i"' that n\'!.\nn<: U\'>tnbut""' 0~ \"'UU\\<:. "~t\CC$, \"'ll-'£ct> 'ona.\ p<>1>\uon,._, \'01'>\Uonl> \\"\ cuu<:.11.\lona\

in nrucions and so on nn' pcrpccu:trcd today a fllllUt<' tV n:mo' C chc barriers co certain groups that haw~ always e.usrcd.

History is important to hdp us idenafy parterns of exclusion and to determine rlu:ir causes. .Affirmative acoon programs do not aim to correct for history, but to use history to correct present injustice, and ro prevent it in the future.

Proponents of affirmatiVe action pro· grams do not fail to· realize the "injustice" that they advocate. They simply contend that equalit}· means treating different people differently. For those who have been at the margins of sooety in the past-whether they be women, minonties, the disabled, or gays and lesbians-this means allowing them a chance to regain some lost footing through preferential treatment. We cannot begin to live in the present and look rnto the future without keeping a watchful eye on the past. Thankfully, our Constitution recognizes this. b<:CJU.,C of"

i\1tgun Steuurt iJ a mtmbtr o/ the StutkniJ o/ lAwfor the AdtlfJncmunt of Minoritiu (SLAM).

Freedom on the menu "NAME " CONTINUED FROM PAGE 12 "Freedom Toast." First made at a roadside tavern not far from the city of Albany in 1724, there arc few dishes more truly Amcncan than the breakfast favounte known as "French toast." In fact, so American is the dish that very few of those familiar wtth its mvcntor can understand why it tS not called ·~encan toast," "Albany Toast," or even "New York State toast."

The confusion comes about because the owner of the tavern at which the dish was invented had a very poor knowledge of grammar.

Search.tng for a way to make use of stale or old bread, Joseph French came up with the recipe and named the dish after himself. However, he should have written the name of his culinary invention as "French's toast" (1.e., the toast of French). Because he did not know how to use the possessive apostrophe, the dish appeared

on his menu simply as "French toast" (i.e., the toast of the French).

In short, the dtsh has nothing whatever to do with French culinary history. Yet, m the 270 years that have intervened, no one has taken the orne to correct the grammaocal error. Now, this snafu hasn't been corrected so much as submerged under a tidal wave of political buffoonery.

As a fiddler, Nero had nothing on Ney, non?

LENCZNER SLAGHT ROYCE SMITH G RIFFIN BAIUUSTEIIS

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.ancock@lsrsg.com Sum1600, IJOAD€u.locSnurWEn. TO.OtnO,ONTAaJo.CAmoA MSH lPS TluPH<M(416}16S-9SOO • fACSIMII.2(416)16S.9010

15 14

The

Exam Stress Relief Guide 2003

®0 4!>®0 0@4DO

I

Game

uoear Jurisprudence"

BY ALEXANDRA DOSMAN

litre's a little game that's guaranteed to make exams more fun! The object: to sec if you can usc the word "midwifery" in one of your exam answers. It's tnckicr than it sounds.

For example, 1f you get a fact pattern about capuaJ gatns exemptions in Tax, you'll somehow have to talk about a midwife \\.ith mvcstmcnts. If you manage to incorporate "mid\\.1fcry," you wtn! If not, try again next year! Or if you're graduating, try to sneak it into

Though exams be upon us, fret not. UV is proud to bring you the first annual Exam Stress Relief Guide. Loads of games- some of them old standards, others brand spanking new. Enjoy the special pull-out section! Minutes of fun!

a memo or someming.

BY ALEXANDRA DOS MAN, EMILY MAK, AND IAN RICHLER

Classic

oo~ oe~

[MIAIRICIH]

What docs this ink blot represent?

®fl'4!)04)00

Fight Club

•

BY IAN RICHLER If a buffalo fought a polar bear, who would come out on rop? Ifow about 1f joeyJeremiah fought the Fonz? Don't tell us you haven't pondered these very questions and hashed them out wnh your friends. To facilitate more :;uch debate, and in the spirit of the annu al NCA \ basketball tournament, U\' presents Marrh .\ladnm: J ·~,ght CINb. The rules arc simple. Sixty-four animals, celebrities, fictional characters, and grandees from the realm of Ia\\· and policies han: lx.>en ~ceded and matched up. Your job is ro dctcrrrune who from each pairing u-ouJd WIII III a fight (the only restriction: no eye-gouging).

Tht• wtnner moves on 10 the next round until eventually a grand champton is crowned.

Just like in Shaun Laubman's baskerbaJI pool.

Let the madness begin.

\ 1 Yoda \ 's IJI'Kel

}sOldYel~r

{!Bonhomme de Neige

/sJoey Jeremiah j12 Juwanna Mann

I•K.I.T.T. j 13 Mr. Miyag1 \ s Wonder Woman

\11 Santa Claus \3Batman 114 The Fonz 17 Optimus Prime 110 Rocl<et Robin Hood 12Mork

l1sSaiki Bartolr.omous

ocog

SEE PAGE 25 FOR SOLUTION

For Raw\sians

For norma\ peop\e

I

~ ) 1

\ CROSS

ACROSS

I

II I I I I I I I I I

4. A system of be!Jef

4. Complete 7. Inclinations 8. What judges give 11. Capacities 12. Goes with fraternite and c!galite 13. Lesson at the end of the story .

14. What Mavis Baker wanted

l_j

7. \n individual's accord with society's

8. \X'hat public officials must give 11. \II are deserving of equal respect 12. This ts basic 13. These powers are to be developed 14. The end

Top seed Killer WhaJe is an early tournament favourite.

J

D oWN

7Camel

10 Horse 2 Polar Bear

15 Duck

I

1 Can be pnmary or secondary 2. Not reasonable

1 Not great 2. Makes no sense 3. Wedding attire 5. A device for brainiacs 6. UsefuJness 9. Guaranteed by s.15 10. Diner features

3. 5 Down for the original posttion 5. Rawls's method, generally 6. A factor irrelevant to the establishment

13. Ad_

10. Types of psychology

of a just society

9. Status of parries in the original position 13. Maxi_

11 ian Hanomansing 11s l...k7,'d Robertson

IsArnie 19 Erme

IsKoli Annan !12 Boutros Boutros-G~Ii 14 Paul Martin 113 John Manley Is Alexander the Great 111 Genghls Khan 13 Ted TJ8den 114 Antorno Lamer 17 Leah McLaren 110 Rebecca Eckler Ted 1jadcn (3) couJd advance to the final four.

12 G80ql8 W. Bush 115 Saddam Hussein

1 David Lee Roth

I I I

I I

I I I I I I I I I I I

SEE PAGE 25 FOR SOLUTION

1S Sammy Hagar 8 Arsenio Hall

Nerd Edition

9 Mike Bullard

l

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

L---,--r======L-----~~S=E=d==~ ~ ========~

This is a game mat has been played at U of T Law for genentions. Here's our ver-

L~========~~12=~==~======~

SIOn:

4 ShakJra

j13 Dutch guy from lNG ads

I

1. Find a friend 2. Sit next to him/her in class 3. Each pick one keener from among your classrru.tcs 4. Points arc earned whenever your keener docs one of the following:

Is Evan Solomon

J

r-------------~

~===========~1 11 r~~--~:~====~----~~:14:S:in~~d::::::::

L I

Jian Ghorneshi 13 Yakov Smirnoff

=

L[

17 Martha Stewart 11 10 Chef Boyardee

------------~~~2=~=·=er=T========~ 115 MasterT

SEE PAGE 25 FOR SOLtmON

Sinbad (14) will have his hands full with Yakov Smirnoff (3).

- raises his/her hand (1 point) - nods approvingly as me prof makes a point (2 points) - uses more than one colour pen (3 points) - shares a personal anecdote with the class (4 points) -invokes Hegel (4 points) -chats with the prof at the break or after class (5 points) - uses the word "inchoate" or "ersatz" (10 points) 5. Whoever has the most points wins!

OPINION

16

ULTRA VIRES

Why the Faculty Council Stu.dent Ca ucus approved an official response to the provost's study

BY ROBIN RIX On ,\pril 3, the Umversity of Toronto's Governing Council wtll m<.:ct to dccu.lc w hcthcr to approve a $2,000 tuioon incrL'llS<.: for incoming law students in 2003·04 Pursuant to a unanimous resoluoon last )t'llr, Governing Council's approval depends on finding that pre\-ious tuition increases haw not reduced accessibility to the law school or disrorted the career choices of irs graduates. ,\ccording to a recent srud} commisSIOned br U of T's provost, Shtrley "\ocuman, tuition increases have not affected etrhcr Of the~c two variables. However, the Faculty Council student caucus mer on March 20 and authorized an official response that,. with respect, found seven inadequacies in the methodology and conclusions of the srudr First, the srudy disregards the changes in the socio·cconomic backgrounds of srudcnts in this year's incormng class. A com· parison between the averaged data from the three prL'\-ious inco ming classes compar<.:d with this incomin~ c\ass ~hows an 8.5% dccrca c m emo\mcnts by \'otudents from £amt\les wi.th \css than $60,001) annua\ income and a 12.5% incn·ase in enrolments by students from familit•s with greater than

If too many students from less wealthy backgrounds are offered admission, then demand for financial aid will exceed supply $90,000 annual income.

The changes arc even more pronounced from last year to this year: a 19.~% decrease in enrolments by srudents from less wealthy backgrounds, and a 21.8% increase in enrolments by srudenrs from wealthier backgrounds.

Second, the srudy is under inclusive because it examines only the socio-cconomtc backgrounds of current srudenrs. This begs the question: current srudenrs arc, by definition, able to access the law school.

What the srudy should have focussed on are

MAPil: An open letter to the university of Toronto and the Faculty of law We represent a srudent group, Mandate for Public Interest Law (M,\PJL), at the Untvcr~ity of Toronto Faculty of Law. This group aims ro promote accessibility, equality, community anc.l social justice by encournging socially responsible la>w}ering.

The University recently released the results of a study that w'lls intcntled to find our how the faculty's planned ruition increases would affect accessibility to the school and career chotec among law sruc.lcnts. We arc disturbed that the tuition hikes will proceed based on this sruc.ly's simplistic and shortsighted approach.

We have oudined some of the more striking areas of concern, following the format of the report.

Finartcial Accessibility and Admissions Statistics. The srudy depends on the fol lowing reasoning: \!though the faculty's tuition increased between 1995 and 2002, the "best" srudents have continued to apply and enroll.

Therefore, U of T remains accessible.

two other groups: (a)" people who arc \ Tlus logic is appealing but contrived. offered admission but who decline accepLaw school is a popular proposition today. ranee,_and (b) _pc~plc who choose not to It is not surprising that there continue to be subrmt an app\icanon. plenty of srudents who can either afford law ~h\\e wc_rccOF;OVC that it wou\d be pta~- ) s.choo\ on thetr own or "arc wi\\ing to take on maocally d1fficult to focus on the latter large amounts of debt ro pay for it. Bur rhe PLEASE SEE MGOVERNING" ON PAGE 17

mere stzc of tlus pool should not be used to / conceal the eXIstence of another pool of

potential law srudents: a diverse group who cannot or \\ill not undertake massive debt because their legal ambttions arc not to rep· resent well-paying corporate clients. The statistics c.lo not tell us who is no longer appl};ng to U of T. It is impossible to analyze the impact of ruition on access and career choice exclusivel} through statistical correlations and stmplc ch1 square srats. The report itself rccognv.es thts when it cltcs recent papers show-ing that it may nor be "enough stmpl} to correlate tuition levels with overall enrol· ment data" because socio· economic starus is a "complex variable."

