Ultra Vires Vol 21 Issue 2 — October 2019

ULTRAVIRES.CA

OCTOBER 31, 2019

VOL. 21, ISS. 2

THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO FACULTY OF LAW

Grand Moot Considers Constitutionality of Solitary Confinement Exemplary Advocacy on Display TOM COLLINS (3L)

CLOCKWISE FROM BACK LEFT: SU RAO (3L) , SPENCE COLBURN (3L), EILEEN CHURCH CARSON (3L) , WILL MAIDMENT (2L), JULIE LOWENSTEIN (3L), ALYSA HOLMES (3L), DEAN EDWARD IACOBUCCI, THE HONOURABLE JUSTICE OF THE ONTARIO SUPERIOR COURT OF JUSTICE BREESE DAVIES, THE HONOURABLE CHIEF JUSTICE OF CANADA RICHARD WAGNER, THE HONOURABLE CHIEF JUSTICE OF ONTARIO GEORGE STRATHY. PHOTO BY VIVIAN CHENG.

The Busy Life of Wagner CJ An Interview with the Honourable Chief Justice of Canada Richard Wagner VIVIAN CHENG (1L) The Faculty of Law had the honour of receiving the Honourable Chief Justice of Canada Richard Wagner for this year’s Grand Moot on October 3.

Before the moot, Vivian Cheng sat down with Wagner CJ to talk about Carter v Canada, meeting Japan’s new emperor, and the importance of believing in oneself. Below is a transcription of the interview.

Ultra Vires (UV): Why did you pursue law?

Richard Wagner (RW): It came naturally. I was 15 or 16 years old and looking around. I was attracted to the law, because my father was a lawyer too so I was raised in an environment where people were talking about the law, the practice of law, and so on. Because of that earlier interest, I kept looking for work in that area. I never had any doubts that [law] was what I wanted to do. More particularly, I wanted to do litigation work. I loved to argue in those days—I still do. I have no regrets.

UV: What does a day in the life of Chief Justice look like?

RW: Busy. Very busy.

The Chief Justice of Canada is not only the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, but they also chair the Canadian Judicial Council, made up of 42 Chief Justices of Canada. That keeps me busy.

The Canadian Judicial Council is in charge of the training of judges and judicial conduct. As Chief Justice, I chair the National Judicial Institute, which trains all federal judges in Canada, and I preside over the advisory board of the Order of

Canada, which makes recommendations to the Governor General to give awards to Canadians for the Order of Canada. I also preside over some meetings of other jurisdictions—Europe, Asia, and Africa. Of course, I sit in as many cases as my colleagues, so I have to write my reasons as well.

So, altogether it’s a busy agenda.

UV: What was something you were not expecting when you took on the role?

RW: I was not expecting to represent the country in so many ways. I discovered I like to do this, it’s a real privilege. This happens because of the order of succession in Canada. When the Prime Minister and Governor General are not available to assume their tasks for specific actions, I am the one who will do it. For instance, I will represent the country in late October for the enthronement of the new Japananese emperor. They are expecting 192 heads of state, and the Prime Minister and Governor General could not make it because of Federal elections taking place on the same day.

UV: What was one of your favourite cases you sat on in the Supreme Court?

RW: There were so many. But the Carter case [was one of my favourites], where the judgment was released as “by the court”, meaning everybody participated in the drafting in the decision. Because it refers to notions of law, moral values, science, and so many issues, this case was probably the most interesting recently. But there were so many.

Our decisions have an impact on so many peo-

ple; their lives, their friends, their families and their futures. It’s difficult to identify just one case, but that case was special because of its consequences [for] the future.

UV: What obstacles have you faced in your career?

RW: Competition is always seen as an obstacle.

It’s normal, and yet at the same time it’s very challenging. But I think it helps you become better at what you do. When there’s competition, that’s a good environment. Be prepared to work hard.

UV: What advice do you have for law students or young lawyers?

RW: Law students should always be curious. […]

Try new things. Keep your eyes and ears open to your new environment and to the new challenges that will present themselves. That curiosity will bring very beneficial things to your personal life and your professional life.

You [also] have to learn to trust your instincts. Very often, as a young lawyer, people will tell you that you can’t do this or that, or that you don’t have the training. But if you think you can do it or have [the skills], you should do it.

Young people should learn to trust themselves and their instincts.

Try to learn to say yes [to opportunities]. Don’t refuse any challenges that represent reasonable ways to accomplish yourself.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity and length.

W hen, if ever, is the solitar y conf inement of prison inmates constitutional?

On October 3, 2019, four of the Facult y of Law’s strongest mooters arg ued this timely question before a disting uished panel of judges comprised of the Honourable Chief Justice of Canada R ichard Wagner, the Honourable Chief Justice of Ontario George Strathy, and the Honourable Justice of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice Breese Dav ies. The occasion was the Facult y’s annual Grand Moot.

Ever y autumn, the Moot Court Committee, the student organization responsible for the Facult y’s mooting program, puts on the Grand Moot. The Grand Moot is a ceremonial, internal moot, sponsored by McCarthy Tétrault L L P. It ser ves as an opportunit y for the Facult y to showcase the high level of advocacy it strives to foster and for participants the chance to hash out compelling legal issues before accomplished judges.

This year, the mooters were Eileen Church Carson (3L), Spence Colburn (3L), Julie Lowenstein (3L) and Will Maidment (2L). They secured their spots on the moot through tr youts that occurred in mid-March. W hen I asked the mooters what made them want to do the Grand Moot—a process that requires participants to prepare through Aug ust and September —Lowenstein said: We had learned so much about written and oral advocacy from our previous mooting experiences and wanted to continue gaining handson [experience]. The Grand Moot is also typically about interesting and current issues in constitutional or public law, and we thought it would be a unique opportunity to engage with these issues in front of a panel of esteemed judges.

The Problem

This year’s Grand Moot problem involved a constitutional challenge to the f ictional Structured Inter vention Act. F lavelle, a f ictional countr y similar to Continued on Page 10

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE RIGHTS REVIEW IHRP SUMMER EXPERIENCES

MAKING THE MOST OF MENTORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES

PAGE 12

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STUDY CAFÉS NEAR CAMPUS PAGE 6

2 | October 31, 2019

ultravires.ca

EDITOR'S NOTE

UV INDEX

Happy October!

84 Queen’s Park Crescent Toronto, ON M5S 2C5 Ultra Vires is the independent student newspaper of the University of Toronto Faculty of Law. We provide a forum for diverse viewpoints on topics of interest to our readers. We aim to foster dialogue on academic and social issues between students, the faculty, and the broader legal community in Toronto, Ontario, and Canada. Our content does not necessarily ref lect the views of the Editorial Board. We print six issues per year. Ultra Vires is printed by Master Web Inc.

EDITORS-IN-CHIEF Melody Chan & James Flynn NEWS EDITOR Ernest Tam ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITORS Angela Gu & Sara Karma FEATURES EDITOR Claudia Shek ASSOCIATE FEATURES EDITOR Vivian Cheng OPINIONS EDITOR Tom Collins ASSOCIATE OPINIONS EDITORS Alexa Cheung & Mike Bertrand DIVERSIONS EDITOR Rory Smith ASSOCIATE DIVERSIONS EDITOR Angela Gu EDITOR-AT-LARGE Vernon Lin SUPERNUMERARY EDITORS William Mazurek & Alina Yu LAYOUT EDITOR Alexandra Fox ARTIST Ernest Tam STAFF WRITERS Alisha Li & Adrienne Ralph

ADVERTISING If you are interested in advertising, please email us at editor@ultravires.ca.

BUSINESS MANAGER Daniel Gao ERRORS If you notice any errors, please email us at editor@ultravires.ca.

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Ultra Vires reserves the right to edit submissions.

Congratulations on mak ing it through the f irst half of the semester. Things are k ick ing into high gear w ith 2Ls preparing for in-f irms, looming f inal exams and papers, and, most importantly, cuf f ing season!

In this issue, you’ll f ind a Grand Moot recap, an inter v iew w ith the Chief Justice of Canada, and fall recipes to warm you up on those cold days. We hope you enjoy reading it.

In preparation for our November Recruit Special, we’ve included a short primer in our Features section that g ives a rundown of some changes we’re mak ing to our anonymous survey this year. Take a look and as always, if you have comments on this issue or stories to pitch, you can reach us at editor@ultrav ires.ca.

Thanks for reading, — Melody Chan & James Flynn Co-Editors-in-Chief, Ultra Vires

NEWS

OPINIONS

An Interview with Chief Justice 1 Wagner

Law School Needs to Live

Grand Moot Recap

1

A Cowboy’s Conundrum

10

Faculty Council on Tuition

3

Co-Curricular Application

11

Intramural Insider

3

SLS Financial Aid and Tuition

4

Townhall

with Alumni Advocacy

Process Needs Improvement DIVERSIONS IHRP Summer Experiences

FEATURES Flavourful Fall Recipes

5

Study Café Reviews

6

Making the Most of Mentorship 7 Opportunities In Vino Veritas

9

7

DIVERSIONS Welcome to 1Ls (revised)

16

I Am Sick of Law School

16

Classic 1L Mistakes

17

Dear Denning Intra Vires

17 18

NEWS

ultravires.ca

October 31, 2019 | 3

First Faculty Council Discusses Tuition and Budget ERNEST TAM (2L) On October 2, the law school held its first Faculty Council meeting of the 2019-2020 academic year. The majority of the meeting was spent discussing Students’ Law Society (SLS) updates, tuition, and the faculty budget.

SLS Updates SLS President Morgan Watkins (3L) began by briefly recapping O-Week and the SLS fall elections. Watkins primarily discussed updates to the SLS budget as this is the first year that student society levies are no longer mandatory for Ontario universities. In all, 8% of students opted out of the SLS fee, and 15% of students opted out of the Public Interest Fellowship Fee. Watkins stated that, based on her conversations with other student society presidents, the opt-out rate was very low in comparison (median opt-out rate of 22%).

Lisa Cirillo, Executive Director of Downtown Legal Services, stated that University of Toronto Students’ Union and Scarborough Campus Student Union had a total opt-out rate of 19.4% for the fall semester but that this number could change for the winter semester.

However, Watkins noted that the SLS had negotiated a fee-transfer agreement with Rotman’s Graduate Business Council (GBC). GBC will pay the SLS half of the student fees that it receives from 4L JD/MBAs, since JD/MBAs only pay GBC fees during their 4L year. Watkins predicted that the transfer payment would likely account for the 8% cut to the SLS’s budget as the GBC fees are significantly higher at around $40 per semester, compared to the $20 per semester that JD students pay.

Budget and Tuition Dean Edward Iacobucci began the budget

presentation with the University of Toronto’s overall budget in order to give context to the Faculty of Law’s specific budget. Dean Iacobucci stated that although authority over the law school budget rests with the Office of the Dean, it is subject to the approval of the Provost and the Governing Council. In effect, the law school is “two steps down” when it comes to control over the budget.

For the University at large, 63% of its current revenue is made up from tuition/fees, 24% is from operating grants, and 13% is from other revenue. As for expenditures, 59% is from faculty and staff compensation, 9% from student aid, 8% from capital and equipment, 7% from occupancy costs, 4% from the pension special payment, and 14% from other expenses.

Despite cuts to domestic tuition, Dean Iacobucci stated that U of T is still projecting revenue growth. He explained that U of T has been aggressively increasing international tuition in recent years, and international tuition was increasingly indispensable to U of T’s overall revenue. However, international tuition has not been a meaningful source of growth for the law school as the Faculty lacks significant international student enrollment, and domestic and international tuition are more similar. For example, a Bachelor of Arts is roughly $6,100 for domestic students versus $53,000 for international students, whereas for the JD program tuitions are about $34,600 thousand and $54,000 respectively.

