Maud Rozee (3L)
Deep in the basement of Flavelle, change is brewing. At the first Students’ Law Society (SLS) meeting of the year, SLS representatives learned that the space, which is currently empty, will become a new student lounge by early 2018.
Currently, the only student lounge at the Faculty of Law is the Rowell Room, which is also located in Flavelle. While the space is beautiful, it has a few drawbacks. As previously reported in the September 2016 issue of Ultra Vires, “The risk of faculty, admin, and visiting lawyers, judges, and professionals walking by and overhearing your impassioned debate about which professor reminds you most of Lord Voldemort is all too real.”
A student lounge deep in the bowels of Flavelle will, if anything, suffer the opposite problem—if you die down there nobody will find your body for weeks. On the other hand, students interviewed for this article have described the space as “kind of cozy” and “like a den.”
Stephanie Lewis, a 3L and former SLS point woman on building issues, told UV that, during her tenure, the SLS “discussed the possibility of a student lounge space in the basement of Flavelle and the administration stated that, while they would love to see that space used for that purpose, it was not allowed for health and safety reasons.”
According to Anne Marshall, SLS Vice President for Student Affairs and Governance, the space was inspected over the summer and it has been cleared for student use. Apparently, there’s an order in for a couple of couches, some tables and chairs, and some lighting. The furniture should arrive in January and the hope is that the lounge will be ready soon after.
A year’s supply of donuts [Editor’s note: “year’s supply” here meaning one or two healthy, delicious donuts once monthly (barring exams) coinciding with the release of UV] for anyone who can think of a punny name for the new space.