Parental Income. The report concludes that tuition mcn:ascs have not reduced the proporoon of law srudents With "lowerincome backgrounds." But the overall dts tribution of srudents' financtal backgrounds ts changmg. Between 1999 and 2002, the number of fmanclal rud applicants whose parental mcome exceeds $150,000 increased from 8 to 23. Clearly, applicants with lugher-earning parents arc ftlling more spots in the rest of the class - in this case almost three rimes as many. .-\ great deal odes on the \\'ll}' the report chooses to define tts socto cconomtc cla~s catcgones.

Th1s sectmn also tgnorcs a full one third PLEASE SEE "STUDENT" ON PAGE 23

Accessibility study shortsighted and inadequate

BY LEIGH SALSBERG The \'icc-Provost's "Srudy of Accessibility and Career Choice in the Faculty of Law" docs not provide sufficient justification for continuing to raise tuition. It relics on sim· plistic quantitative resL-arch, omits important data and areas of srudy, and docs not address the complexities of h ow and why srudcnts make choices. If the faculty goes forward with tuition hikes based on this kind of information, it w11l lose many good srudents and its own credibility.

These arc just a few of the report's more striking dcfictencics: Finartcial Accessibility Panntal inromt. One of the report's major conclusions is that tuition increases have not reduced the proportion of law srudcnts with "lower-income backgrounds." Between 1999 and 2002, the percentage of financial aid applicants whose parents made less than $60,000 or over $90,000 stayed the same.

Therefore, according to the report, U ofT remains accessible.

But the overall distnbuoon of srudents' fmancial backgrounds IS changing. The report's optimism is only as durable as its own definitions of socio-econorruc categories. Also between t 999 and 2002: - the number of financial aid applicants whose parental income exceeded $150,000 increased from 8 to 23 - the number of applicants whose parental income was between $50,000 and

$150,000 decreased by 10.

The report's conclusions arc also deceptive because they only tell us about the twothirds of the law school that (1) applied for financial rud and (2) reported their parents' incomes (because they were fewer than seven years out of high school when they applied). A real socio-economic breakdown must mclude the "unreported" third of law srudcnts. Is this group changing from older self-supporting srudcnts to those whose parents can pay for law school?

Racial dir'trn!J. The report sidesteps this major issue by relymg on statistics about the faculty's racial breakdow~. It avoids any reference to the intersecnon between race and economic concerns.

Admiisioni Jta!Uiiu. This is the heart of the report. The reasoning runs thus: although our ruttion rose between 1995 and 2002, the number of applicants mcrcased and the yt.cld rate for accepted applicants held steady.

Therefore, U of T remains accessible.

This logic ts overly stmphsnc. Law school is an extremely popular proposition today.

Law schools admit far fewer srudents than they rurn away each year. It is not surprising that there continue to be plenty of srudcnrs who can afford law school on their own or are willing to rake on large amounts of debt to pay for it. If these arc the only srudcnts who interest us, then the srudy does proVIde the go-ahead to raise ruttion.

But these applicanon numbers conceal the existence of another pool of potcnoal srudents, that of a diverse group who can-

nor or ·will nor undertake massiVe debt.

Maybe they have backgrounds that don't realistically allow them ro rake on such debt.

Or maybe their legal ambitions arc not to represent well-paying corporate clients. The

By ignoring the faculty's role in educating lawyers to serve all segments of the community, this report adopts an impoverished notion of access. sratistics do not tell us who is no longer applying to U of T. The acccs~ibility and career choice issues are intertwined. A law school WJth higher tuinon will continue to attract enough srudcnrs-at the expense of a diversity of legal interests. By ignoring the faculty's role in educaong lawyers to serve all segments of the community, this report adopts an impoverished notion of access.

Career Choice Tius sccoon of the report concludes that increases m rutnon are not "associated with" srudcnts' choice of articling or subsequent positions. Law srudents have always gone to work at private law firms, with or without debt or high tuition. Therefore, tuition must not be the causal factor in employment decisions.

17

Fear and loathing in New York City

Students respond to accessibility study Accessibility, career choice, and you:

OPINION

25 MARCH 2003

Debt is certainly one of the incentives for taking firm positions, however. The srudy's basic sransncal approach avoids the issue that numbers cannot explain: how and why srudents make choices. The study dismisses the only rcsL-arch that docs consider chotec qualitatively. It finds this research unreliable because it is based on small samples and depends on questionnatres about srudcnts' futures rather than their acrual decisions.

Finally, the report docs nor address the effect of rising tuition on the chotec to work m public interest jobs. It elimmatcs this aspect of tts mandate due to madequate Law Society data, with no effort to replace the poor data or suggest further mvesrigation.

Conclusion The report's basic message ts that U of T srudents can afford lughcr tuition if we work m high-paying law ftrms, as we arc likely to do anyway regardless of our tuition level. The willingness to accept this vcrston of the status quo is chilling. It ignores the faculty's mfluence on the development of the legal profession and irs potential to posItively mcrease access to jusoce m Canada.

The faculty should not use this "independent" srudy to Jusnfy raising tuition. By relying from the begmrung on deceptive statistics and a shortsighted definition of access, the faculty ts deluding current and future students about the consequences of its dca sions. The legal community deserves bettcr-espcctally considering the increasing price of membership.

tend to be the dominant arguments for a particular position. Many opposed to the war have suggested that the fears and motivations expressed by President Bush are fabncarcd. But they arc held by many Amcncans.

Canadian television is inundated with American news, but television is illequipped ro demonstrate how polarity

NEWYORKCrTY

BY DAN MURDOCH y law firm has ordered gas masks for all personnel. They will be attached to our workstations. A training session is to be schcd uled The gas masks, it ts said, arc a "pre· caunonary measure," so we arc relieved to know that our hcilitics Manager ts not privy to any intelligence pomcing ro an imminent attack.

I flew from New York to D.C. last week, anc.l was told that, under new 1'·\.. \ regulaoons, passengers arc no longer per mittcd ro stand during the flight. It was like going on a road trip with my parents as a chilc.l, >w-ith both the flight attendants and the pilot telling me to usc the wa.~h­ room before rakcoff.

A number of commentators have suggested that Canadians have not fully adjusted to the post 9/11 world. I believe it is true that Canadians do not have the same fears as \mericans, but this makes sense given that Canada is at best a secondary target. The real concern should be that Canadians do nor real.tzc the extent of _\mencan fear, and instead question American motive. The duct tape incident made for a good joke, but it snll stands that all sorts of Americans rushed out to stores and bought the sruff.

I tire of anO·\\·ar activists that focus on corporate mouvations for the war in lraq, just as I tire of pro-war activists who focus on corporate motivations for France's opposition. I cannot say what motivates the Bush adrmmstranon; I su~­ pect, given the inconSIStency of their mes·

M

The answer for Canada is not to succumb to U.S. blackmail, whether real or perceived.

sage, that c.l1fferent officials have different and conflicong reasons for supporting the war. But just as the Frenchman on the street does nor oppose war because of French oil contracts, my pro-war colleagues are nor concerned about Halliburton either.

Poliocal cartoonist Ted Rail recendy drew "Rasharnon "Jation," showing four Americans watching President Bush: two showed extreme adulation; two threw thmgs at the teleVIsion. I know no one who ts prcsendy sttting on the fence. The reasons, on both sides, generally amount to a catalogue of fears. On one stde, fear of Saddam Hussein gtving weapons to terrorists; on the other, fear of American tntcrvcnoon spurring terronst recrwtment. Sometimes, the anti-war side is also represented by a lack of fear. But in all cases, type of fear and magrurudc of fear

plays {)Ut tn the country. Film of extremist protestors performmg a mass vorruring in ~an Francisco or C""J'\1 pundits yelling at each other on Crossfire do not capture the disagreement. Office colleagues who work together and respect each other, with SlOUlar education and upbringing, often fall on completely chffcrent sides of the debate.

For this reason, I find it surprising that Canadian commentators seem convinced that the U.S. will not tolerate disagreement from other countries. Sure, the Bush administration does not do diplomacy well, and may seem to bully, but to believe that this will acrually have long-term ramifications for the U.S./Canada relationship fails to recognize the division within the U.S. itself.

I am still reeling from Stephen Harper's criticism of Chretien's decisiOn not to commit uoops \n lraq. ~etling aside his janus-faced c:ommenr on govcrmng by polls (this from a man leading a parry committed to government by referendum), his main concern seemed to be the potential economic backlash from the

United Srarcs.

First, I was under the impression that economic self-interest had been quire widely discrcc.lircd as a reasonable motiva· cion for w-ar. \re Canaclians really to say, yes, we will JOin the United States in war against Iraq because Amcncans account for almost 90 percent of our export trade? Is this the extent of our principle?

But more tmportandy, under what sort of rationality or friendslup woulc.l the U.S. cause great harm to its own cconom} by hampering rradc with a neighbour that has decided on principle to absram from a forCJgn >w-ar? It ts one thing to suppon the war on Iraq on tts own merits, but to support it because of a fear that the L.S. will punish us demonstrates a complete lack of trust in our closest ally. Sure, opponents of the war question the bona.ftdu of the U.S. all the rime, but Harper is supporting the war. His prescription calls for a complete subordination of Canadian policy to fears of U.S. government vindictiveness.

The answer for Canada is not to succumb to U.S. blackmail, whether real or perceived (and I believe it is only perceived). The answer is to recogruze that Americans have fears and a basis, 9/11, to ground them in. Pear is not necessarily logical or rational, but it 1s genuine. In historical terms, the United Stares is a comfortable and cautious superpower. Its fears need to be acknowledged and, when reasonab\c, accommodated. But they also must be challenged when they conflict with logic and rarionaliry: Canada, as a non-threatening friend and all}; should trust the L S. enough to assume this role.

Dan Murdoch graduated.from IIJt FtU11f!J of Lzwin 2002.

Governing Council study overly optimistic "STUDENTS • CONTINUED FROM PAGE 16 group, we argue that it is feasible to focus on the former group, which last year constituted 78 people. The law school currently lacks a formalized procedure to assess the reasons why people decline their offer:; of acccp tance, and it should adopt one to determine whether financial constderacions arc one factor.

Third, the srudy omits comparative data from other Ontano law schools in reaclung its con~lusion that mcreased numbers of applicants to the Faculry of Law s1grufy increased accessibility. While the srudy trumpets rhc fact that last year's ruition increase corresponded with an 8.3% mcrcase m applications, it neglects to men· tion that Queen's Uruvcrsity, for example, had a 22.0% increase in applications. By neglecnng to include comparative data, as well as data about increasing numbers of graduates, demographic shtfts, and fewer opportunities in an uncertain economic elimarc, the study is inadequate.

Fourth, the study's focus on the presence of unc.ler-represcnted groups in the law school is insufficient. It may be true that the percentage of srudents who arc members of visible minorities has increased from 21% in 1995 to 29% in 2002, but the number of vtsiblc minonties in Canada- and especially 1n Toronto, from where a Jisproportionate

number of the law school's srudents arc drawn - is steadily increasing, particularly Within the population of university graduates.

More uncertain ts the conclusion drawn from th.ts sratisnc: there is no cross-refer· enced data between numbers of visible mtnoritics and their socio-economic backgrounds. The study fails to address the pos-

The law school currently lacks a fonnalized procedure to assess the reasons why people decline their offers of acceptance sibility that the law school is attracting visible minorities from wealthier backgrounds while discouraging visible minorities (and possibly members of majority groups) from less wealthy backgrounds.

