What are students and faculty doing?
To practice social distancing and limit the spread of COVID-19, the University of Toronto and the Faculty of Law have cancelled in-person classes and exams, and closed many facilities, including gyms, recreational complexes, Falconer Hall, Flavelle House, the Jackman Law Building, Graduate House (with exceptions made for students unable to return home due to exceptional circumstances), and the Bora Laskin Law Library. Similarly, entertainment venues across the country, including movie theatres, restaurants, and bars (excluding those with take-out and delivery capacities), and museums have also closed.
So what are students and faculty doing during these times?
Netflix, TV, Movies, and Video Games
- Ema Ibraković reports that she has been “gaining weight” due to the Quarantine 15 and watching horror movies.
- Dana O’Shea has been contemplating all of the readings she has to do while starting movies with her friends at the exact same time and having group video calls. Ibraković recommends using “Netflix Party”, which synchronizes video playback and adds group chats to Netflix shows.
- Rory Smith and Liam Thompson have begun a nightly Mario Party battle.* As of the publication deadline, it’s tied three ways with Smith, Thompson, and the computer each winning once.
- Jean-Pierre D’Angelo has had more success with video games. D’Angelo has been busy playing, beating, and buying video games. D’Angelo recommends Tales of Vesperia (for Nintendo Switch and PS4) because of its “really good battle mechanics and a delightful cast.”
Connecting with Others
- Sophie Barnett has been “reconnecting with people I haven’t talked to in a very very very long time.”
- Angela Hou and her roommates have been trying to build a community with their neighbours by offering to grab groceries, medication, or other supplies for individuals in high-risk demographics.
Pajamas
- Tom Collins’ life has changed relatively little, except perhaps for his wardrobe choices. Collins explains: “I still have the same amount of work to do; I still have classes to attend via Zoom. I am spending more time in pyjamas than I otherwise would. It is also really inspiring to see the law school community come together online; it makes isolation less lonely than it could otherwise be.”
- Kayly Alexandra has also been spending more time in pyjamas. Alexandra said, “Today I walked to the gas station in my pajamas and slippers to exchange my lottery tickets for candy and more lottery tickets. It was incredibly trashy but nobody but the gas station attendant knows because it’s a ghost town out there.”
Food
- Despite never having baked a cake before, Julia Pimntl has “an inexplicable, overwhelming desire to bake a large cake”. Unfortunately, Pimntl could not be reached to confirm whether the baking actually occurred.
- Robert Nanni has eaten a lot of peanut butter, but not because of COVID-19. Nanni’s preferred brand is Kraft, but only the smooth light version because “crunchy gets stuck in my teeth sometimes and the light version makes me feel better about the thousands of calories I’m consuming.” Nanni is also a strong advocate for peanut butter consumption by spoon only because “any other vessel would be a calorie-intensive medium for achieving the same result, while simultaneously diluting the taste of the peanut butter.”
Miscellaneous
- Lynne Westerhof has been going for long walks around Toronto. Westerhof says “the trails near the Don Valley Parkway are nice! (bring noise cancelling headphones if possible).”
- Sophie Zhao has acquired and started reading Marcel Proust’s seven volume novel, In Search of Lost Time. Zhao has also finished her 2019 personal income tax return approximately 2.5 months early. Zhao believes that “surely there is no pleasure like doing taxes correctly and on time.”
- Jane Wu has mastered the art of multi-tasking. Wu has been simultaneously watching movies, online shopping and face-masking. Similarly Amir Ghoreshi has been impulse buying things on Amazon while still not doing readings.
- Emma Ryman’s activities include “aggressively cleaning and organizing everything I own, playing computer games, watching Youtube videos, hassling my cat with my overwhelming love for him, and scheduling when I will do schoolwork in my calendar (and then continuing to organize and watch Youtube videos during my scheduled ‘work’ times).”
- Zac Kroll has been busy sculpting his physical appearance by growing an “apocalypse beard”.
Faculty Responses
- Assistant Dean Sara Faherty has been spending more time hunched over her laptop answering emails, given the impact that COVID-19 has had on the Faculty of Law’s administration. Assistant Dean Faherty has been “so impressed with how hard everyone is working to keep the law school running. The IT team, the Dean & Associate Dean’s office, and everyone [at] student services have been amazing.”
- Professor Anthony Niblett has been “trying not to panic too much about the whole situation” as “it’s a very stressful time for everyone”. On the brighter side, Professor Niblett has been doing work from home, which makes it easy for him to see his two-year-old daughter, who is “the most adorably perfect little thing in the world!”
- After teaching in London, England, Professor Kent Roach flew back to Canada and will be self-isolating for 14 days. Unfortunately for Professor Roach, there is currently no baseball to watch. Professor Roach said, “I will be continuing to teach my courses on Zoom including one that starts at 5 am because of the time change between Toronto and London. Also plan to read more fiction.”
- Professor Angela Fernandez has also been figuring out how Zoom works and asking for her daughter’s permission to use her physical white board for online classes. Professor Fernandez’ daughter uses the whiteboard as a teaching aid for her stuffed animals. (Like mother, like daughter?) Outside of class, Professor Fernandez is also “cooking and resting…trying to get out for a walk a day, and trying to keep the news consumption to something reasonable in the circumstances.”
- Professor Douglas Sanderson hasn’t had much time to tend to his hobbies and his garden, as his family has been surprisingly busy with everyday maintenance and preparation for COVID-19. Professor Sanderson has been writing lecture notes for his small group and upper-year seminar. Outside of classwork, Professor Sanderson and his family have been foraging for traditional medicines, making their own alcohol wipes and face masks, helping their neighbors, and house-tending and cat-sitting for some friends stuck in England.
- Professor Patrick Macklem has been keeping himself busy by cooking a lot more, staying in closer touch with family and friends, undertaking minor home renovations and small-scale artistic projects, and finishing the first draft of a novel. Macklem kind of likes this experience of having “little interaction in public, no business, enhanced interpersonal distance and connection, a reconnection with those close to you.” Macklem “hopes to schedule a month every year to what we’re doing now, globally, especially if it has the potential to slow global warming.”
*Editor’s Note: Rory Smith is the Ultra Vires Diversions Editor.
