Because if there’s anything this school needs, it’s branded hand-dryers
Seeing that we’re a bit tighter on cash this year due to those darn budget cuts, I thought I’d do my part and help Dean Iacobucci with some new ways to convince law firms and affluent donors to part with more of their hard-earned/blood-soaked treasure. Sir, if you’re reading this, give me a call before Osgoode does!
1. More Named Spaces
Nearly every space in the school is named after a firm or person. From the Bennett Jones Bridge on the third floor to the William C. Graham Collection in the library basement, people and firms have paid serious dough to get their names on the wall. However, there are still plenty of high-traffic spaces that could do with some cold stainless steel lettering such as the Student Kitchen, washrooms, and every garbage can in the building. Although it isn’t immediately obvious why a firm would want their name towering over the bathroom stalls, associating a firm’s name with the pleasant feeling of answering nature’s call might just be the difference for a student picking between two firms during the recruit.
2. Screensavers for the Computers
Hundreds of students go in and out of the library every day, and they pass just over a dozen computers each way. Currently, the monitors are void of any sign of life—similar to how law students feel as they make their way to the pedagogical purgatory that is the library. So, if we had firm logos flashing on the desktop monitors as screensavers, maybe it will reassure students that if they work hard enough there is light (arguably more darkness) at the end of the tunnel.
3. Sponsored Events
Yak’s Snacks? Davies’ Cravies? McMillan’s Fill ’ems? OKT’s Wednesday Tea? Baker McKenzie’s Food Frenzy? I could go on all day. Law students love free food, so why don’t we have firms sponsor the monthly indulgence of carbs, sugar, and burnt coffee at the law school instead of poor ol’ Yak? In fact, maybe firms can even step it up a notch and showcase some of the food that they’ll be providing students while they’re busy toiling away at the office at 2:00am. That way students have a more tangible measure of the right firm for them rather than solely relying on “fit.”
4. More Heads, Busts, and Statues!
The most interesting pieces of art in Jackman are probably the ones that honour individuals integral to the founding of U of T Law: the heads of Bora Laskin and Cecil A. Wright. Now, what if we gave law firms the option of immortalizing those who were integral to the founding of their own firms, such as Britton Bath Osler of Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP or Fraser Elliott of Stikeman Elliot LLP, but in sculpture form? And what if we told them that if they pony up some more cash they can get a towering life-sized monument the likes of that badass statue of King Edward VII on a horse in the middle of Queen’s Park? There are over a hundred named partners from firms participating in the fall OCIs alone, so the opportunity here is bountiful.