Fifth, the study relics on data relating to career choice that reflect ruirion levels at one-fifth to one-quarter of proposed ruition levels. The study discusses the career choices of the graduating classes of 1998 who pa1c.l $9,432 over three years), 1999 ($11,551), and 2000 ($13,862). Meanwhile,

the srudy is asked to forecast the career choices of the graduating class of 2006, who arc bemg asked to pay $50,440 over three yean;.

Arguably, Governing Council should ana· lyzc career ch01ccs made by graduates in 2001, 2002, and 2003 - which arc mostly known by dus rime through the records of the Career Development Office - before authorizmg present and future tncrcascs.

Sixth, the srudy concludes that career choices arc not being distorted w-ithout ref. erence to the dara. From 1995 to 2000, U of T law graduates became 27.3% less likely to accept jobs with small law firms, which mcludes boutique firms specializing in fields such as human rights, labour, or environmental law, which typically lend themselves better to smaller pracnces from 1995 to 2000. The corresponding decline among graduates of other Ontario law schools was 0.5%. A more rigorous assessment of the dara is clearly needed.

Seventh, the study presents an overly opormstic picrurc of the effectiveness of the law school's fmancial aid system in mitigating the effects of ruition increases on accessibility and career choice. The oft-mentioned 1800% increase in financial aid available to srudents since 1995 docs not include government aic.l. If government aid is included in the financial aid figure, the increase has acrually been approximately

225%, somewhat less than the corresponding tuition increase of 371% over this time.

Furthermore, the law school's financial aid policy relics on the probability that, in any given year, there will be a sufficient supply of resources (represented as a portion of tuition fees) 1n order to meet the total dcmwd of financial need. Yet this produces the situation whereby the law school has a built-in limit on how accesstblc it can become. Quite simply, if too many srudents from less wealthy backgrounds arc offered admission, then demand will exceed supply.

The result will be that thctr financial aid awards arc correspondingly reduced, increasing the likelihood that some of them will accept their offers of adrmssion.

I 1or these seven reasons, the Faculty Council Student Caucus has requested Goverrung Council not to approve a $2.,000 tuition increase for next year's incoming class. Instead, we have requested that Governing Council should refer the issue to us budget sranding committee for closer scrutiny, \\ith the recommendation that ruition be incrL-ascd by five per cent ro reflect the need to maintain the quality of existing programs.

Robin Rix (I I) zi a studmt rrprrstntatiz~ on

Farui!J Council A full rop] of tht if/ida/ Jtutknt mponit, .from 11.·hith the £itu.'l in thi1 arlirk arr drau·n, iJ available in tbiJ wtek sHtadnotu.

OPINION

18

ULTRA VIRES

REVIEWS

25 MARCH 2003

19

Momo mia!

U ofT alumni offer law school tips fter having stumbled my way through the first yt-ar of law o;chool thts Scptemlx:r, I began my first ytar of husiness school at tht· Rorman School of .\!anagcmem as part of rhe jointJD/.\lBA program. A lot of my law school classmates have askec.l me, "\\hat's u like over there, any\\·.ty?'' implying that Rotman houses ~orne ~orr of btzarre culture completely alien to a law stuc.lcnt. In C.tct, therc·'s a lot of truth to that.

You notice the little thin~ first. l nstcad of the cozy, comfortable Rowell Room, students at Rotman hang out m the large, imp<:rsonal \trium. The coffee at the inhouse "iccond Cup 1s served by sullen teenage punks, instead of the friendly service we've become accustomed to at Grounds of •\ppeal. \nd no matter ho\\ corporate the law school gets, you can bet we'll never have a gigantic stock ticker in the Rowell Room like they do at Rotman.

Perhaps the biggest overall difference is that almost everyone at Rotman seems to love the dean, the schoo~ and everythtng about tt. Thts IS a huge contraSt with the law schoo~ where my experience indicates that many people dislike the dean, are dtssatisfied with many aspects of the law schoo~ and arc angry with the direction in whtch the law school is heading. W'hilc the law school endlessly debates the merits of the "Five-Year commercials for extended periods of time.

Plan," as far as I can tell, the vast maJority of So, there are a lot of times when, quite students and faculty at Rotman are fully frankly, I feel like MBA school is makmg me behind Dean Roger ~hrtin's goal of making stupider, not smarter. Just the other day, I Rotman a "top-ren business school." was forced to spend about an hour taking •\ lot of people ask me: "What's harder- part in an exercise called "Leadership Jazz," law or \ffiA?" The answer is that it depends which was actually even more ndiculous on the class. There are a few classes at than it already sounds.

Rotman that are downnght msulting to my But there are also a few courses, such as own and everyone else's mtelligence. Some Finance, Strategy, and Fmancial Accounting, of my textbooks have colorful pictures on that are extremely challenging and maybe every page, JUSt like in h1gh school. Another even more difficult than my first-year law one of my textbooks is a thinly veiled adver- courses. Just to stay on the curve m these tisement for Papa John's pizza, Harley courses (yes, there is a curve at Rotman, too) Davtdson motorcycles, and Sam Adams requtres quite a b1t of work, and I've learned beer. Studying for my Orgaruzaoonal a lot from them.

Behavior m~dterm bas1cally Involved rote The recruiting and job-hunting process ts memorizaoon of "The Four M's of completely different at Rotman. It requires a Teamwork," "The Five Dtmensions of lot more work and is much less formalized Culture:' and so on. And lately a lot of my than the Bay 5treet or East-West job hunt. classes have involved watching movtes or There are big investment banking and con

A

Life on the dark side

Ever wondered what it} like over there at Rotman? It actuaf!y is a bizarre culture) reports JD /MBA student Mike Fishbein

\ \

I

sulong firms that recruit on-campus year after year, just like law firms, but their hiring levels are subJect to much more fluctuation than those of law firms. As well, from what I hear, intervtews for these jobs are high stress and require some se.nous preparation.

Typical investment banking interviews involve the interviewee being bombarded with random, rapid-fire financial and mathernaocal questions, in order to test their quantitative ·abilities. Consulting interviews follow the "case" format, where interviewees are given a busmess problem to analyze and must present their suggested course of action to the interviewers, who then proceed to do their best to tear candidates' ideas apart.

The importance of "schmoozing" during the Rotman job-hunt is even more ternfymg. Dropping off a resume, maktng an appearance at a cocktail party, and getting

through a rounc.l or nvo of interviews coulc.l get you a law job. However, at b·school, that doesn't seem to be good mough. \Vhc:n people !-,>ivc you their busmess cards, you acrually have to call them up or email thc:m.

You have to :mend firm-sponsored rccep· nons, not JUSt to learn about the firm, but to "ncnvork." You ha\·e to cold-call pc:ople at the firm when: you want to work. I've c\·en seen people wnh binders full of plastic sleeves containing the business cards of thetr "contacts." Basicall}·. if you want an \lB.\ job, you have to do a lot of stuff that makes you want to kick your own ass.

Speaking of kicking somconc's ass, "groupwork" 1s another Interesting phcnom enon at Rotman. In most classes, at one potnt or another you have to do a project in a prc-asstgned team of four to six people, and you get a mark based only on your col lective performance. Clearly, this is a recipe for mterpersonal conflict. I myself have been pretty lucky this year, since as far as I can tell my groups contained reasonable, competent, and mentally well-balanced mdt viduals. However, judging by the abundance of "groupwork" stories circulating around Rotman, many have not been so lucky.

Shouting matches, ridiculous all-nighters, bitter feuds, and a lot of general animosity and complaining have occurred. I'm actually disappomted I didn't get placed in at least one dysfunctional group, for the stories at least.

Weighing the pros and cons of life at Roonan, 1 would recommend the program to anyone who is thinking of enrolling in the JD/MBA. But you have to want to do it for the right reasons. If your sole objective is to have the letters "MBA'' on your resume when you're trying to get a job at a Bay Street or Wall Street law firm, chances are you're doing it for the wrong reason. In my view, an MBA will maybe make you a marginally better lawyer, and will maybe give you marginally better job prospects, but by themselves these things aren't worth the time, aggravation, and money you'll have to invest. At the end of the day, the onl} \\.':lY you'll enjoy your time at Rotman and get somethtng worthwhile out of the program IS 1f you're smcerely interested m learning more about the world of business.

The ABCs of Law School: A Practical Guide to Success Without Sacrifice

By Ramsq \h, Dan Baosta, 1\..okcr Christensen am.llan Cooper Irwin La\\~ ISO pages, $26.95 Rating:*

*1

REVIEW BY AMY SALYlYN The balmy weather as of htc leaves it to no doubt - spnng has indeed sprung in Toronto. ~tgns of seasonal inspiration abounc.l as newly refreshed spirits across the Cit}' turn their energies to ambitious cleaning projects and exercise rounnes.

Howe\'cr, nowhere is motivation needed more than amongst the first-year law class at U of T. After months of hard work adjusting to a new discipline, finals loom large in many eyes. The keenest among us have already whipped into action, diligently purring in rime at lengthy review scsstons in the library.

Having my own good dose of keen, I, myself, decided chat I best bcgm to take care of business. Being rather tired of books and libraries at this point, I diverted my attentions to more primary issues. I laving spent a good poruon of a day getting nowhere pondering the usual suspects of "why am I here?" and "who are all these people?" I ended up focusing on an ostensibly more manageable question: "what is all this law sch<ml ~tuff about anyway?"

Rather hand1ly, strong on my bookshelf was the oh-so-appropnatcly titled "The .ABCs of Law School." \X.ith four recent U of T law graduates as authors and the subode "-\ Practical Guide to 5uccess Without Sacrifice," I was high on the hope that 1 would soon be at the heart of matters.

Flipping to page one, I was easily agree· able with the premise of the book: "how to achieve acaderruc success without gtvmg one's entire life ro the study of law''. Sweet.

Seems somewhat impossible at th1s pomt, but I was eager to hear more. On top of that, it was all going to be presented in a fun-filled "allegorical" fashton. The foolish-

being in the library. J\ s well, seeing how equally doomed the apathetic "it's all arbitrary" Charlie was, bolstercc.l my will power to resist a speedy retreat to the pub. Happily, my suspicion that balance is rewarded was confirmed. \ndic was able to have it all through pursmng a stratcg} of synthesizing material and parncipating in cooperative study groups. ,\!though, the fact that her academtc and soc1allifc were purporrcc.lly so well integrated that "it is difficult to know where one ends and the other begins" struck me as a little freaky.

On the downs1de, the book had the tendency to employ somewhat over-the-top and btzarrc heumoc devices (see for example, the diagram of the study group "prisoner dilemma'). Tlic at-length analogy of baking a chocolate cake to studying law through the idea that they arc both unifying concepts that requtre a systematic approach left me more hungry than inspired.

The book's strengths, in my opinion, large!} latd in its discussion of how w effectively prepare for exams. It was realisoc and particulanzcd for the law school expLrience. ln offering a system of useful strategies that could be tailored to one's time, motivation and level of comprchcns10n, it would be a good place for the O\·erwhclmed first-yL"at ness of two extreme approaches to law to turn. \II in all, I found this book to be a useful school was going to be embodied m the characters of Billie and Charlie, while com- and nice read. It was obviously written by mg up the middle would be Andie. people who had a good grasp of the pecuWhile I'm tnstincrivcly susptctous of harioes of la'l,\· school dynamics. Its message ··'ho-...·· to books"-11.nd even mote so, when of balance through strategy and S)'Stcmattc they contain fictitious, facetiously-named approach offers11 nice fresh breath of sanicharacters-! begrudgingly found rhis forty in these crazy rime.~. ,-\r the '1-'CI)' least, if mat rathtr useful. It was helpful w sec bow you can get past some of the silly jargon, ir the hyper-keen, memonzing machine Billie provides good tools for psychoanalyzmg was ironically scaling his fare of medtocrity one's peers (i.e. arc they Andics, Billtes, or \\.ith each further word he unreflccovcly Charlics?). \XIh.ich is much more fun than 1 read. It certainly made me feel better for not studying anyway.

