RSS FeedComfortable in a kippa or a kaffiyeh
Published in today’s Star and reproduced here at the request of the authors.
Apartheid or no apartheid, what is going on across Canadian university campuses this week is not a mature and helpful way to promote dialogue and raise awareness.
In the standoffs that result year after year during this week, the people involved on both sides further alienate the public at large. For Osgoode Hall Law School students, this week means trying to avoid all the protests and counterprotests taking place around York University’s campus.
Thankfully, there are no protests at the law school and no posters to be found on any of its walls. The law school accommodates all of us so that everyone who walks around feels comfortable no matter his or her religion, political views or nationality.
As Osgoode students, we find the events at York to be strange. There is no discussion taking place, but rather two sides screaming at each other.
It is no surprise that these encounters frequently end with the police being called and both sides being charged by the university. It would be truly devastating if somewhere down the line these encounters result in violence or someone being seriously hurt, if that has not already happened.
At Osgoode Hall, the Jewish Law Students’ Association and Muslim Law Students’ Association may have different agendas and goals but we are all friends with each other. We do not all have to agree with each other’s views to respect one another.
When friends discuss politics, even such hot topics as Israel and Palestine, you are more open to listen to the other side and hear the points they are making. No megaphones, no flags, just two groups listening to what the other has to say.
Often, members of our associations have admitted that they have had to rethink certain issues and change certain opinions they held due to some of these open and collegial discussions.
Apartheid Week only seeks to divide the campus more than it already is. Whereas the JLSA and MLSA are open to working together to try to host events that speak to the students’ common goals, such as finding lawyers to come talk to our groups about difficulties maintaining our religious practices in the workforce, or issues of keeping kosher and Halal at law firms, the thought of something like this taking place at York is worrying.
Additionally, Osgoode Hall offers courses in both Jewish and sharia law. One need not be of any specific nationality or religion to attend, and it would not be considered strange if anyone took up the offer.
By learning about the history and background of the other, we see that other as a human being rather than part of an ideology, and the debate suddenly becomes more humane. The way that Israel Apartheid Week is conducted only seeks to exploit the differences between us and does not focus on any of the good that we can do together or that can be achieved by having proper discourse in a responsible, academic setting.
Until the activists on both sides of the debate realize this, nothing will be achieved and emotionally charged students will continue to yell and scream at each other while not being heard and achieving nothing.
Debate is never futile, but what goes on at York’s campus can hardly be referred to as anything resembling a debate. This only seeks to increase animosity between the two sides while ignoring the good that we can do together.
Let both sides cool off, and when they are ready to have a true dialogue, let it take place in a civil forum. Right now nothing is being gained, and so much is being lost.
We are thankful that the law school is a place where we can be comfortable walking around in both kippas and kaffiyehs, and where the two groups can talk and consider each other as friends.
We may be somewhat divided on the issue of Israel and Palestine, but we realize that there are reasonable arguments on both sides of the debate, and have tried to come to an agreeable position.
While this will not bring peace to the Middle East, it fosters an environment where everyone feels comfortable about who they are, something that is wholly lacking at York University currently.
Joseph Juda is co-president of the Jewish Law Students’ Association at Osgoode Hall Law School. Ahsan Mirza is president of the Muslim Law Students’ Association at Osgoode Hall Law School.
Osgoode Gets Down to Business
With all the negative press surrounding the York strike in recent weeks, it’s a welcome change to hear that something productive is going on at the northern Toronto university: Osgoode Hall is teaming up with fellow York faculty Schulich School of Business to create the Jay and Barbara Hennick Centre for Business and Law, an interdisciplinary learning centre which will aim to produce lawyers with sound business sense.
The initiative was made possible by a $3 million donation from Jay Hennick, the Toronto-based founder and CEO of FirstService Corporation, a real-estate service company with more than US$1.5 billion in annualized revenues.
Mr. Hennick, who attained a B.A. from York and LL.B. at the University of Ottawa, had previously donated $500,000 to his legal alma mater to establish the UofO’s Jay Hennick LL.B/MBA Program.
Unlike a joint J.D./MBA (formerly LL.B./MBA) format, the Hennick Centre will grant a business/law degree in just three years, as opposed to the joint degree’s four.