The University’s increased reliance on international tuition for revenue is in large part due to significant decreases in operating grants over the past twenty years. In the 2006-2007 academic year, operating grants and international tuition made up 45% and 7% of the University’s total revenue, respectively. In 2019-2020, reve-

nue from operating grants have decreased to 24% whereas international tuition revenue has increased to 34%. This trend is anticipated to continue for the foreseeable future. Domestic tuition, on the other hand, dropped from 26% to 21% in the same time period, and will likely continue to decrease given next year’s domestic tuition freeze.

Dean Iacobucci also brought up the transition to performance-based funding with the Strategic Mandate Agreement 3 (SMA3) for Ontario Universities and Colleges. As indicated in the SMA3 discussion paper, the goal of SMA3 “is to reframe postsecondary education funding to reduce reliance on enrolment growth, strengthen the outcomes focus, recognize demographic changes and align with government priorities.”

This approach deviates from the traditional percapita funding that the Province has relied on since the 1970s and instead shifts the focus of funding to graduate skills, job outcomes, and economic and community impact. Dean Iacobucci indicated that this is potentially good news for U of T, although it is unclear what metrics the Province will rely on and whether additional funding will be granted for outperforming targets.

Dean Iacobucci then moved on to discussing the law school budget, which is at $45.1 million this year. The school’s revenue is comprised of tuition (55%), operating grants (14%), university fund and transfers (14%), recoveries (7%), endowments (7%), and other (3%). The university fund transfer is an inter-university equalization payment where every faculty contributes 10% of its revenues to the University, which then redistributes the amount. The Faculty of Law is a net beneficiary of the university fund, which makes up 7% of its total expenses. Other expenses include compensation of faculty and staff (54%);

university wide costs, which includes everything from facilities to the library system, (20%); financial aid (12%); and other expenses (7%).

Dean Iacobucci stated that the Faculty has no control over expenses such as university wide costs, university fund contribution. He further stated that the school has some discretion over staffing levels, and, unfortunately, in response to the budget cuts and in an attempt to reduce costs, the Faculty “made painful and difficult decisions to cut staff over the summer.” Other measures included discontinuing the Internationally Trained Lawyers program and establishing a new agreement with central libraries.

Dean Iacobucci elaborated on other responses to the budget challenge this year, such as: increasing enrollment in the GPLLM program, which “has mitigated the revenue cut this year, but by no means killed it;” lobbying the university to change its budget model; increasing fundraising efforts; monetizing space at the law school; efforts to teach in the undergraduate space; and selling e-courses, such as legal methods, to non-students.

Watkins finished off the meeting with the annual SLS President’s speech on tuition. Watkins acknowledged the difficulties that the 10% cut to tuition has created for the Dean, but noted that “it is a welcome change for students.”

Among the points discussed, Watkins criticized the structural deficit of the law school, raised issues of inaccessibility due to high tuition, and emphasized the effect of debt burden and financial constraints on students’ mental health and career objectives. At the end of the speech, Watkins asked the Dean to consider three proposals centred around increased dialogue, a tuition freeze, and setting realistic expectations for students regarding the “misleading” effective tuition.

Intramural Insider

Flag football goes undefeated; basketball teams welcome new players; volleyball team takes on Division One DANIEL GAO (2L) We all know law school can be a constant source of stress, so it is no surprise that students find ways to cope. Unlike other popular law school-coping mechanisms, intramural sports provide a healthy way to meet people and get in shape. This column highlights a few of our many intramural teams here at the law school.

Flag Football Men’s Flag Football (5-0-0) Co-Ed Flag Football (5-0-0) The Men’s and Co-Ed Flag Football teams are off to hot starts as they both begin the season undefeated. As defending champions, the Men’s team came into this season with high expectations. Unfortunately, tragedy struck early when Team Captain Robbie Grant (3L) broke his collarbone during a pre-season practice. Undaunted, Robbie continues to lead the team from the sidelines, designing a de-

fensive structure that, unlike his collarbone, has yet to be broken.

The Co-Ed team came into this season with expectations of having fun and avoiding disqualification. However, as opponents fail to achieve the latter, the team has suddenly been thrusted into intramural glory, and will finish the season undefeated. Veteran Rory Smith (3L) was excited that the team was able to avoid defaulting for a lack of eligible players as in the past two seasons. He expressed the belief that if they continue to get enough turnout, the team could contend for the championship. If their opponents continue to drop out in fear of facing the undefeated (and relatively untested) Team Law, a title seems all but assured.

Basketball Women’s Basketball (2-2-0) Co-Ed Basketball (0-3-0)

Co-Ed Volleyball (2-1-0)

One. In order to address this new challenge, the team conducted extensive scouting and successfully found Ryan Chan (2L) and Daniel Gao (2L), two players who have never played organized volleyball.

They do, however, occupy two spots on the court, which plays an integral role in ensuring the team is not disqualified. According to co-team captain, Rory Lootsma, the pair has added more than they think, providing ‘huge blocks’ that has contributed to the team’s progress this season.

On the other hand, the Co-Ed Volleyball team has had a strong start with a 2-1 record, including two sweeps. Another success: the games have been well-attended and players are even able to make the fabled ‘substitution’. With a mix of grizzled veterans and fresh-faced newcomers, the team is looking to make a deep run in the playoffs.

Following a strong performance last year, the Men’s Volleyball Team was promoted to Division

Editor’s Note: Rory Smith is the Ultra Vires Diversions Editor. Daniel Gao is the Ultra Vires Business Manager.

The basketball teams came into the season looking to drop free throws and run pick-and-rolls.

While successful in that regard, the teams’ biggest success this season has been building their teamwork off the court. Angela Gu (1L) cites some highlights as going rock-climbing and developing skills as a group. The standout game of the season so far was against Trinity College, the alma mater of three of the team’s players. Understanding the pain those undergraduate students were going through, the Law Team ‘lost’ the game, finally giving Team Trinity something to cheer about.

Volleyball Men’s Volleyball (1-2-0)

4 | October 31, 2019

NEWS

ultravires.ca

Grand Moot Considers Constitutionality of Solitary Confinement (Continued from page 1) Flavelle, a fictional country similar to Canada, enacted the Structured Intervention Act to replace its previous system of administrative and disciplinary segregation which provided for solitary confinement. Pursuant to the fictional Act, prison inmates could be removed from the general inmate population and placed into a “structured intervention unit” (SIU). Inmates placed in these SIUs were entitled to a minimum of four hours outside their cell, with at least two of those hours to be allotted for socialization.

However, compliance with those minimum requirements was subject to a number of exceptions. Consequently, certain inmates could be subjected to solitary confinement for indefinite periods of time. This raised questions about whether the Act might violate inmates’ Charter rights to life, liberty and security of the person, and against cruel and unusual punishment.

Student Co-Chief Justices of the Grand Moot, Su Rao (3L) and Alysa Holmes (3L) conceived this problem in response to Bill C-83 — An Act to amend the Corrections and Conditional Release Act, which provides for inmate segregation.

Indeed, Flavelle’s Act contained language which was similar (but not identical) to language in Bill C-83.

Two recent cases, — British Columbia Civil Liberties Association v Canada, 2018 BCSC 62, and Canadian Civil Liberties Association v Canada, 2019 ONCA 243 — also inspired this year’s Grand Moot problem. In those cases, the respective courts struck down systems of administrative segregation that paralleled the one that existed under Flavelle’s previous segregation legislation, because they permitted prolonged and indefinite solitary confinement. Indeed, at the end of the moot, Strathy CJ quipped that the issues gave him a sense of déjà vu (he presided over the CCLA case at the Ontario Court of Appeal.)

The Moot

The Grand Moot’s problem gave rise to three main issues.

First, did the Structured Intervention Act infringe

the rights of inmates under section 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (which applies in the country of Flavelle)? Section 7 guarantees all Flavellians the right to life, liberty and security of the person.

Second, did the Act infringe the rights of inmates under section 12 of the Charter? Section 12 guarantees all Flavellians the right not to be subjected to any cruel or unusual treatment or punishment.

Third, if the Act infringed either section 7 or section 12, was that infringement justified under section 1 of the Charter? Section 1 guarantees the rights and freedoms set out in the Charter “subject only to such reasonable limits prescribed by law as can be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society.”

In the Grand Moot, Colburn and Lowenstein represented the Appellant, the Flavellian Civil Liberties Association. They argued on its behalf that the Act violated inmates’ section 7 and 12 Charter rights, and that it could not be saved under section 1. Essentially, the Appellant argued that the Act thwarted the human “need to connect”, harming some of Flavelle’s most vulnerable citizens.

Speaking on section 7, Lowenstein argued that the Act engaged inmates’ liberty interests because it enabled prison staff to place and keep them in SIUs without their consent. The Appellant team also argued that the Act engaged inmates’ right to security of the person. Lowenstein relied on empirical studies to show that solitary confinement frequently causes inmates physical suffering as well as severe psychological reactions. Inmates’ limited access to competent medical care under the Act further compounded these problems.

Colburn addressed section 12. She explained that “a law will violate section 12 where it imposes treatment that is grossly disproportionate to what would ordinarily be appropriate in the circumstances, or where the law’s reasonably foreseeable applications would impose such treatment.” The Appellant argued that the impugned Act violated section 12 because, like its predecessor, it provided for prolonged and in-

definite solitary confinement; that deprives inmates of the social interaction and environmental stimulus they need to maintain their immediate and long-term mental health.

Colburn then briefly turned to section 1. She conceded, on behalf of the Appellant, that the need to maintain the safety of a general inmate population is a pressing and substantial objective. However, the harms that prolonged segregation cause precluded the possibility of the Act being minimally impairing.

Church Carson and Maidment represented the Respondent, the Attorney General of the country of Flavelle. They argued, on behalf of Flavelle, that the Act did not violate either section 7 or section 12 of the Charter; in the alternative, if the Act did violate those sections, the infringement was justified under section 1.

Maidment opened for the Respondent. He conceded that the Act engaged inmates’ liberty interest, but only for the important objectives of maintaining safe and secure prisons. Maidment also argued, on behalf of the Respondent, that there was insufficient evidence that the Act infringed inmates’ right to security of the person; the studies on which the Appellant relied all dealt with Flavelle’s previous segregation regime. The current Act addressed its predecessor’s constitutional shortcomings, providing inmates with more time outside their cells and better access to healthcare. Maidment argued, in any event, that there were ample review procedures for the administrators’ discretion, including curial review via writs of habeas corpus.

Maidment then addressed how the deprivation of liberty under the Act accorded with the principles of fundamental justice. Both parties agreed that the Act had compelling objectives: securing inmates’ and prison staff’s safety and protecting the integrity of ongoing investigations into criminal or serious disciplinary offences. Maidment contended, on the Respondent’s behalf, that the Act was not overbroad and that although challenges such as transferring inmates between institutions or lockdowns, might extend an inmate’s isolation, those procedures were themselves grounded in security and

safety concerns.

Finally, Church Carson presented the Respondent’s section 12 arguments. She conceded that placing an inmate in a SIU would be an exercise of state power that constitutes “treatment” within the meaning of section 12. However, she emphasized that “cruel and unusual” is a high bar to meet. Although solitary confinement could meet that threshold in some circumstances, it would not in cases where an inmate posed a serious danger to prison staff or other inmates, or where segregation protected the inmate from harm.

Church Carson also underscored the Respondent’s position that the prison officials’ discretion was limited to what was “reasonably required for security purposes.”

In the final part of her submissions, Church Carson dealt with section 1. She conceded that the threshold of gross disproportionality under section 12 is so high that a law that meets this threshold is likely also disproportionate under section 1. However, she argued, on behalf of the Respondent, that a violation of section 7 could nevertheless be justified. The thrust of the Respondent’s position was that, even if the Act failed to conform with the principles of fundamental justice in its interaction with particular inmates, it would be justified by the social good it conferred on Flavelle’s public. Namely, mitigating the violent conflict endemic to prison populations.