If you can get past some of the silly jargon, it provides good tools for psychoanalyzing one's peers

Come and celebrate the last issue of Ultra Vires.

Momo's 196 Robert ~meet (at llarbord) (416) 966 66"1 Rating:

****

BY JUDA STRAWClYNSKI In the student world, taouk ttme-outs arc called in between pitchers of beer, or to prepare for the dizzying walk home.

Momo's is a friendly reminder that the treats of the Middle East can be enjoyed in comfort, and need not be relegated to the role of the post-Bloor beer binge hangover pill.

Like its northerly counterparts, l\lomo's promptly ~crvcs up falafel, taouks and other platters. But where Sarah's serves on cafeteria trays, and Ghazalc\ has a takc·out counter for ambience, \lomo's is a quiet, candle-lit, cosy-chaired environment where proper attention can be pa1d to the food.

There are no wrong chmces at Momo's.

The Falafel Plate ($7.50), \\ith four falafd balls, hummous, tabouleh and tomato salads, is a simple filling delight. For those who think that ch1ckpeas arc for choosy vegetarians, the Shawarma plate ($8.99) serves up soft, sp1ced chewy meat which satisfies the carnivorous craving. And to wrap things up, :'\lomo's pita (serYed on the side) is politely small, yet thick enough to allow for the abuse of even the most disgruntled Sandwich ArtisL With the des~ctt tab\c <lwp\a'j'cd at the entrance, only the strong lit heart will fend of£ the sweet tooth. And Jt will be thctr loss. Sofr, honey-drenched baklava (almond, cashew and other nutty v'arlctics at $1.50 each) is not to be refused. Sit back, order a tea, and relax. 1Vtcr all, at o\fomo's there is no hurry.

Ultra Vires

Tuesday, March 25th, Spaha, @ 8pm. Whoa nelly, it's a party in here.

DLS and the rumour mill

I I

BY BEN ARKIN The law school rumour mill churns out some lovely material. Relying on my old juruor high informaoon gathering techruques like offenng Fruit Roll-Ups m exchange for make-out stones or eavesdropping while hiding behind my locker door, I've managed to pick up an extraordinary thread of goss1p around Flavelle. Inspired by the oratoncal flair of Lord Denning and the intrepid dissent of Professor Phillips, this new breed of supergoss1p far exceeds the Johnny-kissed-Mary simplicity of schoolyard chatter. Unfortunately, while It is no more likely to be true now than it was then, it reveals an underlying gr:un of truth and does a lot of damage in the process.

This phenomenon has been playmg itself out smce the begmning of the election and htring process at Downtown Legal Servtces.

Several allegations of unfairness are snll or-

cularing among those who were contenders for the executive, applicants for summer JObs, and clinic members at large. First, and most seriously, it is contended that the election ballots were not counted and that the elecoon was ngged. Then, there is the allegation that summer job candidates were chosen arbitrarily for interviews. Some claim that the hiring committee was merely going through the motions of the lunng process and had already made up its mind as to whom it would hire. Finally, there IS even some suggesoon that there is effective, if not intend· ed, gender bias in the selection of intervtew candidates. The allegations are tarnishing the reputation of the clintc among first-year students. In junior high terms, Johnny heard that Tommy kissed Mary under the swings, and there's gomg to be trouble.

These are not baseless accusations. On elecoon day, there was no voters list and no formal control over the casting of ballots.

The published call for summer joQ applications did not explain what criteria would be used to screen the applicaoons. In fact, it failed to menoon the use of screening at all; most DI.S volunteers thought that they would be intervtewed as a matter of course.

Members of the execuove-the applicants' peers-were involved in screening the applicaoons, causmg an apprehension of bias even though thts was the process mandated by the clinic's constitution. Translation: Johnny's best fnend saw the whole smoochy thing go down.

However, I have It on good authority that the ballot boxes and voters were closely attended and that the result was fatr. Judtth McCormack, Executive Dtrector of DI.S, explained to me that not only IS the hiring process carefully designed to be fa.tr, but that she was tnvolved in every step to ensure that it actually was so. John Norquay (I), member of the DI.S executive, cold me that the very

first thtng that the freshly elected executive agreed to do was to fix the election process.

And so It turns out that Tommy and Mary were merely practicmg artificial respiraoon for their first aid course. But Johnny already met Tommy at 3:30 on the basketball court, so the damage is already done.

In the end, it was inevitable that good people would get passed over for mterviews, so it was inevitable that these issues would cause some discontent. Give a law student an inch of substantive unfairness and they will take a mtle of gnef-1t's the adversanal way! As unreasonable as it might be to believe rumours, it's a natural impulse. DI.S should be domg everything It can to avoid unwittingly addmg gnst to the rumour mill.

As a friend of many DLS volunteers and as a summer easeworker, I wtll do whatever I can to mend any ill will in the present and ensure that it doesn't become a problem again in the future.

Congratulations to:

Paul Galbraith and Jeffrey Shafer.

Blakes welcomes its first year summer students.

j oinblakes. con1 MONTREAL OTTAWA TORONTO CALGARY VANCOUVER LONDON BEIJING

.

A NOVELLA IN fOUR PARTS

20

Lust for the law

by Alexandra Dosman, writing as Eugenia Styles

It was the Spring of '78. Reading week had come and gone. The atmosphere at Lafelle law school was heating up: Who would land a date to the law prom? What would transpire at law follies? Which of the school's top brains, the snwoth Matthew Pordham, the inscrutable Morgan Phearson, or the awkward Constance Wentworth, would garner enough A's to take home the Dean's prize? Twenty-five years later, not much hq,s changed, except that unbeknowst to all, a dreadful secret will soon rock the staid foundations of Lafelle Hall ...

B

was due to give this year's The truth is, Morgan Distinguished Alumnus lecture Phearson, the man who had built at Lafelle Hall. He had to laugh at an empire on sheer will, was desthe irony of it all. Twenty-five perately afraid. years ago, Lafelle had been alltoo-quick to abandon him to ignominy-but now that he was poised to take the reins of the M-l don't want to hear about provincial Liberal Party, the that woman. I don't want to think school was all too happy to capi- about you with her. I only want to talize on his name. touch you. Feel you. Know you. I

He had hesitated before voice raspy, almost manic. accepting the gig. Lafelle Hall · Danny st.ru.gg,\.ed to get a c\ear had indelibly altered him, hardview of Lucy's face in the faint ened him, made him the man he light, and wondered suddenly if saw in the mirror. Going back he knew her at all, this girl who meant confronting all the 'ifs' kept so much hidden. and 'could have beens' in his "I can't believe you convinced past, had things not gone so horme to do this," he eventually ribly wrong that fateful Spring of replied.

'78.

"Life is full of surprises," she countered. "Now how about we get down to business?"

Dear S-Sometimes I curse that moment in Wills and Estates when our eyes met, locked, loved.

Before, everything was so much simpler. Life's course was laid out: I was a faithful husband, a diligent student, a decent man.

Now I am paralysed, unable to continue with my life as it was, unable to imagine it without you.-M.

organ Phearson gazed at_ his refle~tion_ in the m1rror of h1s pnvate bathroom on the top floor of his office tower. Not bad, he thought. At 47, he had kept his chiseled jaw and jet-black hair, although he had put on a bit around the middle. His regard, cold and constant, was often taken as a sign of a shrewd legal mind. That's certainly served me well in this profession, he thought with a grimace.

Confidence man, that's me.

Later that afternoon, Phearson

7J(

(1 JJ.

author threatens to tell all. !71 never get a clerkship now! We are lost.-M.

can't work either. Exams loom, my extended paper languishes in utter neglect, and yet my mind is

The Rand Lecture Hall was filled to capacity, students, professors, journalists, and the interested public all gathered to hear Morgan Phearson deliver the Distinguished Alumnus Lecture. Phearson looked dapper in a pin-striped black suit

filled with but one intent.· to be

and signature red tie (ever a

with you. Meet me at my locker Liberal, he didn't miss a chance after BizOrg.-S.

to affiche his colours).

At the head table, the kindly dean Kindle sat alongside Matthew Pordham, the up-andcoming professor widely considered to be next in line for the deanship. Pordham, magnanimity radiating from his well-fed jowls, rose to introduce the speaker, his classmate from so many years ago.

ucy flicked on a pocket flashlight and handed it to Danny. "Don't be scared," she said, alarmed at her friend's pallour.

"All we need to do is fmd the names of two upper-year students, registered in 1978, whose first or last names correspond to Little did Pordham know that the initials in the love letters."

She crawled over to the filing his universe was about to cabinets lining the back wall of implode. the Records Office. Danny followed. ''I'm not scared," he A moment later, the web of managed. "''m just adjusting to my new alter-ego. illusion, ambition, and Danny Liebmann, ordiavarice that had cursed nary law student by day, fearless liberator of musty Lafelle Hall for twenty-five law student records by night. Can I get a cos- years was shattered, utterly. tume? Who should play me in the movie version?"

"Oh puh-leeze," said Lucy, stilling a giggle. "Here ," "He's a fraud!" cried a female she said, handing him a stack of voice from the back of the room. files, ''think of this as prep for "Pordham's built a whole career, document review. " a whole mythology, on one idea, and it isn't even his. He stole it!"

He sneezed. "Well, I guess even superheroes need to start someThe faces in the crowd turned where." to look at the speaker. Julia Struthers stood at the back of the room, auburn hair askance, cheeks red, eyes flashing-a statDrawings courtesy of Katy Dosman My darlingS 1 have received a uesque figure rendered in a blackmail note. Someone has dis- moment of defiant rage.

B

covered our illicit affair. The

"I've scoured his later work for even a trace of the originality and grace of his law school extended paper, but found none. The man just doesn't get the concept of maritime salvage. I don't have proof, but I know he plagiarized that essay.

The great Professor Pordham is a fake!"

Julia fell silent. The crowd murmured nervously, unsure whether the occasion called for a giggle or a frown. Morgan Phearson stood frozed at the podium.

Then Professor Pordham rose from the table of honour, his demeanour regal, his confidence complete.

?ar!jour - :l+ecipilous ?assion ucy and Danny entered Lafelle House under the cover of darkness.

Working swiftly, Lucy jimied the window of the Records Office, unlatched it, and hopped over the sill. Pulling Danny up behind her, the two were soon crouched in the shadowy room, desperately trying to master their heaving lungs and pounding hearts.

"We made it," Lucy said, her

21

"I am hesitant to dignify this little outburst with a response," he said in a wry, measured tone, "but of all the jealous accusations which have been leveled at me over the years, not being the an original thinker is certainly the most... original."

M-Are you saying you are unwilling to tell the whole world of our love? You would rather lose me than compromise your precious reputation? If so, you are not the person I thought you were, the person I dream of during my long torturous nights.-S.

he crowd was stunned: proof? That Matthew Pordham, a man in the prime of his academic life, was a fraud? Lucy reached to her backpack, was poised to pull it open, when Morgan Phearson, the distinguished alumnus, spoke from the podium.

7

"That won't be necessary," he sighed, the burden of twenty years of secrecy lifting from his shoulders.

"I have decided," he continued in a firmer voice, "to change the subject of my speech before you today.

I would like to tell you a story, a true story, set in be necessary, " these very halls some twenPordham, "I do ty-five years ago."

"That will not said Matthew not wish to delve into passions papered over, words

unspoken, treasons long endured."

