A note from the President of the Students’ Law Society
Welcome back returning students and welcome to all 1Ls, transfer students, and exchange students! I am positive that you will all transition seamlessly and find your place at the law school. Be sure to take advantage of all the programs available to students, including the Peer Mentorship Program and the Peer Mental Health Support Program.
A little about the Students’ Law Society (SLS)—we are your student government representing all JD and joint-program students at the Faculty of Law. The SLS consists of three committees: the Social and Finance Committee (SFC), the Student Life and Academic Committee (SLAC), and the Executive Committee.
The Social and Finance Committee is in charge of planning and executing events at the Faculty of Law, including, but not limited to, the Call to the Bar nights, the Halloween Party, and Law Ball. I would like to thank Taylor Clapham (3L) and Alexander Kelly (2L), our SFC execs, for a successful first week. Without them, we would not have enjoyed our first Call to the Bar nights at the Maddy and Greta, the ice cream truck, and the Law Mixer. Keep an eye out for Halloween tickets that will be sold in the coming weeks—it’s one of the can’t-miss events of the year!
The representatives on the Social and Academic Committee are your advocates. We encourage all students to familiarize themselves with their year representatives—it is their mandate to advocate on your behalf to members of the law school Faculty and administration. Additionally, each elected SLAC member sits on the Faculty Council, which is the governing body of the law school, and the Faculty’s Dean’s Committees. This year we hope to implement more ways to foster students’ personal development. We also aim to be more transparent in our advocacy efforts. I look forward to working with our passionate group of representatives.
This summer, the SLS worked with the administration to restructure the admissions committee. As such, all 3L students had the opportunity to apply for a position to sit on the admissions committee. Note that applications have since closed. Additionally, the committee has taken feedback they received from last year’s students to implement newer and more comprehensive training. The SLS hopes this will decrease the workload per student on the committee and will increase engagement with the admissions process.
This year’s executive committee consists of myself, Isabel Brisson (3L), the VP Student Life, Maria Bon (2L), VP Academic, Chelsea Musanthu (2L), VP Social, Taylor Clapham (3L), and VP Finance, Alex Kelly (2L). Our Fall 2024 Election concluded on Thursday, September 26—we’re excited to welcome some new faces to our committees. We welcomed 1L representatives and filled the upper-year vacancies. Needless to say, we were impressed by the number of 1Ls who ran. 15 students ran for SLAC and seven for SFC! Kudos to the candidates, it can be daunting to put yourself out there, especially in the first month of school. We hope that you will all continue to stay engaged with SLS and the broader law school community this year.
I look forward to working closely with both committees and hearing from you, the student body. The SLS is always open to hearing how our law school experience can be improved. I encourage students with ideas to either email the SLS or attend our weekly meetings, which are open to the public (SLAC meets at lunch on Tuesdays and SFC meets at lunch on Wednesdays). Let’s have a great year!