Following their submissions, the judges commended the mooters for their solid grasp of the issues of the case and of their own arguments on those issues. Chief Justice Wagner said that the mooters showed great promise as future litigators, because they had already mastered some of the key aspects of compelling argument: eye contact and an easy, conversational demeanour. The other justices echoed that sentiment, saying that they looked forward to seeing these capable oralists in their own courtrooms.

You can watch the Grand Moot in its entirety on the Faculty of Law’s website: https://www. law.utoronto.ca/academic-programs/jd-program/mooting/grand-moot-2019

SLS Hosts Town Hall Students discuss financial aid and tuition ALISHA LI (1L) On September 30, 2019, the Students’ Law Society (SLS) held their annual Financial Aid and Tuition Town Hall to address the changes to provincial funding and to the Faculty of Law’s f inancial aid system, and to hear students’ concerns about the shifting f inancial landscape. The town hall was led by current Financial Aid Committee members Morgan Watkins (SLS President) and Robert Nanni ( Vice-President of StAG), and former member Alex Severance (2L StAG Representative).

The Ford government’s changes to education funding were at the forefront of the town hall. Among other policies, the provincial government slashed tuition by 10%, translating to an approximate $3,300 per year decrease in the Faculty’s domestic JD tuition.

Additionally, OSAP was restructured in that more of its aid went to loans instead of

grants, the def inition of an “independent” student changed from having graduated high school at least four years prior to six, and the post-graduation grace period for interest accumulation was eliminated. While students do not need to start making payments until six months after graduation, interest on OSAP loans now begin accruing immediately upon graduation.

The provincial government also made student society levies optional, leaving student groups and clubs that already receive very little Faculty funding in uncertain waters.

Concerns from the audience were raised about the apparent disparity between the Faculty’s emphasis on its extracurriculars and student societies when recruiting new students, and the f inancial resources the Faculty actually provides to those extracurricular opportunities.

Turning to the Faculty’s own f inancial aid program, the town hall highlighted two changes to the f inancial aid calculation algorithm: the f irst $5,000 of unmet need is now addressed by interest-free loans, and students who have siblings also in post-secondary education is no longer a factor in the calculation.

One audience member expressed concerns on the Notice of Assessments being released near the end of September as it forces students to make f inancial decisions, such as signing a lease, without knowing how much (if any) aid they can expect from the University.

Another comment was made about the Financial Aid Off ice’s consideration of parents’ income, as opposed to household income, which is what OSAP considers. U of T Law’s Financial Aid calculations only ex-

cludes a parent’s income in cases of estrangement.

Also discussed was the law school’s PostGraduate Debt Relief Program (PDRP), which helps graduates earning annual salaries of $60,571 or less repay eligible student debts. Graduates that are pursuing careers in public interest, furthering their education, or have familial obligations or disabilities are all eligible for the PDRP. A major point of discussion last year was whether the PDRP should limit aid to only graduates who pursue public interest careers. A selling point of the University of Toronto’s JD program is its commitment to helping students pursue such careers, irrespective of debt. However, students expressed worries about excluding familial obligations and disability accommodations from consideration altogether.

FEATURES

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October 31, 2019 | 5

Flavourful Fall Recipes A hearty soup and a cozy banana bread to ease you into autumn ADRIENNE RALPH (1L)

Sweet Potato Soup Makes: 4 to 5 servings Prep. time: 20 minutes prep. + 20 minutes cooking

Ingredients 1 tbsp. vegetable oil 1 small onion, diced 1 clove garlic, minced 1 large sweet potato, peeled and cubed 2 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed (Russet potatoes are starchier, so they break down and thicken the soup more easily, but others work just fine) 1 small apple, peeled and cubed (any mild, sweet apple like Gala works) 3 ½ cups vegetable stock (can be substituted for chicken stock as well) Pinch of cinnamon (or more if you really like cinnamon) Maple syrup (to taste, approx 1 tbsp.)

Salt and pepper (to taste)

Steps 1. In a large pot, heat vegetable oil over medium-high heat.

2. When the oil is hot, add the onion and cook until softened— about 5 minutes.

3. Add garlic, then cook for an additional minute or two, until fragrant. Stir frequently to avoid burning.

4. Add the sweet potato, potato, and apple to the pot, then pour the stock in. It should just barely cover the potatoes and apples. You may need to use a bit more or less than 3 ½ cups, depending on the exact size of the vegetables you are using.

5. Bring the mixture to a rolling boil, then cover with a well-fitting lid and reduce the heat to low for about 20 minutes, or until the sweet potatoes are easily pierced with a sharp knife. Take the mixture off the heat, and let it cool for a few minutes.

6. Using an immersion blender in the pot, or ladling the mixture into a stand blender, purée the mixture until completely smooth.

I prefer the second method as it ensures maximum smoothness.

7. If using a stand blender, return the soup to the pot. Mix in the maple syrup, cinnamon, salt, and pepper. Feel free to experiment by adding any other spices or flavourings.

8. Warm over medium-low heat, then serve immediately. You can also keep the soup in an airtight container in the fridge for 4 to 5 days, or freeze then reheat it as needed.

PHOTO CREDIT: SANDIE CLARK, UNPLASH.COM

Banana Bread Makes: 1 loaf Prep. time: 15 minutes prep. + 55 minutes cooking

Ingredients ½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature 1 cup brown sugar, plus a few tablespoons 1 large egg, room temperature 3 bananas, mashed 1 tsp. vanilla 2 cups all-purpose flour 1 tsp. baking powder ½ tsp. baking soda Pinch of salt Pinch of cinnamon (optional) 1 cup semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips

Steps 1. Preheat your oven to 350º F. 2. Grease a 9x5 loaf pan with non-stick cooking spray or a sliver of butter.

3. In a large bowl, cream the butter and the 1 cup of brown sugar together until smooth and paler in colour, about 3 minutes. A hand or stand mixer works best for this step, but a whisk can work in a pinch.

4. Add in the egg, mashed bananas, and vanilla. Stir until well combined.

5. Add in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Stir until just combined—do not overmix! (Too much mixing results in too many gluten chains, which creates dense and unsatisfying banana bread.)

6. Add in the chocolate chips–again, just a light stir to get them welldistributed. Do not overmix!

7. Pour the batter into your well-greased loaf pan, smoothing it out with a spatula to ensure even baking. Sprinkle a tbsp. or two of brown sugar on top for an optional sugary topping.

8. Bake for 55 to 65 minutes, or until a knife/toothpick/pointy object of your choosing inserted in the middle of the loaf comes out mostly batter-free. Most recipes say to bake until the knife comes out clean. However, if you’re impatient and/or like your banana bread moist, I find it can actually taste better if there’s still a little bit of batter left.

9. Let cool (if you can wait) and serve. You can also eat a warm slice straight out of the pan— once you’ve posted a picture of it on your Instagram story for posterity, of course.

PHOTO CREDIT: JEFF SIEPMAN, UNPLASH.COM

FEATURES

6 | October 31, 2019

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Rise and Grind Reviews of six study cafés near campus ANGELA GU (1L) bump into there–the last time I was there, I saw former Premier of Ontar io Bob Rae, who happens to be a U of T Law alum. But that’s not why I go to L’Espresso Bar Mercur io. Their eggshell-blue mugs and apr icot-yellow cups are instant mood-boosters.

They ser ve Sloane tea–the oolong créme is delightful. There are lots of tables both inside and outside, which makes this a great study spot.

5 Elements Espresso Bar 131 Avenue Rd This busy café in Yorkv ille has two levels of seating, and a small patio outside. The lower level has round, well-lit marbled tables per fect for study ing and Instagram photos alike, and there are out lets by said tables for charg ing your electronic dev ices.

Opposite this side is a cozy seating area.

The Wi-Fi is good, and they ser ve a decent matcha latte. W hat I like most is the location—on your way back to campus, make a healthy lunch at the W hole Foods salad bar, or grab an avocado smoothie at Good Karma in Yorkv ille Village.

Café Pamenar 307 Aug usta Ave This Kensington café is tucked away, its narrow storefront hidden from passing pedestrians. The front patio is a no-laptop zone, but patrons are free to type away inside the café and in the shaded back terrace. Pamenar also operates as a bar, which is great if you’re doing the type of studying that requires selfmedication of the alcoholic kind. The Wi-Fi was down when I visited, and the barista admitted she was playing the same few songs on her playlist, but that was f ine by me. The construction noise from the neighbouring business was a little distracting however–it seems like a major rebuilding project, so it’s likely to continue for a while.

CAPPUCCINOS AND A SCONE AT HART HOUSE CAFÉ PHOTO CREDIT: ANGELA GU (1L)

If you’re looking to escape your Goodmans LLP Café routine but are not sure where to start, this is the article for you. I have taken on the task of trying a different coffee shop each week from my own carefully curated list—f ind me studying at an aesthetic café every Monday at 8:00am. There are lots of unique spots to explore around campus, each with their own distinctive f lair and f lavour. After all, you deserve more than those cups of Blue Dragon coffee.

Goldstruck Cof fee 130 Cumberland St This dark and cozy Yorkv ille café is

down a half-f light of stairs from street level and feels almost cavernous. The café smells like chocolate, and they ser ve a k iller cayenne latte–r ich and spicy, w ith chocolatey dredges at the bottom of the cup. The bar istas are nonchalant and probably too cool for me, but that’s f ine, I don’t need small talk, I’m there to do readings.

Hart House Café 7 Hart House Circle Located on the second f loor of U of T’s own Hart House in the Galler y Gr ill, this spot is just steps from the law school. Hart House staf f often drop by for cups of cof fee

to go, but I suggest getting yours to stay.

They always have fresh f lowers on the tabletops, and the high ceilings of the hundred-year-old building never cease to amaze. Prett y cappuccinos are ser ved in small glass cups. Qualit y, not quantit y, matters here. The café ser v ice ends at 11:30am, when the lunch ser v ice beg ins.

L’Espresso Bar Mercurio 321 Bloor St W This café is popular w ith students and facult y alike. You never know who you’ll

First & Last Cof fee Shop 346 Dupont St You can easily f ind this cute café by spotting its iconic yellow bench out front. Although it’s near Dupont Station, three subway stops from campus, it’s worth the trip.

The atmosphere is unpretentious, it’s furnished with mismatched tables and chairs, there’s a humble patio outside, and most importantly, there’s good Wi-Fi. Get there early for a quiet study session—it gets really busy around 10:30am on weekdays. If the weather is pleasant, take a study break and walk up the nearby Baldwin Steps by Casa Loma to enjoy a sweeping view of the city.

FEATURES

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October 31, 2019 | 7

Making the Most of Peer Mentorship Opportunities Upper years share their tips with 1Ls on fostering great mentor/mentee relationships MIKE BERTRAND (1L) Participating in a peer mentorship program can teach you to be more comfortable ask ing for help, and self-aware in recognizing when you need help. There are many ways in which 1L s can foster the best possible relationships w ith their mentors, whether they are seek ing academic, professional, or personal support.

Just as their mentors helped them, many upper year students are happy to share their hard-earned w isdom w ith current 1L s. Ultra Vires spoke to Venessa Sectakof (2L), A ndrea Das-Wieczorek (2L), and Dana O’Shea (3L) to f ind some ways students can make the most out of the peer mentorship opportunities at the law school.

Peer Mentor Prog ra m (PMP) 1. Use your mentor for more than just course summar ies and maps.

One of the patterns peer mentors tend to see is mentees reaching out to get course summaries, and then falling off the grid. But it’s possible for mentees to foster much more meaningful relationships with their mentors.

Consider asking your mentor to proofread an assignment you are worried about, to give you tips on how to manage your time during

exams, or for general tips about navigating law school and your legal career.