Pordham continued, turning his piercing light blue eyes to Julia, "Ironic, really, given that my accuser is a singularly middling and deluded graduate student."

He paused, looked around the room, and smiled reassuringly.

"Now, let's resume, shall we?"

The crowd murmured approval, and turned their attention back to Morgan Phearson, distinguished graduate, pale and stone-faced at the podium.

A moment later, the web of illusion, ambition, and avarice that had cursed Lafelle Hall for twentyfive years, extending its insidious and ever-tightening weave to the very soul of the faculty, was shattered, utterly.

"No," said a voice, piercing in its clarity and poise.

"Pardon me?" said Pordham, still standing at the front of the room beside Morgan Phearson, both men now visibly shaken.

"I said, No," replied Lucy, rising from her seat. "I don't think we should resume. Julia isn't deluded. And I have proof"

years ago, while a student at this faculty, I was an accessory to ... plagiarism."

Gasps rippled through the crowd. Lucy rose and moved to stand beside Julia, still rooted in a resilient stance at the back of the room.

Seated at the head table, the accused Matthew Pordham struggled to compose his face. He looked up at the crowd, scanned its sea for one particular face, found it, and locked his eyes. Constance Wentworth. Stancy. His regard was enigmatic, impenetrable-impossible to tell if its intensity was born of pure love or pure hate.

"I could go into more detail, but ... " Phearson turned to Pordham, who now fully understood his fate.

"But he didn't tell the true story, "That will not be necessary," said

burst. He scoffed, looked at Matthew Fordham, nsmg, an the audience, and rose, unexpected dignity to his figure. "I "Now surely, Morgan, you do not wish to delve into passions don't expect these people to long papered over, words unspoken, treasons endured. I resign, believe ... " effective immediately. • "Sit down, Matt. You've had quite enough time in the limelight."

Lucy watched him leave by the Pordham plopped back down into side door of the Rand Lecture Hall, his chair, his face now contorted then turned to Julia. Their eyes by fear. met and held fast. Lucy felt the white heat of passion alight in her heart, its slow burn begin to spread through her body.

DearS-This will be my last letter. I have found the solution to our problem,and know you will come to see it is the best thing to do. You're smart; you 11 come up with many other ideas. And we need to end this. Please believe I will always love you, in my way.-M.

hearson took a deep breath.

"Twenty-five years ago," he began, "in the Spring of '78, an academic offence of the gravest nature took place. I was a part of that offence, as was, as alleged, Matthew Pordham."

The crowd sat in rapt attention, the gentle buzz of the ventilation system the only sound.

"Matthew did not write that cursed essay on maritime salvage.

But he didn't steal it either. I gave it to him." Morgan paused, dishonour creasing his brow, "Twenty-five

B

"For reasons which shall remain private," Ph ears on resumed, "I came into possession of the rough workings of an essay of serious scholarly import. I also," he paused, this time for dramatic effect, "came under the sway of a blackmailer's hand."

Professor Fordham was still reeling from Lucy's out-

ater that day, after the media serums and the letters to the editor, Lucy, Danny, and Julia were sitting in the common room enjoying triple mocha lattes, discussing the day's events.

not at all\" exclaimed Danny.

~Who

actually wrote the brilliant extended paper on maritime salvage?

Who was 'S' in the love lettersConstance?

Phearson?

Or Pordham hirnself7 Was it true love, or just an elaborate procrastination technique?

Lucy glanced over at Associate Dean Constance Wentworth sitting alone by the fireplace, pale but composed. She watched as the young Professor Anil Sharma

As the crowd ftled out Lucy felt the white heat of of the hall, the two passion alight in her heart, women stood together, an its slow bum begin to spread island in an ocean of movement. "Let's not through her body. make the same mistake they did," said Julia, as soon as strode over to her side, a fresh and she could speak. Lucy grinned, her vital purpose animating his gait. happiness overwhelming. "Okay," Sharma reached out his hand, and she replied, "No secrets this time." Constance rose to meet him, love filling her eyes.

M-I finally understand what you meant by 'solution~ and can never forgive you for it. No one would believe me now if I told the truth. I once thought you loved me, but your only true love is yourself.

Enjoy all the hollowness and iniquity this profession allows-you deserve each other.-S.

"No, Phearson didn't tell the whole story," replied Lucy, slowly.

"But maybe," she concluded, "some stories are best left untold."

This concludes the novella, •Lust for the Law. • Watch for forthcoming titles from Eugenia Styles, including "Lust: an Extended Legal Analysis• and •Lust for the Law Firm. •

22

DIVERSIONS

ULTRA VIRES

25 MARCH 2003

23

DIVERSIONS

FROM THE SIDELINES

Strive for glory, Aries

Law school hockey team's Rocky road

Taurus April 20 - May 20 Poor Taurus. Your reputation precedes you. Everyone knows that like your symbol, the bull, you are the suong, silent type, capable of firs of temper and above all srubborn down to the very lal>t fibre of your being \\bat they don't know is that Taurus is also the sign of money. Sexy, huh? Your careful, securicy-seeking narure will move you to amass great wealth and many beautiful objects. You are the perfect antique collector. Isn't it true that the .Antiques Roadshow has always caught your eye?

r Gemini May 21 -June 20 The twins: double-sided, changeable, unpredictable.

Some say you're crazy. I say: nonsense! Astrologers have long recognized that your multi-faceted narure makes you the most human of all signs. Restless, curious, and intelligent; you will explore all the highs and low~ of human life. It won't be easy, but it will be exciting. You have a gift for writing and tf you do not do so alread}', you would do well to ke<.:p a diary. This exercise also leads tO self-rcflecoon, which will combat Gemini's tendency to superficialIty.

Cancer June 2.\ -Jul)' 2.2.

You cannot wait for the summer when you can come out of }OUr ~hell. Trul); tbe nexr-monrh and a half will not be pk~1sant, but they musr be endured. Oh, so much ro endure! \\c1e is Canccrl \Xcll, snap out of id lt is all too easy for you ta fall into spirals of self-pity and despair.

You must acuvcly push yourself to enjoy life. Enjoy it, I say! Take hcan in .all the great things you have going for you. For example, ·d you know that 11ondays arc in fact lucky day5 for Cancerians? Well, it's true, so rurn that frown upside down.

Leo July 23 - August 22 Thmk of an orange. Imagine holding it in your hands.

Mmm, doesn't it smell g n't you just w:ant to np It open and behold all its secttpns laid out before you?

And then don't you t to cat them? Delicious! Th1s ornnge lS yo~ life, ~an i::Jemanchng, It didn't even cross your mmd t share the nge, did it? Even though an orange, with its t · e tions, is the perfect sharing fruit (don't talk to me about pe - l've got a metaphor going on here) Share your o , ..co. It will be so much sweeter if you do. 1\lso, avoid the subw-ay on the 16th.

Virgo August 23 - September 22 Your best trait is conscientiousness. \Vhcn a Virgo friend of mine discovered this, he exprc~sed outrage: "I'm so friggin' boring! Virgo sucks." I s 1t true? D oes Virgo truly suck? Of course not! Mother Teresa wa~ a Virgo! Vu:gos arc dedicated and duuful! Still too bonng? Oka), well, what about Bob Newhart, Jerry Se10feld and Peter Sellers - all Vttgos and all pretty wacky guys. Virgos have great insight mto human nature. You can use thts for g~ and help others, or you can use this for a little bit of evil and make subversive jokes.

Libra September 23 - October 22 Char=g and even-tempered, Ubra is the stgn of Partnership. You work well ith other.; and always seek consensus. Bur be careful n to os ourself. J\fter all, unlike the tidy world of Bus. rg., human partnerships are not "Limited Liability." · month Will be. especially trymg for you as exams loom rugli ana tempers run high. Others will refuse to cooperate ream effort. Minimize your risk in these transactions by avoiding people born under the selfish sign of Anes. Wearing opals will also bring you luck unless worn while sleepmg. Then they will bring only nightmares.

Aries March 21 - April19 The first among signs, J\riens arc renown for their impatience and their "me fttst" attitudes.

Ruled by ..\tars, god of war, you need to ~.:xpress your power and chafe under authoricy. At your worst, you arc bossy and bellicose. At your best, you arc a natura\ leader.

A~

the sun moves into your sign, you wt.IJ feel

unstoppable - but bcwan: lcsr your bravado lead you to folly. Save your most ambitious advenrurcs for Tuesdays (your lucky day) and wear a helmet!

Scorpio October 23- November 21 Ever the idealist, you expect a lot from those around you and get upset when people do not live up to those expecrauons. Your sign is very powerful- you are ruled

by Plut god of the nether world and master of regenerative forces. Your glyph (see the symbol) is the ancient symbol of the phoeoi . Like the phoerux, you will be able to rise frotn the ashes and rc-ccrate yourself. What does this all mean? Well, remember that December test you flunked? F~cdaboutit. Ditto for your embarrassing sat Law Ball. No one will remember by next dance m week and your reputation will be resto red.

Sagittarius November 22 - December 21 Sagittarius, you're looking rather lost these s1gn of philosophy and higher le been excited by learrung new thmgs. into these things With vtgour and your great enthus~asm is not cd WI any great capacity for distingwshing a worthy object of study from an unworthy one. Look, I'm not saymg that "Crunchy v.

Smooth - a Rawlsian Perspective on Peanut Butter" isn't a fabulous extended top1c but you must be more rigorous in your th.ink.ing 10 the furure lest others call you £Iakey. Lofty aims must be tethered to the earth by careful thought and reflection.

Capricorn December 22- January 19 Secrets from the t Qften used against Capricorns.

What's lurking in you clo :> Come clean about it now before it's too late. onl) way to avoid being hurt by Oscar \Vude satd, the secrets is to have n e. AI only way to overcome tern a,oon is tO grve into 1t. So what's the life lesson in · -;. G" into temptanon and enjoy yourself - but do not try and hide your acoons from others. That means doing as you wish, but living with the consequences. Be loud, be lovely and be free. In tlus way, you will gam honour and esteem from those around you.

Aquarius January 20 - February 18 Dear Aquarius, my own s1gn and so close to my heart. \X'c arc complicated people, it's true, but why should our lives be so complicated? Here's a bit of a poem by I .. E Cummings. Let us listen and live thusly: You shall abo~ all hings be glid and young.

For if you're young, whatever life you wear it will become you; and tf you are glad whatever's living will yourself become.

There. What could t5c eas1cr? Tap mto } ~.>ur inner

''I'm going /o wakt 11p lfllf/OITOJI ' a/ /0, and ~y noon, 1'i1 ban 1111 Om1r Jl 'orll!)' smpt." linmdun, qfirr learning that .1)/rrsler Jtallonr Jl't lS llflminuted for a Best Jm:mpluy Oscarfor Rocky. uohicb ind· dwtai!J·. be u.role in tbru d'!Js. It IS 0~car rime, and ever) sports "1.\"0tc.:r \\1.11 be comparing the acting abilities of Fane and Marino, analping Bull Durbatll or prinong a top 10 mov1c list. I wanted to be different, so I decided to do a review of rhe only sports mov1e to win a Best Picrure Oscar, RocA;y. \ couple of weeks ago, I rented Rocky and sat down with the guys to watch a spons classic. After 119 minutes of comments mcluding, "/ didn~ realize that 'Gonna F!J Now' aduai!J has !Jrir.r!" (Brandon) and

"Every scent ends IIlith a g'!) u.alking alone down a dark street with music in the background" (Roy), I thought the movte was JUSt further evidence that current productions arc far supenor to those of 1976. I was wrong.

