• First Year Law - election results
• "What’s it like to be a 1L?"
    by Sharon Roberts

First Year Election Results

Congratulations to All!!!

LSA First Year Reps
* John Pak
* Dave Rechlo

CBA First Year Reps
* Paulina Kam
* Mike O’Boyle

Articling Committee Associate
* Allison Catherwood
* Juliamai Giffen

Articling Committee Administrator
* Lindsay Keele

Law Faculty Council First Year Rep
* Mark Hildebrand
* Paul Anderson

What’s it like to be a1L?

   By Sharon Roberts

Great. I make a monumental decision to return to University, I get accepted to the Law School, and suddenly I’m reduced to a letter and a number. At least it’s a capital letter.

Most common question heard in first year: "So… how do you like law school?"

I’ve been asked. I’ve answered. I’ve been informed of my answer when I hesitated. I’ve heard others answer. Heck, I’ve even asked a few of my peers (nothing wrong with a flip of the coin to check out the other side). The verdict? How the hell should we know? We just got here.

Wrong! The Law School’s no place for cold feet. Your feet cold? Don’t worry, before you know it, they’ll be dashing between classes and lunchtime seminars, rugby games, FABs, volunteer shifts at Emily Murphy house and elsewhere, into free weekly yoga classes, donning a pair of sneakers and hitting the streets with the running club, upstairs for pizza and pop. Basically, even a pair of lefties will soon find themselves hoofing it to keep up with a torrent of activities. You’ll stare (with luck, not blankly) into unfamiliar but nonetheless friendly faces full of queries: where you’re from, what you did before this, which clubs you joined, whether you hooked up with SLS, whether you ran for the first year elections, if you won or lost, whether they found your car, when you got it, and a bunch of your school stuff, stolen.

Wait a minute. Someone stole your car? And your backpack, with a bunch of your school stuff in it? And a bottle of Tequila? Damn! Me too. Second week of school. How’s that for beginnings? Welcome to Law School!

Law School? What’s that got to do with losing important stuff? Well, for one thing, property law suddenly makes sense. As Professor Ziff muses, how interesting of humans to develop attachments to the concept of ownership, and how dramatic their behaviour upon being deprived of their presumed right… I’ll say. I hadn’t been in classes a week when I lost some technology I need to go to school (not to mention the car). I started wrangling with insurance agents. The last thing I wanted to do was go and explain it all to a bunch of strangers at the University.

In the two weeks since then, I’ve gotten to know more students, professors, and support staff from the library and 4^th floor. With kind encouragement, suggestions, and help, I’ve not only made it to class and been able to keep up, but been introduced to some good people at SSDS and Academic Support Services on campus. What’s it like, being a 1L? I can’t speak for everyone. Myself? I say, "Thanks." I can’t imagine having felt more supported by a "bunch of strangers". Welcome to law school.

© 2001 Sharon Roberts