2. As a mentee, don’t be afraid to follow up if your mentor is busy.

If your mentor isn’t getting back to you right away, don’t take it personally. Your mentor might be juggling the search for a summer or articling position, clinic work, moot preparation, and a hundred other things. If your mentor is in a combined program, they might have a very different schedule from yours. As a mentee, don’t be afraid to nudge your mentor if you aren’t hearing from them.

3. You can ask your mentor to connect you with people who can help you with specific challenges.

Even if the program did a great job matching you with your mentor, they may not always have the answer to every question. If your peer mentor can’t help you with a challenge you are facing, don’t be afraid to ask them if they can connect you with someone who can.

4. The relationship doesn’t have to end after 1L. Just because the “off icial” peer mentor re-

lationship is over, this doesn’t mean you aren’t allowed to reach out to your mentor anymore.

Your peer mentor can still be a great resource or sounding board when you are navigating experiences beyond 1L, such as OCIs, preparing for a moot, or deciding on which upper-year opportunities to pursue.

Peer Menta l Hea lt h Support Pro g ra m (PMHSP) 1. The PMHSP can be a good first line in figur ing out what kind of help you need.

Mental health mentors are trained to help you nav igate the support programs available to students through the universit y and the communit y. If the PM HSP isn’t cutting it as a f irst line, students also have access to a counselor prov ided by the school.

2. Be proactive in developing a relationship.

Even if you are feeling good and don’t think you current ly need of the program, it is good to have a peer mentor in place for those “not so great” days. Law chats can

include good mental health days and positive emotions too.

3. The PMHSP helps with more than just exam stress.

Feeling like you might have a case of imposter syndrome? Do you need help sleeping well or eating better? The PMHSP helps with a lot more than nerves—mentors can help with whatever a law student might be dealing with in their life, even outside academics.

4. Go with a friend.

Often, if students are worried about the stigma of seeking mental health support, it can help to take a friend along to meet a peer mentor or to one of the PMHSP drop-in chats. Having a friend with you can go a long way towards making the environment as comfortable as possible.

5. Only share what you are comfortable sharing.

You are in control of the discussion with your peer mental health mentor. While you are encouraged to talk about the things in your life that are impacting your mental health, your PMHSP mentor will never ask you to talk about something that you aren’t comfortable or ready to share.

In Vino Veritas Strangely satisfying (or satisfyingly strange) selections TOM COLLINS (3L) “More ‘Frankenstein’ than ‘wolf man’”—that was the prompt I gave the In Vino Veritas team for this month’s reviews. We wanted to do something for Halloween so we decided to review strange wines: unusual grapes and blends.

You will notice some new names below. Please welcome the new 1L executive members of In Vino Veritas: Alexa Cheung, Angela Gu, and Olivia Mazza!

Tom Il Falcone Rosso Riserva Castel del Monte 2013 $24.95 at the LCBO This versatile wine is a blend of Nero (Uva) di Troia and Montepulciano. Nero di Troia grows in Troia, a town in the north of Puglia, Italy. According to legend, the ancient Greek hero Diomedes founded the town after the Trojan War, and the Greeks may also have brought the grape to Troia. Today, few cultivate it because it is difficult to grow well: it is very tannic and it ripens unevenly, defying a quick harvest. Il Falcone is a rare and pleasant example. It opens to aromas of dark red fruits, a faint smokiness, and tobacco. Its

flavours and light-medium body remind me a little of Pinot Noir. Look for bright, red fruit (especially raspberry), sour blueberries, and a long savoury finish. Pair it with mature cheeses.

Angela Deu la Deu Alvarinho 2018 $19.95 at the LCBO I love an underrated wine—one that doesn’t hail from famed regions with wineries that people like to name-drop. And I love easy-drinking bottles—nothing too intimidating because wine is to be enjoyed, not feared! Deu la Deu Alvarinho 2018 is both of those things. It’s a Portuguese vinho verde (literally “green wine”) from a region of the same name. I started exploring Portuguese wines this summer, enjoying cheap and cheerful vinho verde whites at backyard BBQs, a picnic in a park, and on the patio of a family-run Mediterranean restaurant.

Although vinho verde is catching on, this varietal is still a little out of the ordinary. And this cork-top bottle from Adega de Monção, a winemakers’ co-op, is different from the typical screwcapped and refreshingly spitzy white wines often

associated with the region. This one has no sparkle at all. It has a floral nose. It’s just a little fruity—not as crisp as some other vinho verde whites. It almost tastes…warm. I think I was getting a little vanilla. There’s some minerality, and it leaves a certain acidity I’m not sure I like. Deu la Deu is not exactly sunshine in a bottle, but it brings me a little joy.

Olivia Beringer Brothers Bourbon Barrel Aged Red Wine Blend $18.95 at the LCBO In honour of Halloween, we’re moving out of our comfort zones and trying new things (ooh scary!) I don’t necessarily drink bourbon, but I do love whisky. So, I thought it’d be fun to try this combination: a bourbon barrel-aged red wine blend. The blend itself is nothing wild; it is mainly Petite Sirah. But, the bourbon barrel aging intrigued me. The wine is fairly fruit-forward with primarily darker fruits like blackberry and black cherry. The bourbon barrel-aging process appears to have also given the wine a subtle, smoky flavour as well as some sweet, caramelly flavours.

That smoky sweetness carries through to the finish. The body was lighter than I expected, and it’s quite easy to drink. I would recommend letting it breathe, though. I left it to decant for about twenty minutes, which seemed to open up its flavours a bit more than when I first sipped it.

Kimia Château Bellevue La Forêt 2016 $14.95 at the LCBO This is an enchanting wine from southwest France. It stars the commune of Fronton’s rare and unusual Negrette grape, which makes up to 55 percent of this blend, and which gives the blend its dark, smoky quality. According to legend, the Knights Templar brought Negrette from Cyprus to France’s Gaillac. From there, the grape travelled west to Fronton, which today remains its almost exclusive home. This wine is smooth and full of character. The nose is ratxher spicy with aromas of fresh pepper, licorice, and smoke. On the palate, it is full-bodied and earthy, with longlasting dark fruit flavours. I tried it with Korean BBQ ribs and really liked the combo, but this wine would also pair excellently with classic French dishes.

8 | October 31, 2019

OPINIONS

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Wolf on Bay Street

I’m looking for a job, not a date ALINA YU (2L) Mont hs ago, I sent a t han k you ema i l to an associate at a big Bay St reet f ir m. T h is is par t of t he job (or, in t h is case, gett ing t he job): I tour t he f ir m, “net work”, and go home to w r ite a slew of ema i ls just d if ferent enough from one anot her t hat I can ca l l t hem “persona l ized”.

Pa r t ic ipat i ng i n t he la rge cor por ate recr u it s i s a na lo g i zed , om i nous ly, to d at i ng. You check out t he f i r m s’ prof i les a nd joi n t hem on a few st r uct u red event s de sig ned to let you get to k now each ot her. M aybe, you sha re a gla ss of w i ne. T he t ha n k you ema i l s a re a cont i nuat ion of t h i s r it ua l to get a “second d ate.” A s i s be i ng “on”— cha r m i ng, cha r med , i nterest i ng, i nterested.

B ec ause t he prem i se of pseudo - d at i ng a ser ies of l i m ited l iabi l it y pa r t ner sh ips i s, w it h i n t he contex t of leg a l employ ment ma rket places, somehow completely nor ma l, I a l most never have to wor r y about t he w i res get t i ng crossed. But t hat i s because job hu nt i ng i s not d at i ng.

Never t heless, somet i mes t he w i res do get crossed. Or, more accu r ately, people cross t he w i res (or t he l i ne.) I n my ca se, t h i s mea nt t hat t he a ssoc iate to whom I sent a t ha n k you ema i l reached out to me f rom h i s per sona l cel l phone to t he nu mber at t he bot tom of my ema i l sig nat u res. He proceeded to repeated ly tex t me, a s k i ng me to come get a d r i n k , to come over, to “ blow of f stea m”, etc.

He lef t t he tex t s su f f ic ient ly vag ue t hat he cou ld probably deny to h i msel f what he wa s up to. But h i s mot ives wou ld have been pla i n to a nyone el se.

T h i s development wa s at once ba na l a nd d i st ressi ng to me, i n a way I st i l l ca n not f u l ly a r t icu late. It wa s ba na l i n t hat it wa sn’t t h at bad. It wa s d i srespect f u l a nd creepy, but I ca n a nd do l ive w it h t h i s low-level sol ic it at ion, a s ma ny women do. But it wa s d i st ressi ng i n t he way t hat a l l ca ses of u ncom for t able, but quot id ia n, ma le at tent ion i n a professiona l contex t i s d i st ressi ng. T hat i s to u nder score t hat it wa s di s respect f ul a n d c ree p y. It made me

feel somehow less wor t hy of t he ba sic d ig n it y t hat t h i s ma n wou ld u nquest ionably dema nd for h i msel f.

T he con f l ict t hat I felt beca me more ident i f iable when I considered what t h i s u n for t u nate i nter act ion cha nged for me. W hen I a s ked my sel f, a rou nd OC I s, whet her I wou ld st i l l wa nt to work at a f i r m t hat employed someone l i ke t h i s ma n—I wa s not cer t a i n. It wou ld be w rong to say t hat I wou ld be happy to work w it h h i m, but I wou ld a l so be ly i ng i f I sa id t hat I wou ld n’t have been g r atef u l to be h i red at t h i s f i r m.

W hy? B ec ause it st i l l seems l i ke a ter r i f ic place. It exudes prest ige a nd i s a top choice for ma ny hopef u l su mmer st udent s.

I have been sex ua l ly ha r a ssed before. But , i n t hose sit uat ions, I felt l i ke I cou ld st a nd up for my sel f. I cou ld say, or a lea st t h i n k to my sel f, “ Fuck you. You’re no body ”, a nd move on. T h i s t i me, I d id n’t feel l i ke I had t he power to t h i n k t h i s way. He d id n’t rea l ly sex ua l ly ha r a ss me. He wa s s loppy a nd he made me u ncom for table, but I ca n’t a r t icu late qu ite where he crossed t he l i ne. I a m not even su re I cou ld say def i n it ively what so c ia l ly accepted l i ne he crossed. Wa s it tex t i ng me f rom h i s per sona l nu mber out side of work i ng hou r s? Wa s it t he content of h i s messages? But , t he most sig n i f ica nt i mped i ment to my sen se of secu r it y a nd closu re i s t hat he i s not “nobody ”. He wa s a nd st i l l i s more power f u l, more con nected , a nd more ex per ienced i n t he law t ha n I a m. He i s someone who cou ld weigh i n on my h i r i ng, my adva ncement , my reput at ion. He cou ld press h i s t hu mb dow n on t he sc a les, just bec ause he felt s pu r ned. I cou ld not t h i n k “ Fuck you”, bec ause I wa s at t he f i r m to send a message t hat “ I a m here a nd eager to be pa r t of t he tea m.”

I r a n my ex per ience by t wo people: a n upper yea r f r iend who I consider a mentor, a nd a close f r iend i n 2L .

B ot h women were saddened , but not su r pr i sed. It wa s not t he f i r st stor y my mentor had hea rd of. It depressed me to lea r n t hat she even had a det a i led g u idel i ne of “nex t steps when you r professiona l cont act t r ies to t u r n a net work i ng event i nto a pick-up.” My f r iend i n 2L had ex per ienced somet h i ng si m i la r but even wor se. She wa s u n luck y enough to have her ha r a sser esca late t he sit uat ion i n-per son i nto a phy sica l a ltercat ion.

Par t of t he confusion in my ow n feel ings about t he exper ience comes from t he unfor t unate fact t hat it seems to be relat ively nor ma l behav iour. It a lso seems incred ibly m inor. My inst incts r un cont rar y to t hemselves —I want to be upset t hat t h is is nor ma l. I a lso want to be nonchalant to somet h ing I cou ld have reasonably ex pected— especia l ly since it is in many respects so m inor. It is as t hough I am t r y ing to just if y to mysel f t hat I can be ang r y about somet h ing, even if it d id not r uin my l ife.