I have to start by admitting that RocA;y is not a sporrs movte (But Roc~ II, III, IV and V definitely are). The pam of admitung that fact is the same as when I conceded that Jerry Maguire is a great movie and a ch1ck flick. Instead of bClllg a sports movte, Roc~ is a metaphor about people trymg to succeed in the world. It is about a guy who

\polio Creed, the mm ic mc.:l'tS r(.'lllit} tdcvi ion. It is not a chcl'S) Am•tls in the Ourftrld movie whcrl' rhc good guy \vins, the had !,'U}' h1tlcs m shaml', :l!ld thl' world is a brttrr place. Insrcad, It shows that hti.- 1s rough, pt:ople end up in suuation (good, bad or orht:r) and must do thl' hc~t they can with the hope that the next rnormng they are one day better than the da) before. J\nd most of all, they realize thar b} at least gh·ing it an honcst shot, they arc not "just another bum."

This year, 20 guys played Division V hockey for the law school. P<.:oplc got beaten up, beaten down, and broken (Good news ... Darren is back on the bike!). The team scored 5 goals ll1 6 games. But every game, we had guys out there putting their bodies 10 from of slaps hots, skates into ruts, and pushing our bodies to the limit. That is what RocA:J is about.

Unforrunately, our season ended prematurely after a number of hard-fought, close losses. Each guy battled till the cod of the game, and we played out every cliche in the book. \X'e were Rocky. We went our fifteen rounds, we arc still standing, and ain't none of us just another bum from the neighbourhood. Adrian! to

BY KEITH BURKHARDT

There is something about that elusive championship that keeps the team from quitting. Something that clerkships, tenure, or making partner cannot necessarily provide. takes a chance, and works towards a dream. takes that ability, and through a sencs of It is about a doctor, a model, an engineer, well-choreographed training scenes and daily stops at the slaughterho use, he gets his and yes, even a lawyer.

The power of RocA;y is the power of pas- shot at the tide. He states a goal for the sion. A person can play Division V hockey world when he tells Adrian, ''I ;us/ U.'tlnna when they enter law school and not win a prove somethin'...II don~ matter if I lose ... The game in the first season. But they return for on!J thing I wanna do it go the distance- That's seasons two and three. Why? Simple, it is all...If I !f1 them fifteen rounds, an' that bell nngs because there is somethmg about that elu- an' I'm sh/J s/andin~ I'm !J1nna know then I sive championship that keeps the team from wtrtn ~;us/ another bum from the neighbourhood. " For anyone who has not seen the movie, qwtting. Something that clerkships, tenure I hate to spoil the enchng. However, the end or making partner cannot necessarily prois what makes the movte. \X'hen Rocky loses vide.

The movie is both a challenge and an tnspiration to take the hand you are dealt in life and make the most of it. Rocky Balboa is a regular guy who has skills in the ring. He

Student groups react to access\b\\\ty report

Flow{:r chll<l , \<\uanus, anJ let yo\.IJ"sclf bt. happy.

Pisces February 19 - March 20 You were born under the sign of dreams and mysticism, and you often make decisions based on your inrmtion rather than your intellect. Far from being a cold fish, you "-Ons, swinging from extreme to u are plam ol' Fish & Ch1ps, and on others y u arc a l and sophisticated Sushi plate.

Perhaps 1:lii&: w y '~ arc drawn to you in such special ways · h fri you have sees you in a different way, and s ·endshtp With you as somethmg unique and special · month, be careful not to be pushover to all those ecial friends. Remember you have a backbone. Be careful with money on the 22nd and try to wear at least one item of green clothing or jewellery a day.

Dear Gentle Rtader, I must bidyou ':Adieu." The time has come for me to pass from this realm into the next. Nqy, fear not - it is not to the other side I go. My ascent to the stars must wait for another dqy; it is to Bar Ads I am called.

Madame Brenda bidsyou welL

of the class: rver} one whose par<:nts do anyw:ty and a~ other law :;tudews in nor report thctr mcomc to the school. ( )ntano an: doing. The reports \nllmgThis means student~ who arc mort• than ncss to accept thts version of rhe status quo is chilltng. It ignores the Faculty's ~even years out of h1gh ~chool when they apply for financt.alatd as well as sru- influence on the drvelopment of the dents who do not apply for finanoal rud legal profe.~sion and ih potcnrial to pos at all. Thl' report tells us that tlus group ltl\Ciy increase access to justice in is grow1ng, but it does not tell us \\hy.

Arc older Ia\\· students gtving way to stu dents whose parents can pay for their legal education?

Career Choice. 'Ibb section of the report concludes that there was no career Jistoruon ev...-n though tuition rose from 1995 to :WOO. ;\gam, the report relies on logistic regression and avoids the more complex issue 1t cl:ums to address: choice. o ljualitanvc dat.l bolsters thc~c I.)Uanutari\e fmdings, C\Cn though It is pracuce m the scx:tal sci cnccs to triangulate the benefits of qualltaUvc and quantitative data.

Srudent members of M \PJL arc h1ghl}' committed to the prncuce of public intt:rcst law.

Dt·spnc that, for some memhcrs, it took a leap of faith 10 enter law school w1th anuc1patcd debt loads of almost $70,000 :It current ruirion levels. ~!any of our colll'Agucs with greater finanaal pressun~s and debt load arc ti:cling forct•d to Bay St rtl't.

The report has done nothing t(l take into account the real!Ucs of studen ts' choices and cxpcncnccs.

Conclusion. l·undamcntally, the rcport affrrms that t: of T srudents can afford htgher tuition 1f they work 10 htgh pa}mg la\\ firms, as the} arc hkcl} to do

The report presents broad, simple conclusions that entirely endorse the faculty's desire to continue to raise tuition.

Canada.

The report presents broad, simple conclusions that entirely endorse the faculty's de:.irc to continue to ratse twtion. The rl'port otcs no data that contradicts or e\ t.'tl nuances the e conclusions. It cannot answer the ques nons that it was mandated to ask, and should not he used to support the proposition that rwnon could conunuc to be ratsed indefinite!} \\1.th no tmpact on acccsstbilicy or c:art:cr choice after gr.1duation. \Xc urge rhe govcnwrs of l of T to mandate further r~scarch, including qualitanve research. The cost of makutg a nustake, and rmpacung the career choice of young b\\'}CCS, 1s hcavv It merits a fuller examinauon of tht .mtn cate rclanon~hip bctuecn ruinon, career choice and acccssibdil).

...

ULTRA VIRES

DIVERSIONS

24

ment ml'3ns you \\ill only have to usc three "excuse me's" to fit through the gap!

~ly

fm:nd ~ay I'm as sharp as the edge of town. I'm not sure what that means, exact· ly, but I think they're commending ml', a \Xc:-tt:rncr, for k'arning the rules and rcguh· nons of the 'Ji>ronto Transit Commission.

Yet, they tell me it ~houldn't have mken ~o long, c~pcciall)' for one of "the best and tht• brightest." But while the appellation "best and the brightest" may be true for you folks, as far as I'm concerned, I'm a hazard bulb in a halogen ~orld . ~cvertheless, I think I've finalh ~or the hang of it, and I love the TfCJII "o let me justif) myself b) talking about how I discovered the nine essential rules and regulations that make it such a wonderful system of transportation.

Rule #3: Benson is telling the truth (a.k.a. the Always Late Reductio).

Yes, I arn impressed ~1th myself for fig· unn~ th1s out.

Explanation: You trot down to the sub· wa> pladilrm (Rule #6) during morning rush hour. You w:ur eight rrunures for the train. It arrives, and you board (Rules #4, #7, #9).

The train docs nor leave that platform for ==- - ---A two minutes. Midway berwcen your station and the next stanon the

maintain Ruk· #7, but )OU can· sec how Rule #7 r('31ly take:; centre stage on those rare occasions when an c.:mpty train arrives, not to mention tht· striking pageantry of a slow proccs~ion inro an empty subway car. Truth be told, ~hat with all the bodily contact l 'm really glad we have recourse to this rule, for rumour has it (I think I ht-ard this in Chapman\ class) that Louis Vwtton's ~pnng line up is fortified with peanut oil.

Rule #8: A bus that is not full (Rule #I no~ith· standing) must be dirccdy followed by an empty bus, unnl the ftrst bus ts full, at whtch time the empty bus wtll go out of scrvtce.

Self evident.

c5ollo Voce

board rhe tratn (Rule #4). At the c.:nu of the boarc.ling process, I found I was in the unluckr po iuon of being the last person on the train, and off the train; in other words, I \\~IS blocking the door.

My unconn:ntional strategy was to back

A bus that is not full must be directly followed by an empty bus, until the first bus is full, at which time the empty buss will go out of service. off the train. After all, it would only be eight minutes until the next train. But alas, this was not to be. Just as I was backing up, I felt a powerful force launch me from behind, and into the passenger in front. \II I can say is that it's a good thing there arc rules to fall back on, for I think I broke my nose on the passenger fore; and I think the passenger aft broke my laptop, which was in my backpack.

But these arc trifling considerations when you consider that, not only ttid I make the tratn, so too did the person who pushed me. !\.ow that's something!

Rule #9 1s borne out of contingencies like thes<.. '\,o matter what the maximum capacity of the tram, and no matter how many people arc actually on it, if you're still on the platform when you hear the triple ding, just remember, like a \'\X' Bug full of clowns, there's always room for one more.

train stops in the tun· THE Br"iFiirori nel. It waits 1 minute, Rule #1: You miiJt not stand at the back of and then proceeds to the next sraoon, where it \v'3its twO minutes, and the bus.

Specifically, the area from the back exit so on. Now, you'll notice that, since there IS Rule #9: One must always observe the doors to the very last scats. Granted, I don't an 8 minute lag time for your train, the train BeetJc Rule. r xplanarion: On January 31st, I missed know what happens if you do stand in this you just missed should be exacdy rwo sta· area for the simple reason that I've nen:r cions ahead when your train arrives (factor· mr first bus because it was full (Rule # 8). I seen anyone stand there, bur from what I ing actual moving time). But why, you ask, missed the second because I was the 3rd gather it's imperntivc you avoid this ar<:a like do the trains have to stop between stations potential passenger to board, and the bus thl' clap. You rna}~ however, cross this area at all? If they're travelling roughly in unison, could on!r accept rwo passengers (Rule #1). ro get to an open scat (the overhead hand they shoukln't have to stop every time, and The 3rd bus was empty, but it went out of rni.IJngs arc in place to help those with inner a rwo station lag is sufficient to indulge serv1ce when the 2nd bus became full (Rule mtnor adjustments. But if this were the case, #8). I made the 4th bus. \r the staoon, I l'3r infections navigatt' safely).

Curiously, I seem to be immune from then you ~uuldn't be late, which violates trotted down to the platform (Rule #6), and whatc\·er danger lurks back there. Rule #3 (viz., Benson is telling the truth.). waited 8 minutes (Rule #3) for the train.

When it pullcu up, and the doors opened, Explanation: One brisk mormng in October, fin· of us were shivering at the bus Rule #4: Please be courteous and board the my fellow passengers immediately began to smp. \'<hen the bus pulled up, there '\\.'aS just tram before a\lowmg other passenger~ to exit the train.