Additionally, the Centre plans to launch a business certificate program for already-practising lawyers, similar to the executive MBA currently offered at many business schools.
The Hennick Centre is allegedly modeled after a similar program at NYU, and, by taking advantage of faculty integration, aims to move beyond a current system which creates “good technicians grounded in the law, but who lack business judgment.”
The framework for this project has been being laid since at least June 2008, and the advisory board is still adding to its roster of big-business lawyers and entrepreneurs.
A formal launch for the Hennick Centre will take place tomorrow, Friday, February 6th 2008 at the Hilton Toronto Hotel. The reception will feature former Ontario Premier Mike Harris introducing the keynote speaker, current Federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty. Perhaps if Mr. Flaherty (originally a small-town personal injury lawyer) had been able to take advantage of such an innovative program in his day, he would be exercising better business judgement while managing one of the world’s largest economies.
Could Osgoode Law Students Sue Over Strike?
Most of our readers would be aware of the ongoing strike at York University led by CUPE 3903. York administrators have also indicated serious financial difficulties.
What people may not have realized is that the strike also affects law students at Osgoode Hall.
A second-year Osgoode student, Thomas Wisdom, shares the challenges some of his peers are facing,
First- and second-year students with summer jobs: A lot of people are ecstatic about the fact that they will be gainfully employed at law firms in the summer months… [but] they face the frustration of renegotiation start dates with their employers.
Daniel Simard, also in his second year, points out how graduating students are also impacted,
…third year students could potentially be detrimentally impacted if they have to complete their studies well into the month of May; the period perennially allotted for the fulfillment and preparation of licensing requirements mandated by the Law Society of Upper Canada, including Bar Admissions.
Parents and students have also expressed that the reputation of York University, and by extension, Osgoode Hall, may be affected.
But do all these concerns give a right to sue? The Globe & Mail mentioned yesterday that some of the families are considering a class-action lawsuit against both York University and the union.
See the rest of the post at Slaw; Simon Fodden points out that classes have resumed at Osgoode, but could a cause of action be made in the future, depending on the fallout from these students’ legal careers?
How Quami Frederick Got Busted
We previously wondered how The Star discovered that Quami Frederick used a fake degree to get into Osgoode.
Yesterday, The Star revealed how they came across the information,
Frederick’s name is on a list of bogus-degree buyers compiled by U.S. Homeland Security and Secret Service agents who took down a Washington State diploma mill in 2005.
Fine, but what if she had a more common or generic name like Jane Doe? She probably would never have been cross-referenced to a law student in Canada.
And do we really want to rely on terrorist watchlists for law school admissions? Privacy concerns around the admissions process are already discouraging some potential applicants.
Osgoode has proclaimed they will tighten their admissions process to ensure this doesn’t happen again.
Ontario graduates already have to go through OLSAS, which receives transcripts directly from the institutions in the province. Foreign graduates are supposed to have their education reviewed by the World Education Services. How Fredrick circumvented this last control is still unclear.
What this will probably mean is that foreign graduates, who comprise a small minority of law students, will come under greater scrutiny. Those with non-traditional names will probably attract even more attention.
If minority students or those with diverse backgrounds, including educational experiences abroad, and inadvertently excluded or discouraged through the law school admissions process it would be truly unfortunate.
On the other hand, the new Osgoode admissions criteria is supposedly planned to give greater weight personal statements, which could ensure that a rich student body is maintained.
Of greater concern are law firms like Wildeboer Dellelce, who may be reluctant to get burned a second time. Let’s hope they continue to value the importance of diversity, in all of its forms, to the success and future of their firms.
Classes Resume at Osgoode Hall
Today York University’s Executive Committee of Senate approved the Remediation Plan put forth by Dean Monahan which will permit Osgoode Hall to resume classes on December 1 for all LL.B courses not instructed by members of CUPE 3903.
In making its decision the Executive Committee took into consideration various factors including Law Society requirements for certification and the impact of a continued strike on the ability to access the licensing process in Ontario and elsewhere.
Additionally, Osgoode Hall oversees many clinical programs which provide services to low income communities and families which would also be detrimentally impacted if classes did not resume shortly.