W hen, i n Aug ust , I had appl ied to t he Toronto re cr u it , I had a New York of fer i n my back pocket , a cou r se awa rd , a nd d i st i nct ion st a nd i ng. Yet , when I got a ny OC I s at a l l, I felt luck y. I never felt t hat I had a posit ion of pr iv i lege, t hat I wa s si mply get t i ng what I deser ved. I cer t a i n ly never felt power f u l enough t hat I cou ld let mysel f pi ss away a professiona l oppor t u n it y by t reat i ng it a s a pick-up. W hen t h i s law yer took adva nt age of t h i s power i mba la nce, he rem i nded of one of my most pro fou nd i nsecu r it ies: t hat , despite my ach ievement s, I a m somehow l ess t h a n — t hat I a m nobody. My g reatest f r us t r at ion when I t h i n k back to t h i s epi sode i s t hat he wa s able to do so, a nd t hat si m i la r law yer s i n si m i la r posit ions of power have made ot her ca nd id ates feel t h i s way.

A l l su m mer, t h i s f r ust r at ion never d id a ny t h i ng but pa ra ly ze me. W hat I ’m a f ter now i s d i f ferent—I ’m feel i ng not h i ng more compl icated t ha n a desi re to be t reated a s a somebody, wor t hy of respect .

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OPINIONS

October 31, 2019 | 9

Law School Needs to Live With Alumni Advocacy A response to the “Marcus McCann” Tweet LIAM THOMPSON (3L) I w r ite t h is as someone who has felt pressured to not pract ice law in less lucrat ive areas. Car r y ing over $10 0,0 0 0 in debt w i l l put t hat pressure on a person, and t he law school d im in ishes itsel f by not ex pl icit ly ack nowledg ing t h is. W h i le t he law school states t hat it is comm itted to access to just ice, it r ings hol low when t hey cont inue to squeeze st udents t ighter and t ighter f inancia l ly. T he law school is by no means t he on ly par t y w it h a role to play in add ressing t he access to just ice cr isis. But when t he law school act ively ta kes steps to quash d issent on t h is issue, it demonst rates just how l itt le it act ua l ly cares about ensur ing equitable access to lega l representat ion.

On Fr iday October 25, Marcus Mc-

Cann, a graduate of the law school and associate at Symes Street & M illard L L P, posted a troubling tweet. The tweet detailed a September 2015 email exchange between A ssistant Dean A lexis A rchbold and Lucianna Ciccocioppo, then Director of External Relations for the law school.

McCann obtained these communications v ia an “access to information” request.

The exchange is w ith regards to a speech that McCann delivered at an alumni event for the Class of 1975.

In his speech, McCann detailed the bleak gap between tuition and f inancial aid. Specif ically, he detailed how the gap between f inancial aid and tuition pressures students towards large-f irm pr ivate practice and away from less remunerative but

no less worthy practices. He detailed how our tuition is linked to the school’s lack of diversit y. A ssistant Dean A rchbold and Ciccocioppo painted the speech as disingenuous and designed to turn people of f of donating. In the last email in the chain, A ssistant Dean A rchbold said: “The key people on staf f should be aware of his name and f lag it if they see him/see his name on inv ite lists.”

As of press time, Assistant Dean Archbold did not respond to a request for comment.

In a later tweet, McCann stated that he has been inv ited back to the school tw ice since to discuss his role in inter vening in the Trinity Western case. Notw ithstanding that we do not know how much of an impact McCann’s f lagg ing has had on his subsequent interactions w ith the law school, this exchange should trouble you.

McCann spoke out against how disproportionate our tuition is compared to other law schools in the countr y, and, in response to this, it appears the school’s administration thought it prudent to potentially take

steps to curtail McCann’s speak ing out.

This is disturbing. I am not unsympathetic to the law school. I understand that budgetar y matters are in large part inf luenced

by Simcoe Hall rather than the Of f ice of the Dean. The law school may well f ind it objectionable that people would use their platform to speak about the impacts of tuition approaching $40,0 0 0. But it should not lie in the mouth of the law school to make any attempt to black list those who would raise their concerns w ith the current state of af fairs.

If there is a black list of people who are barred from alumni event inv itations and the like, then I hope that I am on it. A s it current ly stands, I have no intention of donating to the law school unless there is a drastic change in the amount of tuition demanded of students. I w ill not shy away from say ing that—and I would inv ite others to do the same. If the school intends to f lag anyone who objects to our tuition, our alumni base and any black list should be one and the same.

OPINIONS

10 | October 31, 2019

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A Cowboy’s Conundrum How my hunt for the perfect Halloween costume turned into an exploration of obsession, ethics, and international law TOM COLLINS (3L) Disclaimer: The author does not intend any of the legal commentary included in this article to be understood as legal advice.

The Obsession This is a $5,000 pair of boots. I bought them for $90. But I almost sold my soul to pay the bill.

Bargain hunting is my drug of choice. I crave the endorphin rush of deep discounts.

Ninety percent off kind of discounts. I spend about an hour each day prowling the digital savannah, stalking sales with unwavering focus.

Clothes are my favourite thing to shop for: they fulf il my need to express myself while serving a practical purpose. I do not buy much, but I buy quality. My clothes feel better and last longer. I still have a pair of raw denim jeans from 2005 and a cashmere sweater from the nineties, when Burberry was called Burberry’s. But the end result is incidental—I really just love the thrill of f inding something special.

Bargain hunting serves another purpose: it is a fantastic distraction. To make really advantageous deals, you need to commit yourself fully. You need to know what a good deal looks like and where it is likely to hide; you need to know your prey. This takes time and dedication—time and dedication that might, I admit, be better placed elsewhere.

I have had mixed feelings about law since I arrived here two years ago. I enjoy law, but it was never really one of my interests. Nor has it proven to be one of my strengths, even when I really try. I am a middling law student at best. As such, there are not many accolades to strive for. I did well at my job, because I pride myself on hard work, but now, with a job in hand, I f ind it diff icult to stay motivated in school. These days, I welcome distractions like gallery visits, elaborate meals, and, yes, online shopping.

Until a few weeks ago, my pastime had an air of plausible deniability to it. I could tell myself with slightly feigned conviction that it was just something that I did at tea-time—a ten-minute escape from the drier topics of legal study.

Then, I found these boots. My girlfriend and I had been brainstorming Halloween costumes. She suggested that we do something western: SExSW (Sex by South West). I loved it. I spent the f irst years of my childhood in Cochrane, Alberta, idolizing cowboy masculinity. Dressing up like an extra for The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada sounded like the perfect excuse to live a reallife fantasy of mine.

I started researching cowboy boots: a nice pair was the only missing element of my costume. I quickly learned that an El Paso company called Stallion makes the f inest ones money can buy. They start at USD $1,000. I was looking for part of a Halloween costume—something that most people get at the Dollar Store. But I was really looking for a serious addition to my wardrobe that I could also wear as part of my costume. I looked on eBay and immediately found what, in monetary terms, was the best deal I have ever come across: the pair of Stallions reproduced here.

The Law of Nations There was just one problem. The lower part of the boots was alligator leather. American alligator is a protected species under Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). Trading in endangered species is ethically fraught and, with good reason, a heavily regulated activity. CITES sets out the guiding principles for signatory countries’ trade regulations. The convention covers more than 35,000 species of plants and animals and groups them into one of three appendices according to vulnerability. Appendix II, which includes the American alligator, covers species that are not necessarily threatened with extinction, but which may become so unless trade in them is strictly controlled.

Signatory countries to CITES fulfil their obligations in different ways, with tailored import and export permits being a central means.

Navigating the panoply of licenses and permits is challenging—I suspect deliberately so. My current understanding is that, to import alligator skin boots into Canada through a commercial contract, one needs two things: an export license and a specific CITES-compliant export permit. The US Fish & Wildlife Service is responsible for issuing both documents. To get a license, it looks like you need to pay the USFWS USD $100 and retain a US-based record keeper for five years. To get a permit, you need to be able to prove the exact provenance of the alligator skin. I could not do either of these things.

There are legal ways to circumvent the above requirements: you can show that you inherited the alligator product. You can also show that the alligator product dates from before the treaty (i.e. before 1973). Neither of these exceptions applied to me. You can, however, just wear the alligator product across the border. That’s right. All I had to do was take a bus down to Niagara Falls, witness the majestic splendour of the waterfall from the US side, visit a nearby warehouse, put the boots on my feet, fill out a special customs declaration and walk back across the border. It was so simple!

Besides, what’s another $100 and a day trip to one of the Wonders of the World?

Although I meant that question rhetorically, when I heard myself ask it, I started to wonder if I had begun to lose my mind. I ultimately concluded that I had, but only partially because I was contemplating an international jaunt to secure part of a Halloween costume.

The Ethics One evening, I was speaking to my mum.

She has been a lifelong advocate of animal rights and animal welfare. I owe the majority of my most compassionate values to her teaching. She thought that it was absurd that I was contemplating travelling to the US just to buy a pair of boots; however, her main objection was that the boots were alligator skin. My mum urged me to consider whether I really wanted to advertise that it is acceptable to wear exotic animal skins. She reminded me that I unequivocally opposed to wearing any fur, however obtained, because I believe that it causes needless animal suffering. She believed that these boots were no different.

Initially, I was not convinced. My resistance flowed not from a belief that alligator skin

PHOTO: THE BOOTS. PHOTO CREDIT: TOM COLLINS (3L)

boots were fundamentally different than a fur coat, but from a logical conflict: I wear cow leather. Don’t cows suffer needlessly? I had tested what seemed like an arbitrary principle and concluded that it was arbitrary. The question was whether this principle was also morally misplaced.

My mum offered two other justifications for her stance. First, she argued that because cows are killed on a much larger scale, there is more oversight for their well being than for alligators. I was not convinced. The meat and leather industries are horrific, regardless of whatever oversight there is supposed to be. Second, she argued that, at least, people will eat the cow’s meat; few people eat alligator. Again, I was not convinced. If the argument is about net waste, then it is probably safe to say that far more cow products are wasted than alligator products (if only because there is less production of the latter). On the other hand, if the implication is about unit waste, then the argument fails to contemplate the possibility that

most cowhides do not become leather goods.

I was in conflict. I wanted to hang my straw hat on a principled rejection of unnecessary cruelty. Yet, I was still enchanted by the lure of potential savings. I was prepared to admit my human contradictions. I asked, “if everything I do, as a person, causes pain, do any of my actions matter?” Yes, my mum assured me. We have a choice, as individuals, to resign ourselves to the apathy of complacency and the cynicism of complicity or to strive to do better: to try to minimize the suffering that we cause.

She was right, of course.

Ultimately, I let them go. The boots had run into problems at customs, anyway, because the seller never bothered to get the proper CITES permit. I got my money back; the seller got his boots back. I took the opportunity to regain some perspective and control.

I am still going as a cowboy and I am still wearing some f lashy boots, just not ones that require such a spectacular feat of legal and ethical acrobatics.

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OPINIONS

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Co-Curricular Application Process Needs Improvement Selecting co-curricular activities shouldn’t be this difficult LUCY YAO (1L) A fter t he September appl icat ion deadl ines for PBSC , DL S, t he I H R P and t he A sper Cent re had passed, October promised to be a less hect ic mont h for 1L s.

However, t he co - cur r icu lar appl icat ions process cou ld have been less st ressfu l to beg in w it h, if a l l of t he publ ic-interest g roups consol idated t heir processes by send ing out of fers simu ltaneously.