If I'm correct, this is actually by-law #2 for the TIC (number 1 being "No smokmg, except on bus platforms, where spitting is also allowed'). This rule is a shining testa· ment to pro·social behaviour, borne out by the fact that it's particular!} well observed at enough room to mount the first step, and the busiest staetms, such as St. George and Union. luckil~ I boarded f~.r.>t. 1 noticed, however, an expansive pocket of space at the back of the bus. Foolishly, l thought I could make Rule #5: It's not the disconsolate toddler room for my chilly companions by asking beslllc you; It's just l..ansdo..me station. l Io/lick. v. Toronto pro..;dcd this whiff of people to move back. ~1y request was for naught. ln fact, the mere suggestion \\.-:ts insight. ' ' I have an undergrad verboten because every passenger gazed in chemical engineering and Rule #6: \X.alking is not permitted in subupon me with utter fear, and didn't budge, as if the ineffable would summon a Balrog wa\ stations really wanted to work with "Trotting" is the acccpt:tblc method of or, even worse, ~1ichacl Bolton. a variety of clients, especially ambulation. I suspect this rule cvenruallr lmpetuou~ly, 1 endeavoured to get to the those in the science sector. hack. \ftl:r dozcns of "excuse me's" (sec uevelopeu from social conVl'nrion. I credit Rule #2), 1 at last spillcd out into the an.'3 at Peter Henson for providing an eminently Ogilvy Renault's approach the back. ~ote, by thi" time we had nearly rc.:asonabk analysis: Pcoplc trot to the sub· enables me to do just that. ' ' armed at the sub~"a)' station, and my four '>\":\)' platform just in case a train happens ro chilly compatriots were still, I presume, at be thcn:.

Andy Radhakant ' ow, I havC' rc..'3son to believe this bchav· the bus stop. ~e\crthdess., I spun around aradhakant@ogilvyrenault.com triumphant!). ready to coa.-,; my fellow pas- 1our 1s inherent tn everyone - a primordial sengers into the back, but they wuuld have benediction - for I felt the urge to trot the fir-.t time I set foot in a ~ub~'3)' stanon. I none of 1t. In fact, they moved forward. hope I h' c.· long cnough to sec how the law w1ll n olvc, for note that Rule I. 3 obviates Rule #2: "Excuse me" 4 inches.

By entering the TrC arena, you agree to the substantive explanation for Rule #6. abide by certain terms and condttions, one being the "excuse me" 4 inches rule. That Rule #7: Subway door areas must have pasis, people move 4 inches for each Excuse sengers at all times (a.k.a. the Pcz Dispenser me. \X1hat I like about this rule is its cffi. rule).

Explanation: You trot down to the cicncy. Explanation: if you need to squeeze past someone who is blocking your exit, and crowded platform, "''3it 8 minutes until the the narrowest you can implode yourself IS train arrives, and then board (subject to Rule 24 inchc~, then you'll know that it 'W-ill take #4). But, when you board, you have to stand Expertise six Excuse me's to get through. But if in the door area until the person bchinu you par excellence pushes you into your next place in the you're smart you'll descry a passage between queue, and so on.

Granted, Rule #4 helps to two people, for their simultaneous move·

Last Saturday's Law Follies, an ambitious musical called "Debt,".won ~ave reviews from the capacity crowd at the Tranzac theatre. Jim Phillips sang a duet wtth Mtchael Hong. Noah Klar impersonated the dean. The real d ean wore a dress. A gran~ time was had by all. Pboto courtesy of

Joanna hne.

Solutions for Exam Stress Relief Guide 2003, page 14-15

Rorschach solution: "btttcrness."

March Madness solution: Polar bear defeats Yoda in champ1onship match.

=

=

OGILVY RENAULT

ConttnU•ng 1M pr.octices of Melpn Demer1

o,ttvy ReNutt s-bey <>cilvy Renault

ogilvyrenault.com Mon~al· on....·~

Toronto • v..coulondon(E~

Lawsuit of the month

BY KEITH BURKHARDT

But why, you ask, do the trains have to stop between stations at all?

25

DIVERSIONS

LqW Follies 2003

Notes from the Sub-Culture

BY ARISTOTLE SARANTIS

25 MARCH 2003

The US. government. still look1ng w find a war out of 11 trillion dollar deficit posi· tion in the next ten }cars, is once agam going after Big Tobacco. In addition to the $206 b11lion C.S. settlement from \998. the Doj would like an addmona\ S289 billion l $. For those of ~vu who arc counnng, rlut is rhc gross price of 2.o trilhon cancl:r sucks.

The whole ca~c is based on an alleged meeting 50 years ago in New York that resulted Jn a "fraudulent schcmt• to deceive and dcfrnud the public and con.;umers of cigarettes." Bas1call}, they wanted us to think smokmg was cool. Joe Camel, m addition to repre~cntativcs of Laramie Cigarettes ttisnus:.ed the amount of claim by staung, "il's basically a funnymoney number."

Panic gnppcd the l.t~· school a few weeks ago as Mcrril Randell sent a series of list:;cn• missives warning us that om· of our class· mates had succumbl·d to sc,1rlet fever. (We hear she's made.· a full recovery.)

Ran~ell hclpfullr mcluded a link to information about the di case," hich mo~t students thought struck onl} charncters 111 19th ccntur} Russ1an nm·· cis. Turns o~t one of the s)mp toms 1s "malatsc." ( )h (,od, Sotto Voce thought, we've gut scarlet fever! In the interest uf pubhc health and safer) Wl.' stoppc.:d gmng to Tax for a \\ hilc. But we "re feeling better n<m: Speaking of red faces, it must have been a tad embarrassing for U of T honchos when the (,kJbr m1d .\fail rcn."lllcd that the umversity's endowment and pen~ion funds somehow managcu to lose S400 million last year on the markets. (Ibe fund man.tgcrs chum it was only $320 m1llion, but who's counting?) Alert ~tudcnrs rna) recall th:J.t these los~cs coincided with the um\ crsity's massh e tuition hikes for the Llw school and other programs. The op11cs, as they S\\)', arc not good.\ \ow on cttrrh wtl/ rltt kmy IJ<.' rcpil"msllnf?

1\nybody for a rounJ of "Hoi/ up

the Run to \\-in?"'

Huzzah to the organizers of Roy McMurtry's lecture a couple of weeks ago. The post talk buffet was well stoch·d with bruschctta, chicken sata)' and these delightful little cornbread and onion thingies. While Sottn Voce was gorging quietly, who should saunter m•cr to intrcKluce himself but the Chief JuHICe him

self! , ow if thcre"s one thing m this world that we dc~pisc, it's cocktail parry small·talk, but secmg as how our Interlocutor on thts da\' \\as someone whom Dean Ron D hall moment~ carli cr dubbed "\ ( ;n:at Can.1ttian," "c dcc1ded to res1st our utsunct to flee.· ~ hde protesting. "l\te no speaking the English." Truth be told, \H rather enJoyed our chat \\ith Mc\1urt:ry. \X'c cxchangC'd bon 1110/J [or a good I5 minutes unul some idiot (not a law stu· dent) mtcrruptcd and '1arred holdmg fi>rth on Iraq. ~lcMurtry tal.tfully prc.."tended to o;ec his limo dover waving and extricated him· ~elf from the a'l.l.kward scene.

Sotto Voce pocketed a few more hors J'ocuvrcs and left.

I r is \\;th ~adness that we report that this year's l..aw Ball produceu no gosstp ~orth pnnting. ~urc, there were the usual Jancc-tloor make-out SC,Sion~ ala junior high. but nothing truly sala· crou.... That's not to say that 1t wasn't a dl"Cent hootenanny. For one thtng, we enjoyed scc:ing all the girls decked out in thctr o\d prom dres~cs - though what's up w1th a\\ the duucs ~rorunr, the same ourfir~ the; won• to ( )CJs?

\nd thl·re s Jdinirdy something amu:;ing about watching a horde of nerdr bw student.' mouth the ~·ords to Christina Aguilera's "Dtrrcy" or 50 Cent's "In Da Club.'' Kudo~ to Jim Phillips for being the only prof to bother coming. We \\ill fcm'\-er cherish the memory of him cutting a rug to "Funky Cold Medina."

Got a lip?

Co1Jiatl 11/tra. tirt~N/oronto.ra.

YEAR IN REVIEW

26

First Year:

ULTRA VIRES

Second Year:

27

YEAR IN REVIEW

MARCH 25 2003

Law school remembered by the numbers

BY BRENDADIDYK

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times When the curtain rises

BY GREGORY LEVEY It is a hard thing to write a Year in Review piece about such a \\ild, wacky, exuberant }t'llr. I've had so much fun this past year as a first-yt:ar student here at the law school that as I cried mpclf to sleep last night (as has become my habit this year), I could not even thmk of where to begm.

Thn:c to four days a week this year I have spent my lunch hour locked in the bathroom in the library's basement, quietly sobbing.

Some of my favourite law school memories have come from these beautiful times. .\nd who could forget the day I learned what "replevin" meant? Some of you probably remember me dancmg naked m the Rowell Room that fine afternoon, all the while crying tears of joy. "Replevin tears," I called them.

But don't get me \\Tong: ther haven't all been good times.

Like the time David Germain drove hL~ car through the library windows, and the time that poor stray dog \1.-andered into the law school and was accidentally offered a tenure-track posicion as a property law professor. lt certainly has been a year of ups and downs. '

In trying to decide exactly what I would BY BERNINA BUTT write about here in this piece, I asked sever· al orher first-year students for ideas. "What \Vnung a rettospecove is not an easy thmg is the first thing you think of when you con· to do. Jntrospection is even more dauntmg.

And so for fear of the tiring and tiresome, l sider the year gone by?" I inquired.

"That incident with David Germain and think of resorting to generalizations. But his car," the first student said. "I can under- then, I risk turning m a mere space-filler. stand getting excited about the 'rule against \X'ords on a page. perpetuities,' but that was ridiculous." \las, I cannot claim that this ptece is anyJ\norhcr student had a different memory: thing more than exacdy that. We all work on "I think the most important moment for me dt:adlines, and it is the last day of producwas when, in earlr February, I finally realized oon before the paper goes to the printers. that this \vas not dental school." \X'oe is me that it has come to this.

J\s for myself, I think the key moment was when I was almost run over by my torts professor, Ernest Wemrib. I assure you that I am not making this up. I would have laughed at the irony of it if I were not bemg crushed into the side of the Faculty of ;\.fusic bwlding b)' his white miru-van.

1 think, in the end, we all have our differI have been advrsed that it would ent key moments of this year gone by. behoove the integrity of the paper for me \\'hether it is being caught fondling a conto spout about the trials and tribulaoons of tracts textbook 'ol.ith intent other than study- second yt.-ar. Consequently, this: compulsoing Qike I once \1-'llS,, or simply drinking ry moot, job interviews, frustration, and whiskey before DLS court appearances, they fatigue. will be 'ol.ith us forever. !:lo now, as I finish But then comes the fine print that one is writing this while rubbmg mayonnaise into doubtless loath to read. Enter the personal my hair, I'm sobbing gcndy, overcome 'ol.ith moments that make the words somewhat nostalgia. more the mantra. Cue the understudy hovering in the wings, the one who knows my part bettt·r than 1 do. hut """' · \· ..-\don' gi\·cn a voice. And now, for lack of art alter-

Got a Summer Job?

Second year has been a year of commonalities gone awry, of cliches come to fruition.

native, she speaks.

Second year has been a year of com monalities gone awry, of cliches come to fruition. "No pain, no gain." AU the better 1f the pam IS self mduced.

No pain better than staying in the UV office all weekend, trying to come up with titillating headlines, and ending up with nary a thing but "Orientation happens again." And for the article ultimately enotled, "Due process and the dignity of the dead," a gem-of-a-headline, "I see dead people."

No fear more immediate than mooting in French, but also nothing more fulfilling for someone who had packed her bags to study law at McGill. And hardly anything more vagarious than being told by a judge at the moot that my oratorical opening "blew him away"- but because it really "turned him off."