All students who do not wish to participate in classes during the continuation of the strike will be fully accommodated and receive the protections set out in the Senate policy.
Yet Another Strike at York University (and Osgoode Hall)?
On November 6 at 12:01am, the York University community could experience its third strike (pun intended) in just over a decade. All three Unit Members represented by CUPE 3903, which include approximately 950 contract faculty, 1850 teaching assistants and 550 graduate members will be legally allowed to picket around the campus first thing Thursday morning.
The Union remains steadfast in its unrealistic demand of 30% wage increases and full tuition fee waiver (for a complete description of the terms see here). These outlandish demands couldn’t come at a more inopportune time.
The University’s Board of Governors just this past June called for a 2% budget cut in each year of the three year plan. Coupled with widespread effects of the global financial crisis, the financial situation of the university is less than prosperous.
So how does this impact Osgoode Hall Law School?
Unfortunately, like nearly every other program and faculty at York (with the exception of Schulich School of Business’s MBA program), Osgoode Hall will have to suspend classes.
Administration, faculty and student government are hurriedly brainstorming contingency plans in light of a protracted halt to law school classes. Although no line has been drawn, in the event of a lengthy strike, third year students could potentially be detrimentally impacted if they have to complete their studies well into the month of May; the period perennially allotted for the fulfillment and preparation of licensing requirements mandated by the Law Society of Upper Canada, including Bar Admissions.
Unlike the majority of my peers, I am in the unique position which allows me to be a member of CUPE 3903 as a teaching or graduate assistant. I enjoy full-time graduate status as a student of the joint LL.B and Masters of Environmental Studies program. And although I am currently unemployed, I have been a member of the Union.
Through my previous experience I have this to say
During my first full year as a graduate student, if you tally my entrance scholarship, GA position and external funding, I made well over $15,000 as a student of higher education (after paying for 3 semesters of tuition). I had great flexibility with my working hours and a health care plan that rivaled government employees. An additionally perk was that my position fostered networking and socializing with faculty and professors and looked purddy (sic) on my resume.
It had to be my most comfortable employment position and if you reduced it to an hourly wage my most financially friendly. I was more than grateful for the work, yet I accepted it for what it was, a source of internal funding.
Now for what really irks me
I am a supporter of unions (in most instances) and freedom of association, but in this instance 45,000 students are being used as a bargaining chip in the bad faith negotiation strategy of CUPE 3903. I make this claim with insider information coupled with the Union’s persistent refusal to enter into binding arbitration.
The support staff of York University is already the highest paid in the province yet they still feel it appropriate to use their Charter right of association to press for increased wages. Unions weren’t established to be used as a sword of these sorts; they were formulated to shield workers from managerial and corporate exploitation. Alternatively, they should not be allowed to ransack the careers of 45,000 students for their avaricious desires.
On a serendipitous conversation with a fellow graduate student and member of the Union, I asked: How come the other graduate students aren’t concerned about the interests of the majority of students? The response: they simply don’t care. Interesting that the very employees that are paid to teach have no consideration for their pupils and fellow peers.
They counter that they have broad support for student groups and organizations, yet I was never asked for my thoughts. Moreover, much of their student support is merely an instinctual and thoughtless show of student solidarity. When subjected to make up classes, the proposition of being held back a year, and inconvenience of rearranging substantial plans, many will likely cross the aisle after an intelligent and rational assessment of the Union’s demands.
Unlike the normal undergraduate student who anxiously entertains the idea of time off without any serious repercussions, law students are required to look beyond the school year and foresee the potential adverse effects to their legal careers as a result of the actions of this ‘militant union’.
OHLJ’s Environment Law issue is out
The Summer 2008 issue of the Osgoode Hall Law Journal is out, and it’s completely dedicated to environmental law. Stepan Wood, an associate professor at Osgoode Hall Law School, is the guest editor.
Most in the 2010 class knew Professor Wood as an acting Assisant Dean, First Year but many of us also interacted with him as the Director of Osgoode’s Mooting Program. He is the Director of Osgoode’s LLB/MES program as well.
For more on the contents of this next issue in the OHLJ anniversary series, see the table of contents, download articles as pdfs or read Professor Wood’s foreword [pdf].