DL S and PBSC coord inated to send out t heir respect ive of fers on September 17, wh i le t he I H R P and A sper Cent re not if ied st udents t hat t hey were assig ned to an I H R P or A sper Cent re work ing g roup t he week pr ior. St udents interested in volunteer ing w it h t he I H R P or t he A sper Cent re had to sig n up at t he infor mat ion ses sion on September 10. At t he infor mat ion session, st udents were told t hat if t hey were chosen for an I H R P or A sper Cent re work ing g roup, t hen t hey were comm itted

to t hat g roup. But, what if one were offered a placement at PBSC or DL S t hat better a l ig ned w it h one’s persona l goa ls af ter being selected for an I H R P/A sper Cent re work ing g roup and on ly had t ime for one co - cur r icu lar act iv it y? One wou ld be faced w it h t he d i lemma of eit her reneging on one’s earl ier comm it ment to t he I H R P/A sper Cent re, or t ur n ing dow n t he PBSC/DL S placement t hat appea led more to one’s persona l interests.

T he select ion process for each publ icinterest g roup shou ld be considered in relat ion to select ions made by t he ot her g roups, especia l ly since of fers for t he I H R P, t he A sper Cent re, and DL S were solely based on lotter y systems. Cur rent ly, t here is l im ited coord inat ion bet ween t he organ izat ions in decid ing wh ich st udents receive of fers. W h i le t he I H R P and t he A sper Cent re selected st udents based on a

un if ied lotter y system, t he A sper Cent re d id not coord inate w it h DL S or PBSC in its select ion process. DL S d id not coord inate w it h any of t he ot her publ ic-interest g roups in t heir select ion process. T he I H R P contacted t he ot her publ ic-interest organ izat ions to t r y to accommodate st udents who were interested in volunteer ing for mu lt iple organ izat ions.

St udents are encouraged to get involved outside of t he classroom and t hey are war ned about t he dangers of overcomm itt ing. However, t he appl icat ion process for co - cur r icu lar act iv it ies does not help st udents nav igate t h is ba lance. It wou ld benef it bot h st udents and a lso t he publ ic-interest g roups for of fers to be made simu ltaneously. St udents cou ld more easily choose wh ich organ izat ion to volunteer for based on t heir lear n ing goa ls and schedu les; organ izat ions cou ld produce

h igher qua l it y work by engag ing st udents who are t r u ly passionate about t heir involvement.

For t unately, t he SL S is act ively look ing at ways to work w it h t he ad m in ist rat ion to improve t he 1L cl in ic and jour na l appl icat ion ex per ience.* Hopefu l ly t h is resu lts in a simpl if ied appl icat ion process in fut ure years. T he star t of September was a lready st ressfu l enough for 1L s gett ing sett led into law school. Apply ing to volunteer w it h publ ic-interest organ izat ions shou ld not cont r ibute to t h is st ress need lessly. *Editor’s Note: SL S representatives welcome students to share any thoughts and concer ns about their exper iences f rom Septe mber. T he Student Af fairs and G over nance committee i s specif ically looking to address making infor mation centralized in one place for ea se of access, examining timing on deadlines, and deadlines for acceptance .

12 | October 31, 2019

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RIGHTS REVIEW The International Human Rights Program at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law An independent student-led publication Editors-in-Chief: Julie Lowenstein (3L) and Emily Tsui (3L, JD/MGA) Senior Editors: Rachel Bryce (3L) and Maddy Torrie (3L) Graphics and Social Media Editor: Adil Munim (3L)

IHRP SUMMER EXPERIENCES A FEW IHRP FELLOWS SHARE THEIR MEMORIES AND INSIGHTS FROM THEIR SUMMER EXPERIENCES ABROAD

By Joshua Eisen (2L), Isaac Gazendam (2L), Michelle LaFortune (2L), Spencer Nestico-Semianiw (2L), Teodora Pasca (2L), Liam Turnbull (2L)

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RIGHTS REVIEW

October 31, 2019 | 13

ISAAC GAZENDAM (2L) - HRW Rights Review (RR): Which organization did you work for and in which city and countr y?

Isaac Gazendam (IG): The Environment and Human Rights Division (EHR) of Human Rights Watch (HRW ), in New York City, United States.

RR: What were the highlights of your fellowship?

IG: I enjoyed the variety of projects and the opportunity to work with a diverse and dedicated team passionate about human rights and the environment. I worked on a major report throughout the summer, but I was consistently tapped for smaller projects, which allowed me to hone different research skills and gain substantive knowledge in a variety of subject ar-

eas. Also, it was gratifying to see my work used directly in HRW reports. Not to mention, working in the Empire State Building was pretty neat!

RR: What were some of the challenges that you faced this summer?

IG: Working under a super visor in a different time-zone could sometimes be challenging, but it was not insurmountable. Honestly, the biggest challenge was dealing with the New York summer heat in an apar tment without air conditioning.

That, and not being able to par take in the city’s incredible food scene because I had just had jaw surger y.

RR: What were some of your first impressions of the countr y/city where

you completed your fellowship? How/ did these impressions change over time?

IG: New York is huge! While it seemed just as humongous as I explored it over the summer, I came to recognize and love the smaller communities within the city. I came to understand how New Yorkers identified as strongly with their neighbourhoods as with their homes. I left the city loving it even more than when I arrived. It was invigorating to be par t of such a vibrant, diverse community.

RR: Share any thing interesting about your experience.

IG: In 2019, New York hosted World Pride and celebrated the 50th anniversar y of

the Stonewall riots. Marching with HRW in the Pride Parade during one of the biggest LGBTQ+ events in histor y was an amazing experience!

RR: What advice do you have for students hoping to be an IHRP fellow next year?

IG: Star t looking early and don’t be afraid to search for something outside of the suggested organizations if it matches your interests. And reach out for help in networking! To me, EHR at HRW was a dream, but with a little networking and a lot of persistence, it came true! Also, do it! The IHRP fellowship is an unparalleled experience that allows you to grow personally and professionally, so take full advantage.

TEODORA PASCA (2L) - IRMCT Rights Review (RR): Which organization did you work for, and in which city and country?

Teodora Pasca (TP): I worked for the United Nations International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT) in The Hague, the Netherlands. This tribunal has jurisdiction over war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide charges relating to conflicts in the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda.

RR:What were the highlights of your fellowship?

TP: I worked in Chambers supporting the legal staff of the IRMCT judiciary. In several cases, I was asked to survey the law on issues the tribunal had not yet concretely decided. Much of my research involved consulting criminal law and procedural standards across international and domestic jurisdictions—everything from the circumstances in which to admit hearsay, to what to do when an accused dies before the completion of their appeal.

Another highlight for me was the privilege of working with colleagues from all around the world and from different legal traditions. There was a strong international intern community in The Hague—through social events, I met students and recent graduates working at other courts or NGOs. The next time I want to go overseas, I have a lot of couches I can crash on!

RR: What were some of the challenges that you faced this summer?

TP: The volume and complexity of the evidence in international criminal proceedings was greater than I could have imagined. It was challenging to holistically wrap my head around enormous criminal cases (often involving hundreds or thousands of individual incidents and victims) while working on only small pieces of them. Given the gravity of the international crimes prosecuted at the IRMCT, I was initially shocked by the graphic nature of some of the exhibits and testimony, though my emotional strength in that regard definitely increased over time.

RR: What were some of your first impressions of the country/city where

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you completed your fellowship? How/ did these impressions change over time?

TP: The Hague is much cleaner, quieter, and sleepier than downtown Toronto. Over time, I really came to embrace the new environment and tried to make the most of that experience by living like a local. I sampled new cheeses from the grocery stores every week, tried (and failed) to learn some Dutch phrases, and rode my bike everywhere I went.

It was challenging to holistically wrap my head around enormous criminal cases (often involving hundreds or thousands of individual incidents and victims) while working on only small pieces of them.

RR: Share anything interesting about your experience (best meal, favourite memory, etc.)

TP: I travelled around Europe as much as I could, using weekends and vacation days to explore new countries. I encourage IHRP fellows to do the same wherever they are placed if they have the opportunity, because travel itself (especially solo travel) can be an amazing educational experience.

RR: What advice do you have for students hoping to be an IHRP fellow next year?

TP: I recommend applying widely and applying early (long before the internal funding application deadline). I would also encourage students not to be intimidated by applying to large, prestigious organizations like the United Nations. Many IHRP fellows have secured placements at such organizations and have had amazing experiences, which speaks to the strength of U of T Law’s reputation around the world.

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TEODORA PASCA AT THE IRMCT, THE HAGUE PHOTO CREDIT: TEODORA PASCA (2L)

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JOSHUA EISEN (2L) - ADALAH Rights Review (RR): Which organization did you work for, and in which cit y and countr y ?

es that you faced this summer ?

Joshua Eisen (JE ): I worked for Adalah —The Center for Arab Minorit y Rights in Haifa, Israel-Palestine.

RR: What were the highlights of your fellowship?

JE: Conducting legal research in suppor t of litigation, dealing with ever y thing from freedom of movement to free speech. I also helped lead tours with Adalah’s advocacy depar tment to unrecognized Bedouin communities in the Naqab-Negev Deser t.

RR: What were some of the challeng-

JE: The main challenge I faced was the language barrier. While Adalah definitely needed help conducting English-language legal research, the fact that I didn’t speak Arabic or Hebrew meant that I of ten couldn’t work on some of the most interesting and challenging cases.

Much of Adalah’s day-to-day business was conducted in Arabic, which also lef t me feeling frustrated with my lack of language skills. However, I should stress that people went out of their way to communicate in English when I was around.

RR: What were some of your fir st impressions of the countr y/cit y where you completed your fellowship? How/ did these impressions change over time?

JE: At first, Haifa was an ex tremely confusing cit y. It’s built on the slopes of Mount Carmel, and is divided into many distinct neighbourhoods, each with its own unique vibe and communit y. It took me a while to figure out where ever ything was and where I fit in. Haifa is also a fairly segregated cit y, which is normal for Israel but seemed unfor tunate to me as an outsider. I ended up spending a lot of time on Masada Street, a laid-back area with lots of cafes and bars that attracts a mix of young Israelis and Palestinians.

RR: Share any thing interesting about your experience (best meal, favourite memor y, etc.)

JE: One of my most memorable experi-

ences was going on a political tour of the Old City of Jerusalem with Green Olive Tours. It was fascinating (and disturbing) to learn how the religious right in Israel is buying up Palestinian homes in an attempt to “judaize” the Old City. Also, amazing hummus at Abu Hassan in Jaffa.

RR: What advice do you have for students hoping to be an IHRP fellow nex t year ?

JE: Make sure you put a lot of thought into choosing an organization that is working on something you are passionate about. While much of the work I did was interesting and engaging, there was also some menial stuf f; if I wasn’t passionate about the issues, I might have got ten a lit tle frustrated.

SPENCER NESTICO-SEMIANIW (2L) - ICC Rights Review (RR): Which organization did you work for, and in which city and countr y?

Spencer Nestico-Semianiw (SNS): I worked for the International Criminal Cour t (ICC) in The Hague, the Netherlands.

RR: What were the highlights of your fellowship?

SNS: My experience at the ICC was phe nomenal. For the majorit y of my summer, I was tasked with the Gaddafi appeal, where I summarized submissions by the Of fice of the Prosecutor, counsel for the defence, and the victims’ of fice. I identified legal issues that would likely arise on appeal and conducted research into

various statutor y interpretations and jurisprudential questions. I also assisted with editing, citation checks, format ting other Appeals Chambers judgments, and at tending cour t during their deliver y.

RR: What were some of the challenges that you faced this summer?

SNS: It was initially intimidating to work in international law, a field in which I had lit tle prior knowledge. In addition, the pace of work can be hard to manage. De pending on the number of appeals, the of fice can either be calm and quiet or suddenly hectic and boisterous.

RR: What were some of your first impressions of the countr y/city where

you completed your fellowship? How did these impressions change over time?

SNS: I found the Netherlands to be a ver y friendly and economical countr y.

The Hague was quiet but engaging, and I enjoyed visiting museums, smaller towns, and the canals over the weekends. It was ver y easy to feel at home there.

