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editorial
a. Osgoode Hall Law School, 0014G
York University
4700 Keele Street
Toronto, ON M3J 1P3
e. [email protected]
web. www.obiter-dicta.ca
T. @obiterdictaoz
“Journalists who make mistakes get sued for libel;
historians who make mistakes get to publish a revised
edition.”
- Bill Moyers
Editors-in-Chief: Cass Da Re, Travis Weagant,
Karolina Wisniewski
Business Managers: Adam Cepler, Alvin Qian
Copy Editor: Patricia Wood
News Editor: Citlally Maciel
Arts & Culture Editor: Angie Sheep
Sports Editor: Andrew Cyr
Staff Writers: Michael Capitano, Luke Johnston, Evan Ivkovic, Sam Michaels, Dan MowatRose, Marie Park, Daniel Styler
Contributors: Nick Banerd, Kendall Grant,
Dylan McGuinty, Jaime Mor, Terry Wong
Layout Editors: Marie Park, Heather Pringle,
Devin Santos, Wendy Sun
Website Editor: Asad Akhtar
Submissions for the December 2 issue are due at
5PM on November 24, and should be submitted
to the email address above.
Obiter Dicta is the official student newspaper of
Osgoode Hall Law School. The opinions expressed in
the articles contained herein are not necessarily those
of the Obiter staff. The Obiter reserves the right to
refuse any submission that is judged to be libelous or
defamatory, contains personal attacks, or is discriminatory on the basis of sex, race, religion, or sexual orientation. Submissions may be edited for length and/
or content.
The Obiter Dicta is published biweekly during the
school year, and is printed by Weller Publishing Co.
Ltd.
The Obiter Dicta is a member of Canadian
University Press.
Monday, November 18, 2013
Obiter Dicta remembers Professor Michael Mandel
ON OCTOBER 27, 2013, the Osgoode
community experienced the significant and
tragic loss of an alum and cherished professor, Michael Mandel.
Many students received an email from
the Dean, Twitter and Facebook headlines
soon followed. Within hours, the Osgoode
community reacted. Lawyers, academics, alumni and current students began to
express their feelings of loss across various outlets. An industry, not known for its
ability to communicate genuine sentiment,
was very honest in this moment. Professor Mandel inspired honesty, dare I say
demanded it, by his own admissions. He
never missed a moment to inject a critical
perspective or critique. In a society that is
so often self-censoring, fearful of being part
of the unpopular opinion, afraid to step on
someone’s proverbial toes, and apprehensive (or apathetic) to take a stance on anything; Professor Mandel broke the silence,
on every issue.
This type of vocalism, driven by what can
only be explained as the product of intellect
and passion, was not just a personal preference, and not just a lifestyle; but had become
a unique Osgoode experience. It was an
experience that connected 39 years worth of
students through an unspoken understanding that their legal education was marked by
something special, memorable, and distinct.
For many, Professor Mandel introduced first
year students to criminal law. But of course,
he did much more than that. He presented
an entire new paradigm to a room of neophytes. He challenged everything, including, and especially, the things that young
law students were not prepared to challenge.
It was through this vigourous and constant
inquiry that the minds of many were shaped,
influenced, encouraged and forever affected.
Whether or not you agreed or disagreed
with Professor Mandel’s annunciated politics, whether or not you shared the same
perspective about the Charter, war, or activism; we can all find common ground in his
impartiality in light of his often-polarizing
effect. Regardless of where you stood on an
ideo-political quadrant, and regardless of
how distant those coordinates were from his
own ideo-political stance, you could always
trust that Professor Mandel would read your
paper, your exam, hear your comment, with
the same respect and interest as any other
individual in the class. He was dedicated to
the craft of teaching, and more importantly,
dedicated to his students; this is (one part of)
his legacy.
Activist and academic accolades aside,
albeit incredibly impressive and definitely
noteworthy, Professor Mandel, in a way
that only larger than life figures can, shaped
what it means to be law professor. He was
passionate, but impartial; fiery, but fair;
and critical, but considerate. He often confused, outraged, antagonized, entertained,
inspired, edified and educated his students
in ways that spurred conversation outside
the classroom, that promoted the pursuit
of knowledge in a specific field, and that
incited individuals to begin to ask the hard
questions, not just of criminal law, but also
of the “Law” and our space within that institution.
In his memory and to commemorate his
very important legacy, we implore of you,
Osgoode students, do not be complacent.
Do not be apathetic. Do not settle. Do not
accept anything as the status quo. Do not
be downtrodden by the realities of law and
its limitations, but rather push its boundaries. Use your education to share knowledge. Do not write people off on the basis
of their position on the ideo-political quadrant. Engage in healthy debate with an open
mind and reserve personal judgment for the
sake of argument. Find common ground. Do
not fall in line, fall in step, or fall in place;
and if you fall, get back up with vigour and
a sense of humour. Recognize and take ownership of your unique academic and financial
privilege, and then do something meaningful because you are in the unique position to
affect change.
There are few people who will come into
your life and who will leave a long-lasting
impression. Often these people are personal
friends, family members, or significant
others – their memories marred by strong
affectionate or romantic emotions. There
are even fewer people who will come to
represent a time in your life and who will
profoundly change your perspective on anything, much less your proposed career path.
Lastly, there is only a small subset of people
in the world who will do this on only the
strength of their dialogue and conviction.
Professor Mandel was such a person for this
Editor-in-Chief, and on behalf of the Obiter
Dicta, we would like to express our most
sincere and deepest condolences to Professor Mandel’s family, and the entire Osgoode
Community.
The Obiter Dicta