STUDENT CAUCUS
Monday, October 27, 2014 3
I attend Osgoode Hall Law School at York University
...and it’s a pretty cool place
alison williams ›
3l student caucus representative
A
s a 3 l Student Caucus representative, I
have the pleasure of sitting on the Osgoode
Community Enhancement Forum (OCEF).
Last year the OCEF considered how fostering a better relationship between Osgoode students
and York University might improve the overall student
experience at Osgoode. While this goal is obviously a
work in progress, in this article I want to address one
thing that we as Osgoode students have a lot of control
over: our individual and collective attitudes towards
York. Put simply – it’s time to stop throwing so much
shade York’s way!
Arguably, fostering a better relationship with
York requires us to accept that we are as much York
University students as we are Osgoode students. It
requires us to engage with the broader York community as stakeholders, as opposed to consumers. I know
what you’re thinking. But, Allison! Disparaging York
is as much a part of our shared Osgoode experience
as complaining about the curve, the commute, and
getting gouged by the prices in the Bistro. How will
I express my frustrations with York if I remove “getting Yorked” from my vocabulary? What if by simply
saying I attend York University, people don’t immediately recognize me for the law student elite I am?
Trust me. You will be doing yourself a favour, personally and professionally, to challenge your attitudes
towards York. First, adopting a positive attitude about
the place you attend daily is good for your mental
health. Secondly, not to belabour the point, but it’s
pretty reductive to sing Osgoode’s praises without
acknowledging York may have some part in the way
the school is run, or how it has enriched your life.
Okay, so if you’ve read this far, maybe I’ve encouraged you to consider that maybe re-evaluating the
Osgoode-York relationship might benefit Osgoode students somehow. The good news is, once you’ve opened
your mind to seeing York differently, there are actually many elements that make this institution pretty
great. To demonstrate this, I asked some Osgoode and
York “celebrities” to share some of their favourite fun
facts about York that maybe you didn’t know:
Dean Lorne Sossin:
“There are many wonderful sto ɥ