RR: Share any thing interesting about your experience (best meal, favourite memor y, etc.)

SNS: As I had never set foot in Europe before this summer (nor traveled at all really), I challenged myself to visit a new countr y ever y other weekend. I climbed

mountains outside the small town of Annecy in France, stumbled upon some tast y goulash in Prague, and visited the club where the Beatles first played in Hamburg. It was exhilarating and memorable—a welcome change from the first year of law school.

RR: What advice do you have for students hoping to be an IHRP fellow next year?

SNS: My advice is to star t early and speak to a mentor in international law. My alumni mentor passed on invaluable advice regarding how to structure and present my application materials. Star ting my applications in October gave me time to fine-tune and per fect them. Good luck!

LIAM TURNBULL (2L) - UNHCR Rights Review (RR): Which organization did you work for, and in which city and countr y?

Liam Turnbull (LT ): This summer, I worked at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Bangkok, Thailand (National Of fice Thailand Representation).

RR: What were the highlights of your fellowship?

LT: I was able to conduct inter views with both refugees and their family members to adjudicate claims for derivative refugee status. I would subsequently conduct countr y of origin information (COI) research to authenticate applicants’

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claims. Then, I incorporated my findings to draf t legal assessments to adjudicate applicants’ claims. I also draf ted decision notification let ters and gave these let ters to applicants in-person at ‘Notification of Decision’ counselling. During these counselling sessions, I directly notified applicants about the acceptance or rejection of their claim for refugee status.

protection counselling. I also gave counselling in Bangkok’s Immigration Detention Centre, where both asylum seekers and recognized refugees are regularly detained because they lack of ficial legal status in Thailand. Such work was extremely dif ficult but undoubtedly necessar y, and I was glad that I was able to provide advice and comfor t to the best of my abilit y.

RR: What were some of the challenges that you faced this summer?

RR: What were some of your first impressions of the countr y/city where you completed your fellowship? How/ did these impressions change over time? Share any thing interesting about your experience (best meal, favourite memor y, etc.)

LT: I had to conduct myself professionally in front of asylum seekers who were of ten ex tremely emotional and manage my own emotions to provide ef fective

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LT: It was my second time in Thailand, and it was great to continue learning about the countr y from ex tremely welcoming and friendly co-workers. I also had ver y interesting experiences training at a Muay Thai school af ter work.

RR: What advice do you have for students hoping to be an IHRP fellow next year?

LT: If you are selected to be an IHRP fellow, enjoy ever y minute of the experience and make the most of your time there.

Make sure to work hard for your organization to contribute positively to their work, but also remember to have fun and learn about the city you’re living in.

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MICHELLE LAFORTUNE (2L) - ADVOCATES FOR COMMUNITY ALTERNATIVES Rights Review (RR): Which organization did you work for, and in which cit y and countr y ?

you completed your fellowship? How/ did these impressions change over time?

Michelle LaFor tune (ML): Advocates for Communit y Alternatives (ACA), in Accra, Ghana.

ML: Accra is a vibrant cit y. It is well known for gorgeous, color ful fabrics and a lively ar ts scene. While I was there, I was able to at tend fashion shows, take dance lessons, and see a lot of live music. At first, I was a lit tle over whelmed by all Accra had to of fer, but by the end I felt completely immersed in its culture and cit y life.

RR: What were the highlights of your fellowship?

ML: My fellowship allowed me to work on novel legal claims, where a legal background and research skills could only take you so far. The ACA team relied on each other in the of fice, collaborating to find innovative approaches to protect communities’ land claims in West Africa.

RR: What were some of the challenges that you faced this summer ?

ML: Initially, my greatest challenge was get ting up to speed on the dif ferent sources of international human rights law. L ater, I was expected to conduct le gal research at both the international and domestic level. It was especially difficult finding cases from cer tain countries in Africa, as the databases and le gal research plat forms—if they existed at all—were much less accessible and comprehensive than Westlaw or Quicklaw.

RR: What were some of your fir st impressions of the countr y/cit y where

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RR: Share any thing interesting about your experience (best meal, favourite memor y, etc.)

ML: I was able to make lifelong friends in Accra. Some of us formed a soup club to tr y all the varieties of soup Ghanaian cuisine has to of fer.

RR: What advice do you have for students hoping to be an IHRP fellow nex t year ?

ML: Find a cause you are interested in and want to learn more about. Reach out to organizations who engage with that issue abroad. The issues we deal with here in Canada are also discussed around the world. The oppor tunit y to travel and see how that cause is approached abroad broadens your perspective and makes you a more wellrounded advocate.

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DIVERSIONS

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Welcome to 1Ls (revised)

A primer on success ANGELA HOU (3L)

To all the 1Ls out there: Welcome to the Faculty of Law. I am sure that you’re used to the pace of life around here by now. The PowerPoint-less lectures followed by incomprehensible readings. The complete disorganization of your PBSC placement. The fact that if you consume anything that isn’t a Goodmans coffee or a Junior Chicken from McDonald’s, you get ad nauseam.

You’re also probably lost and confused because no one has told you exactly what you should do to succeed. This is odd because success only means one thing and there’s a clear formula for achieving it.

Don’t worry, sweet children, I’m here for you.

I’m a 3L, and I have a Bay Street job (by now you know that here at U of T Law, that’s the only measure of self-fulfillment and success you’ll ever need).

How to read, brief, and go to class I learned in 1L that it is absolutely critical to read all of your assigned readings three times before you go to class. Brief every single case you’re assigned AND every single one mentioned in the notes. It’s definitely not overkill to brief every case subsequently cited by those cases—show some initiative.

If you don’t do at least this, then don’t even keep reading. You’ve already failed. You’re already a failure.

My approach to briefing was very consistent.

I used a set of highlighters for my initial read though—not that LexisNexis or Westlaw shit that people keep hawking; get the good stuff.

This is my highlighting system:

• • • • • • • • •

• •

Yellow for facts; Dark yellow for relevant facts; Tan for obiter dicta; Beige for reasoning related to the ratio decidendi; Khaki for the ratio; Green for the holding; Burnt umber for the concurrence’s difference of opinion; Baby blue for the concurrence’s agreement with the majority; Chartreuse for when the concurrence throws their hands in the air because they just can’t deal with the majority anymore (admin cases only); and Mauve for the dissent (Yes! The ENTIRE dissent); Whiteout for vowels.

Obviously, when there are multiple concurrences, you’ll have to buy more highlighters.

Now that you’ve done your first two readings, it’s time to brief. Feel free to do it in much the same way I’ve outlined above. The more you include, the more you know.

If you don’t understand or agree with something, or if you think up a cool hypothetical that you’re sure no one has ever thought of, bring it up in class. Everyone loves the person who takes up 20 minutes of class time to discuss a hypothetical! You will be the pride and joy of the Class of 2022.

How to study Around reading week, you must begin exam preparation. If you don’t, you’re going to LP every single exam (if you’re lucky).

First, re-read everything. It’s not enough to re-read just your summaries—you won’t know what you missed. You must re-read all your readings.

Then, make a summary and/or a map and/or both. Just make something. Of course, you know exactly what they are and the difference between them by now. What I do is first make a summary then turn it into a map by taking out all of the consonants.

Once you’ve done all that for each of your classes (i.e. by the Friday of reading week), you can start on practice exams. Do all the online ones first, then move on to the older ones in the library. The librarians keep the oldest, most valuable ones locked away in a safe in Bora Laskin’s basement. You may have to bribe a librarian to get your hands on them, but it’s worth it for the sweet, sweet smell of success.

How to write an exam Just copy your map verbatim. Professors love reading your perfect maps. They will shower you with HHs and give you a gold star too!

How to network If you don’t network, you won’t get a job. It’s that simple. Unless you have over 1,500 connections on LinkedIn, including the managing partners of all the major firms in Toronto, you don’t have a chance in hell of making it through the 2L Recruit.

Do every single firm tour. Do everything sponsored by any firm in Toronto. They will definitely remember you come Recruit season.

They’re watching you.

When you attend an event, choose a couple of lawyers that will be your “prey” and then “stalk” them. Hide behind servers carrying hors d’oeuvres or conveniently located podiums in firm boardrooms. Find out what they like. If they discard a DNA sample, keep it. Just in case.

By doing this, you will have specific questions or relatable comments for lawyers during your 2L interviews. These may include: “Did you ever get that cold looked at?” or “I, too, pretend to be vegan but then sneak to my office at night to eat hunks of salami in secret like a hyena.”

How to extra-curricular You should take on as many volunteering opportunities as you can, even though you know there are people who don’t have any. Their loss, am I right? It’s not like this is a profession where collegiality and reputation are everything.

Do all three journals, but only really try for Law Review because it seems more important for some reason.

In conclusion Don’t believe anyone when they tell you 2L will be easier.

Editor’s Note: Angela Hou doesn’t take herself seriously, so you shouldn’t take this article seriously either.

If you’re lost & confused in 1L, reach out to someone. If it’s academic-related, use the Academic Success Program. If it’s more that law school is emotionally overwhelming (because it is!), go to Law Chats or talk to the Faculty mental health support team.

I am sick of the law school ...literally ALEXA CHEUNG (1L) A h, the sweet smell of germs in the air, the harmonious symphonies of snif f les and coughs, and the beautiful sight of trash cans over f low ing w ith used tissues. Welcome back to my favour ite time of year — f lu season.

A s if crushing student debt, ex istential cr ises, and imposter syndrome wasn't enough, law students also have to account for their health rapidly declining precisely when the work load ramps up.

Since the major it y of us spend basically all our time in the Jackman Law Building, let us explore how some of our favour ite features of the building are helping to cultivate the germs.

The Stress Stress? At law school? Groundbreak ing.

But that’s r ight ever yone, the ever-present fear of being cold-called on the ONE day you forgot to do your readings, or the panic you feel when you realize at 11:0 0 pm that you forgot to read the additional 50 pages the prof br ief ly assigned f ive minutes before the end of class can really take its toll on your physical and mental health. Stress can signif icant ly weaken the immune system, which makes you even more susceptible to the var ious f lu strains running rampant in the student population.

The (so - ca l led) K itchen We have approximately 60 0 students, whose diverse culinar y needs depend on a grand total of one fr idge and three microwaves. I don’t mean to panic anyone, but you can do the math. W hile not a medical

expert, I can conf ident ly say that those microwaves are naaaaaast y. On the 9th of October, a lone cholera vaccine was seen literally just chilling in the fr idge. Is the k itchen cleaned reg ularly? Has it ever been cleaned? By who? How old are these microwaves? I have many questions about the microwaves and (unfortunately) no answers.

The Diets So apart from microwaved leftovers, sometimes us sad, broke students can also look for ward to the nutr itionally balanced and delicious free food ser ved by the law school and its var ious student societies.

However, realit y often does not match up to our expectations.

R iddle me this—how many slices of Pizza Pizza can a person eat before their or-

gans mutiny due to the lack of nutr ients?

The answer is exact ly one sad litt le pepperoni slice, ser ved in that sadly all-toofamiliar br ight orange cardboard box.

The Handouts W hen a stack of 20 highly relevant and educational pieces of paper are passed around by 15 pairs of snott y, unwashed hands, it is inev itable that germs get spread around the room. Bonding w ithin your small group is always encouraged, but methinks that cultivating a shared microbiome is going too far.

So if you see me around the law school still snif f ling in two weeks, please know that these factors are all the ways my education is mak ing me sick. These are all torts, and this w ill def initely be admissible and highly persuasive ev idence in court.

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October 31, 2019 | 17

Classic 1L Mistakes

I’ve made a huge mistake

VIVIAN CHENG (1L) So you’ve finally found a decent place to live.

And your roommates are other law students to help you with school. In September, everything is great—you talk about your hobbies, attend social events, and maybe even go to the gym together. Then October hits, that first LRW assignment comes back, and you realize that your roommates are the competition.