No peace more mcorruptible than that denved from the purswt o f endeavours wholly unrelated to my transcript and com pletcly disparate from an economic valuation of utility.

All these things that people miss because they're all so concerned with The Big Ptc.turc, the summarized way of loolung at life. Yet m essence, a few moments spent readmg could mt.an the difference between lnm,•, a p•tec-hlkr, and act\Jally havtng somerhing to sar.

Third Year: Looking back, after all these years

Because you will never have a second chance

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424 Eglinton Avenue W., (at Castleknock) Toronto. ON ~5:--J 1A2

BY BRENDA DIDYK Third·y<.oar students float through the hall · ways like ghosts-we're here, but not really.

In first year we were inspired. Vis1ons of law school danced in our heads. We thought we were extras m The Paptrcbast, snll believing in the Moment, when the light would go off and we would JUSt get it "of course, old oats!", we'd say.

But for many of us, that Moment never came. Instead the law grew around us, a dim light on the honzon, only just visible beyond the stacks of summaries and coffee cups and casebooks. \Ve floundered into second year, borne on the ride of compulsory moots and upper year classes. \'\'e rode the wave of second yt.-ar, and some of us rode the B -curve, too.

Not that our year had only smooth sailing. The class of 2003 was, of course, touched by scandal. We've also been privy to debates over tuition and accessibility.

What has ;t\1 this done to us? One hopes it has made us better classmates to each od1er and moved us to reflect on the mt.-aning of a legal education. \X"hy rhen, with all these issues and experiences, is our class so apathetic? Why don't we care? I bclil:vc the answer lies in that gLved faraway look law student~ get when p<:opk· mL-ntion other career poss1b1hties. · ~\nthropology, eh? I took a cour;c in that once. llmm ... " Visions of the law arc replaced by visions of doing something, any-

thmg, else. Suddenlr, children's book publishing, med school, and car dealerships have all become tantalizing career possibilities.

AmbiValence runs rampant I myself have joined an all-girl bluegrass band m a desperate attempt to explore any remaining creative potential that hasn't been sucked out of me after seven years of school. Maybe this is the source of our apathy-we're all schooled out.

And yet, with one foot in the real world, I'm not really sure I want it to be over.

The student life is good it's all about naps and Fridays off. It's all about Law Ball and Law Follies and writing columns for the law school newspaper. Recently, a professor mentioned that he wished there was some other war to evaluate students. Something that could take the richness of all a student's experiences into account. Our transcripts all look pretty much the same-but what else have we done.?

So, looking back, reviewing my years at law school, I'd say I'm glad I learned about the oats. But those aren't the Moments that really stick, arc they? Before T digress into sentimentality, let me JUSt say that havtng one foot out the door allows one to gain a new perspective on thmgs. What can I really say about the past three years? Only that lots happened, I feel a little nostalgic, but I think we're all ready to emerge from the cocoon of law school like the bt.-aunful but· tertl1es we arc. Just kidding, but "it was a slice" i~n't much of a conclusion. Goodbye, cruel law school- sec you all in Bar Ads!

'-umber of profs who attc.nded Law Ball. Despite Professor Jim Philhps' best c fforts, our keen student to teacher rano is not tmnslaung into much fun-with-faculty. We arc all anxiously awaiting Dean Ron Daniels's Collcgialin· Plan.

199.92 - Approximately how many dollars you have spent on coffee thts yt.-ar if you bought a 96 - Number of hours a student lounges in the Rowell Room in one week. Photo rourtuy of small coffee every day, five days Brtnda Ditfyk. a week during term.

196- Number of books that will never be read. Photo courlt!J of Brmda Dtd;J..

2 - Number of benches that have been removed from in front of Havclle.

In what many students believe 1s a plot to remove unsightly smokers from the front of the school, the administration has removed their lounging area. In fact, the smokers persist, but have become even more unsightly, as they shake their disgruntled fists in the

Law school quiz

BY BRENDA DIDYK L;.u.· hC>O~ruob1c of thought, socml cauldron, mrcrocosm of the world. \\'hen I look around at m} classmate:;, p(ll~cd to grn un , 15H~Ht cycil ana bush} ta•lcd and re.tdv to t.tkc on the \I.Orld, J marvd at how far w<!'vc come in three short years.

Law school certatnl} was an educ:auon: llt:W rdeas, nc\1. people, and llL"\1. cxperi enccs~d er; me~ "'V':!" um~thmg tern bh familmr about 1t all. \X hat could 11 be;.

Sornethmg about all the heady fncndships and llttngumg gossip, and the way we bonded m our homeroom, l mean, in Srcuon One. Something about the lock cro; ... ah }CS. 0f courst·- high !>Chool' ·n1e first }cars with thctr shin} can-do Grade<) attitudes. The prom-like excitement of I .aw Ball. I lave "e really come vcr} far?

Of course, the anS\I.•cr ts no. La\\ school is like lugh school and we all still fall uuo our little teenaged pigeonholes. Take the qm7. below to find 011t wh.u htgh school persona fits >()U best. Ry the way, did }uu hear th:tt thL Dean wants to buy another huilding for us? It's somewhere on Degrassi Street ...

1. Law Ball was: a. 1 don't know becauc;e I didn't go b. \lot of \'\ork but L'Vel"}one had'a gre<l.t time and I \Va:; so glad to sec C\eryone there c. No fun because I didn't get to thro\\ buns at d1e dean d. Like, totally a\\csome!!!!

2. My favourite law school activity was: a. l.a\\ and economics workshop b. Law Rcv1ew c. I don't do "acti";ties'' d. Law Games!

3. My favourite class was: a. Advance-d Private J.aw b. t•s Constitunonal c. Urban Planning d. hntert:ainment l .aw

.

4. How many pieces of law clothing do you own? a. One b . .\ closet full c. Nont d. S~cn-but all in ba..-;eball cap form

din:crion of Falconer.

192 - Number of hours Ross .\1acDougall and Alfred \vanessy have spent playiQg pool at the Bedford Ballroom over their lunch hours this year. t - ~umber of empty bottles of champagne found 10 Professor Peter Benso!J's Jurisprudence II class after finishing John Rawls's jtiStict as Hurness.

umber of upper·yL-ar students well known for the ability to solve cryptic crosswords. Mr. Jay Streeter, bon-vivant and all . around good gu}. has also gained a reputation for his cryptic crossword skilL Hooray for Jay.

•

36 - Number of free lunches enjoyed by the average student during his or her law school career

89 - '\umber of hours it took to put this 180 'oumber of crossword puzzles com· • issut. of L !rca \'ires together pleted m class by the average fm;t-year stu7 - Number of people who appreciate it dent.

5. What,& your favourite •ecrio n of rhc rc~llonal l'osP a. hnanctal Post b. I onlv read the Globe and Men/ c \'\'hate\ cr section has the crossword m tt d. Sports! l

Mostly A: Boolrnorm Of course, gemng mostly .\'o; lands )OU square!} 111 the nerdier wne of htgh o;chool. l-ear not, this makes 'ou an excellent law student and nn e\oen better lawyer. You know how to \\Ork hard, and you don't get distracted wtth sJII) thmgs hke rclation~htps. \X'ork hard now so )OU will have lots of cash to blm1.• when }OU hit your midlife crists and toss 1t all in for a cantina m Canetm.

Mostly B: Super-trooper. In high school may have been the tl.-acher's pet and.

1f nor, you certainly did }Out best to help other; who \\Crt' teachers' pets. Debatmg team, yearbook, pep squad -you did u alL School spmt ts }"OUt middle name and Without you tlu~ pbce would fall apart. Or at least there would be ~a) fe'ol.er corruruttcC'I. }OU

Mostly C: 1oo cool for school. In !ugh school vour interests were primarily smoking, hanE:,>tng out in the park, slopping class, and reading Catchtr in thf JY>t. In the future, your interests \\ill include smoking, hangtng out 10 bars. ~kipping Bar Ads. and reading Mothtr Jonu.

Seeking 2003 Applica nts

In 2002, Gowlings announced the creation of five annual fellowships for students admitted full-time to the LL.M. program {concentration in Law & Technology) or to the LL.D. program where his or her primary research would focus on Law & Technology, at the University of Ottawa. These programs offer students a un1que opportunity to learn from internationally renowned experts in Technology Law as well as the chance to Intern in the high-tech sector, government or legal profession.

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M osdy D : Checrkader/Jock. You were always the popular kid and you knew lt.

Your athleuc good looks hav~ taken )OU th1s far in life, and thC} won't let }OU do\1. n any tmlc soon. EnJO} u-but remember to be nice to us little people.

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..

28

ULTRA VIRES

DIVERSIONS

Ultra News: Not-So-Real News From Around the Law School other justices. Chief Justice Beverly .McLachlin is particularly affected. "She \\.'aS running around in full regaha, smging 'Sc.-trlet m Scarlet, at last'," reports one commtsstonam: "Bur she normally does that."

The curn:nt Supreme Court clerks appear to have been spared. One clerk, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the shutdown has induced a state of euphoria. "I was about to crack-snooty judges, mind-numbing law, and this interrrunable Onawa winter- but nO\\~ Florida here I come!"

Reached for · comment, ,\ssistant Dean Bonnil. Goldberg was quick tO dispel the suggestion that incident could reflect badly on U of T students. "Fever or no fever, our students arc the best of the best."

A "Fair Enough" change In a surprise mow, the law school caf(tcria, formerly known as "The Grounds of App<-al" \\':15 n:named "Fair Enough."

According to ~lana, the manager, the change tah·s advantage of the marketing stratl·gy known as ubtyuiwus br.mding. "\X'c saw how well brands such as Kleenex and Coke \\·erl' doing, and we gave it a chance. I came up with the name after hearing it 10,000 times a day here. =--:o\\; \\.'hen studl·nts use that phrase, maybe they'll associate it \lith our overpriced, mediocre coffee!"

Impressions around the law school have been unenthusiastic. Said Bobby (I), "I bruess its f.1tr cnou-... umm, I mean, I f,'Uess its ok."

-Alexandra Dosman

- Ronan Lrry

Acting Dean appointed

Briefly Noted

Lord of the Dance

Apprentice

Followtng the appointment of Professor Bnan J.angille as the acting dean during next rant decisions relating to the Faculty of La\\: Birgeneau remarked: "The gathering of year's sabbatical of Dean Ron Daniels, U of mimons into the sanctum: done. The ritualT President Robar Hirgeneau and Provo~t Gring an onset of scarlet fever, the isnc chanting around the goat carcass: done.

Shtrley :-Jeuman have lain to rest any and all Supreme Court of Canada has cancelled all doubts n.-garding the procedural jusnce of The casting of \\·hire balls into the box: remaining ht-arings for this session. conducting zero student consultation about done. 1\nd the plume of smoke outside my "It all started after a clerkship intenicw window to announce the decision: done." the mo\"c. w.ith a delusional U of T student," Justice ;:-:euman added: "How reliable is student Ctting tract.' from the treatise "\\c ~love Jan Binnie said on the telephone from his narrative, anyw.-ay?" in ~ly$terious Ways" from then 1991 sickbed. "One minute, she was raving about And the issue was closed. encyclical .Arhtung Studmts, Birgem:au and procedural fairness, the next, I felt my tem-Robin Ri.-.: ~cuman noted that they followed the stanperature rising." ua.ru operating pnnc.\p\cl> of making impmThe bactenal infection spread qutckly to

Epidemic hits judiciary

r-.looter teased for being named "best orahst" First-year torn over whether to sell out now or later Craduating student determined to strike balance between work, PlayStatton ~tudcnt

marks ballot in SLS/ hculty Council merger referendum... jn blood