It’s late. 1 a.m. on a Saturday, actually. I’m tired and stressed and alone. I’m thinking about money. I should be thinking about Torts, but yeah, I’m thinking about money.
I’m also looking at my Facebook chat list and I’m realizing that a lot of my friends are online too. They’re also tired. And yes, I’d bet that they’re thinking about money. And maybe feeling alone.
This is true, I think, of law students across Ontario, but I don’t know for sure. Nobody has tried to tell the story of how money has affected law students and the legal profession in Ontario.
I don’t think money has affected the profession in Ontario positively. I suspect our career choices have changed as a result of our debt, leaving many Canadians unable to find or afford legal representation. But again, I am not sure.
We need to talk about tuition and how it’s changing our profession. In order to do that, we need to have a better grasp of the facts of our situation.
This week, five law schools—including our own—have agreed to launch an anonymous online survey in order to gather information on how tuition has impacted us. It is more comprehensive than some of the data that U of T collects. The information will give us the most complete picture of the impact of tuition, fees, and debt currently available. It should take 20 minutes and is available online (http://www.yorku.ca/surveys/survey.php?sid=1396). We want to have a complete and accurate view of the situation, so we are encouraging all students to fill it in.
It’s time to start thinking differently about tuition. Let’s see what the facts say.
PS. There’s also an opportunity to win a free iPad involved if you do the survey. #Bribery.