“What did you get on the assignment?”

“How many extracurriculars are you doing?”

“How many job interviews do you have lined up?” “How much are you drinking at Call to the Bar?” You might luck out and feel reassured by your roommates’ answers. You also might realize you happen to be rooming with the future gold medalist. Most likely your roommates are in the same position as you and all you end up doing is hyperventilating into paper bags together.

No, that kind of negative energy is not needed in your home. Find yourself some med students and feel reassured that as stressed as you might be, you’re not nearly as stressed as you could be.

Not turning t he “track changes” feature of f before subm itt ing your assig n ments Be detail-or iented. Obsessively check over your assignments before submitting them, especially if you wr ite snarky comments to yourself like: “Unsure if I’ll ever graduate,” “A rg ument weaker than your bench press.”

Many of us w ill be submitting most assignments past 2:0 0 am, so be sure to develop that attention to detail even as you suf fer from sleep depr ivation.

Fa l ling asleep in class You’re running on two hours of sleep and you’re sitting in a warm classroom while the professor’s monolog ue drones on in the background. You start blink ing slowly, tr y ing to ward of f the impending sleep. You are unsuccessful. Your head comes to gent ly rest on your keyboard and your notes devolve into Icelandic glacier names. Inev itably, the f ive minutes of class you miss w ill compr ise the entirely of the

policy question come exam time.

A nd never, ever fall asleep in the front row.

Lurking t he g roup chat in class It’s another Propert y class, and another Pierson v Post reference goes by.

You lurk the group chat, f ill in your bingo square, and update the Excel sheet of all the Pierson v Post references made per class.

A s tempting as mak ing legal jokes w ith your law school fr iends may be, this is not appropr iate use of your education. You pay approximately $50 0 per class, so you should make the most of it.* Being crushed when you get a P Cont rar y to popu lar bel ief, l ife isn’t over when you get a P. A s Ty pe A overach ievers, it’s hard to swa l low your pr ide, but you just have to get over your complex and rea l ize t hat you’re no longer specia l.

U of T L aw is t he place where smar t peo ple go to feel med iocre. Remember, accord ing to t he “ Welcome to L aw School”

session, a l l Ps are equa l to an 84% .

Overloading yourself w it h extracurriculars I’m prett y sure that ever y upper year warns you not to take on too much. A nd yet, you can’t help but take on too much.

Before you know it, you’re up at 3:0 0am f ighting back tears as you set your alarm for 5:0 0am.

Giv ing up your relat ionship for law school Love is easy, but law is hard.

W hile signif icant others can distract you from your readings, mak ing time for the people who you care about is important for work-life balance. You shouldn’t g ive up other aspects of your life. L ife isn’t law, and law isn’t life. *Editor’s Note: Diversions apologizes for this unscheduled #realtalk . We promise to make more jokes next issue.

Dear Denning

Seeking an injunction in the name of pleasure

LORD DENNING MR Dear Denning: My boyfr iend Chip won’t go down on me! Can I get an order for specific perfor mance?

- Uma Unsatisf ied Dear Uma: Mr. Chip is a scrub, employed by noone in particular. In 2018, he was minded to get himself a g irlfr iend. He prefers it in summer, rather than in the “cuf f ing season.” He was look ing for ward to the sex and an occasional night out. It was to be his one personal indulgence. Chip saw a Tinder prof ile made by you. On the faith of that prof ile, he decided to sw ipe r ight.

You instant ly fell in love w ith his carefree attitude and silken-smooth pickup line: “Call me the f ireman, because I turn on the hoes.”

But there was to be trouble in paradise.

A fter your f irst date at Boston Pizza, Chip

would not go down on you. This is despite you insistent ly and repeatedly gestur ing towards your nethers. Chip explained that he thought a good English man should “never do anything DJ K haled wouldn’t do”.

In the old courts of common law, you would have been w ithout a remedy. Plaintif fs could not br ing suit for lack ing sexual per formance. A s an institution made up entirely of 70 -something year old men, the House of Lords was war y of awarding judgements against failed sexual per formers.

Only Lord Dilhorne repeatedly opposed the House of Lords. In his notable dissent in Stacy v Chad (1950) 1 HL 2 he wrote: “Though I am unable to agree as to the disposition of this appeal, I concur w ith the major it y in f inding that I won't stop till you're f inished; you ain't felt love till a

gangsta get up in it, Dream.”

Despite the common law’s reticence, remedies were w idely available in equit y.

In 1502, the careless Lord Chancellor Thomas “Cashmoney” Collins inadvertent ly granted a f ilthy peasant’s petition to compel sexual per formance from a sheep.

Cashmoney Collins LC was badly hungover from Lord Sandw ich’s nobilit y kegger while hear ing the matter, wasn’t pay ing attention, and granted the petition w ithout reading it to get the litigants to stop talk ing to him.

Ever since this fateful decision, orders for specif ic sexual per formance were available in equit y. To obtain an order, a petitioner needed to satisfy the court that it would be less work to blindly grant their request than to listen to w itnesses tell their bor ing life stor ies.

Uma, I am already bored of your stor y. I

w ill quick ly and haphazardly dispose of this appeal. The remedy is if Chip w ill not go down on you, he w ill be held in contempt of court. It w ill be no answer for him to say: “But DJ K haled doesn’t go down!”

K haled is an idiot. His words are no part of English law.

This remedy may leave you in an unfortunate position. Chip w ill be impr isoned if he does not comply w ith the order. Your summer slam-piece may spend all summer sitting in the slammer. Should Chip be carcerally committed he w ill presumably be unable to fulf il your desires.

Shou ld t h is happen you may get back on Tinder. But I can fash ion a better just ice.

Come to t he Roya l Cour ts of Just ice Bui ld ing in West m inster any t ime after 9.

My parents aren’t home. L i ke L ord Di lhor ne, Denn ing is a lso a d issenter ;)

18 | October 31, 2019

DIVERSIONS

ultravires.ca

Intra Vires

Totally real news from around the law school CODY MILLER (3L), RORY SMITH (3L), AND HONGHU WANG (3L) Facult y Council Attendance Drops Precipitously A fter Lunch No L onger Prov ided

the f irst year mandatory legal research and writing workshop with Justice Lorne Sossin.

Attendance dropped steeply at the most recent Facult y Council meeting on October 23, 2019. Chair Ed Iacobucci took the unprecedented move to call upon Sergeantat-A rms Benjamin A lar ie to gather reluctant Facult y Council members.

Sergeant-at-A rms A lar ie was seen rousing professors, staf f, and students classroom-by-classroom from nearby events where food was ser ved, such as the Mar y and Philip Seeman Health Law, Policy & Ethics Seminar Ser ies, the The James Hausman Tax Law and Policy Workshop, and the Cr itical A nalysis of Law Workshop.

Assistant Dean Sara Faherty was spotted hastily gathering leftover tuna wraps from

Ca l l Day Sees Spike in 9 -1-1 Ca l ls There was a spike in 9 -1-1 calls this past week from worr ied roommates of 2L s across Toronto as another Call Day came and went. 2L s were seen var iously shak ing, ner vously mutter ing, and shr iek ing from pent-up anx iet y.

Intra Vires urges any 2L s coping w ith post- Call Day stress to take a bubble bath, play some rag time music on an old-timey stand-up piano, and do their shr iek ing into a pillow.

Cog nomos Now Being Used for Public Interest Placements The law school has of fered to let PBSC,

DLS, the IHR P, and the A sper Centre use Cognomos to assist w ith student placements.

W hen reached for comment, DLS said they were “thr illed to unleash Cognomos on unsuspecting 1L s. That’ll teach them to complain about our process.”

In related news, applications to public interest placements are expected to decline precipitously.

In Memoria m: The Water Filter outside Bora Laskin The long beleag uered water f ilter outside Bora Lask in L ibrar y passed away earlier this fall after a long batt le w ith “Needs Replacement.” A memor ial plaque has been placed over the indicator light to mark its passing.

Cur iously, the memor ial plaque was not engraved pr ior to its installation. It is presumed that the facult y w ill remedy this oversight short ly. Intra Vires has been unable to conf irm if the water fountain’s f ilter has in fact been replaced.

Co -ed Basketba l l Tea m Turns to Ct hulhic R ite in Response to Poor Record In an ef fort to turn around their season, the co-ed basketball team drew straws to see whose collarbone would be broken in sacr if ice to A zathoth, Lord of the Intramurals. Unfortunately, the chosen method was to throw basketballs at the unlucky player’s collarbone. A s of publication, none of the balls have found their intended target.

INTERESTING CASES, FRIENDLY FACES.

AZATHOTH, LORD OF THE INTRAMURALS. PHOTO CREDIT: CC BY DOMINIQUE SIGNORET.

Why did you choose McMillan?

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John Clifford Partner, M&A | Head, Business Law Group Co-Chair, Inclusion & Diversity Committee

2017 • 2018 • 2019

Take the lead in your career.

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Preparing for the Recruit Special Edition Student input requested!

RORY SMITH (3L) Ultra Vires is once again gearing up for its Recruit Special Edition. And we’re looking for input on how to conduct this year’s coverage.

A longside the data of how many students each f irm hired, the centerpiece of the recruit special is the extensive survey f illed out by 2L students. The questions include detailed demographic questions to shed more insight on the composition of the 2L class (complementing the entry data compiled by admissions) as well as recruit-specif ic questions such as the number of applications sent out, of fers received, 1L grades, etc.

If you have any burning questions about the 2L recruit that you would like answered or any ideas on what you would like to see in the upcoming Recruit Special, please email editor@ultravires.ca.

For example, previous articles have focused on the impact of 1L grades on recruit success, correlations between success in the dif ferent 1L classes, and recommendations for future students undergoing the recruit. For other examples of typical Recruit Special coverage, you can access prior Recruit Specials (as far back as 2014) at ultravires.ca under the “Special Features” tab.

In previous years, the demographic and recruit questions have been aggregated into one omnibus anonymous survey.

This allowed for statistical analysis showing whether any demographic factors were predictive of recruit success.

However, historically, the only signif icant predictive factors have been 1L GPA and being in the JD/MBA program.

(And even then, these factors were associated only with

OCI success, not with recruit success. See last year’s article “Factors Associated with 1L Grades and Recruit Success: Nothing predicts anything” for more details). Crucially, none of the demographic factors have shown any signif icant correlation over several years of data.

On the f lip side, combining the two sets of questions reduced students’ privacy and potentially allowed their 1L grades and recruit success to be linked to their personal identity - especially for those students with distinctive demographic prof iles. While U V tries its best to eliminate the chances of any given student being identif ied (the precautions will be the subject of an entire forthcoming article) there is always the risk that a student’s responses could be traced back to them personally. Given the sensitive nature of some of the questions asked, this risk could understandably cause some students to decline to answer certain questions (or decline to f ill out the survey entirely).

Because we want the survey to honestly ref lect students’ experience with the recruit, this year, U V is planning to separate the demographic and recruit surveys. The demographic survey will contain detailed questions about age, sex, race, income, debt, etc. The recruit survey will ask about 1L grades, extracurriculars, applications, OCIs, inf irms, etc. If you have any thoughts on the change, please contact us at editor@ultravires.ca.

Ultimately, we are only as good as the data we collect, and we can only collect the right data if we know which questions to ask. Please help us make this Recruit Special the best one yet.

Merit is everything.

If you’re talented and do great work, we have a place for you. Reach out to our students to learn more.

John Aziz Class of 2020

Zachary Green Class of 2021

Andrew Helsdon Class of 2019

Kimberly Legate Class of 2020

Kate Mazzuocco Class of 2020

Samantha Rosenthal Class of 2020

Timothy Shin Class of 2019

Teraleigh Stevenson Class of 2020

Nicholas Tomazos Class of 2019

Michael Xia Class of 2019

dwpv.com/students

@daviesstudents