Caveat LectorVol. 9, Issue 1The

The Law Games (Better Late Then Never) Edition

The Caveat Lector VOLUME 9, ISSUE 4

Editors-in-ChiefAlyssa VassosGlenn MacKayGraham ChristieMargi MatajSarah Miller

DesignGlenn MacKaySarah Miller

ContributorsMarty WalesDaniel LeBlancPat BushMichelle Lang“Gene Parmesan”Glenn MacKayKhurshed Chowdhury

Disclaimer The Editors of the Caveat Lector, in their infinite wis-dom, do not necessarily endorse or condone the opinions included herein. The submisions are the views of your peers. Take it up with them.

Misson StatementThe Caveat Lector exists to be redundant. It also exists to publish and make available information and creative works from law students for law students, all the while maintaining a standard of journalistic integrity. Well maybe not integrity but something close.

Address Caveat Lector c/o College of Law15 Campus Drive Saskatoon, SK.S7N 5A6

E-Mail uofscaveat@gmail.com

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR(S)Welcome back to 2012-13 Semester 2: The Wintering.

For your Caveat editors, January has proved pretty taxing. Alyssa and Glenn are still trying to recover from Law Games (more details inside), Margi is living off Ramen noodles after the im-pact of her holiday trip to Hong Kong is absorbed by her budget, and Graham can’t figure out why nobody wanted to draft fantasy hockey teams at 10:45 p.m. some Thursday night.

Despite these trial and tribulations, we offer the following as our January Law Games issue.

With a new year upon us, the Caveat editors are also making an editorial policy change. As before, we welcome and encourage everyone to submit ar-ticles for publication and hope that our regulars (and, maybe a few first-years) continue to supply us with wonderful intellectually-stimulating submissions going forward.

However, as the number of persons di-rectly named in articles rises, we have decided to institute an entirely subjec-tive disclosure policy with regard to any persons named in any submission that we receive. In other words: Af-ter you submit your article, we Ca-veat editors have reserved the right to discuss and review these articles with

any persons that YOU name in your submission.

This is an entirely subjective analysis on our part and it will be exercised as we feel necessary.

Happy February!

Caveat.

Post-Script: “Happy February” in-deed!

This issue ran a little late.

Our gratefully-received submissions were -- at the times that they were written -- timely. Unfortunately, some of them may now be a little dated.

Apologies...

On a second point: Written contribu-tions are greatly valued. However, sometimes the visual contributions that grace our pages can be overlooked.

Be it hereby known that the pictures that grace articles and covers alike are used with great appreciation for the photographers who take them.

Their understanding and sharing of their work really helps.

Thanks!

First off, welcome back to school! I hope that ev-eryone had a great break and that you are settling

back into school life without too many difficulties. To the first years, congrats on finishing the factums. We all know they were very hard, and that everyone worked on them to excess, but you are done with them now. I just wanted to give everyone a quick update on the upcoming semester and to share some details on the events that we have planned for the near future. Some of this note will be quite year-specific, but it will give everyone a good idea of some things coming up, so read on… For those of you look-ing to get out and have some fun every once in a while you should be checking out the LSA social events that are coming up. This can be done by reading the weekly newsletter you receive, checking out the social events section on the bulletin board by the fountains in the lounge, or by checking in on the LSA Facebook group on occasion. These are your primary destina-tions for information regarding upcoming events.

The LSA website (http://www.usask.ca/groups/lsa/) also has a calendar that is updated regularly, so keep checking there if you want to find out ways to get in-volved with your classmates. More information on all of our events can be found from the above sources, or feel free to contact any LSA Council Member for more information. Also be sure to keep an eye out for events being hosted by the many other groups that operate within the college, as these are also great events to so-cialize at and will give you an opportunity to interact

with some other groups that we have in the College.

Third-year students: April 20th will be the date of our graduation dinner. This year it will be taking place at the Radisson Saskatoon. Ticket information will be made available to you as soon as all of the details have been sorted out, but please mark the date down in the mean time. This is the only Grad dinner that the LSA or the College puts on so please don’t miss out on the op-

portunity for one last great night out with your fellow grads.

All years should keep an eye on the upcom-ing career events that

are taking place within the College. There are several large recruiting events coming up and many great opportunities for everyone to network with firms and lawyers from all over Western Canada. Check in with the career office for more information on these events.

That’s it for now, but please don’t hesitate to stop by and visit if you have any questions. You are welcome to stop by the LSA office (room 80) Tuesdays from 1pm-2pm or Thursdays from noon to 1pm and I will be happy to meet with you. You can also contact me by e-mail. Enjoy the beginning of the semester and best of luck with the upcoming term!

Marty Le Prez

HELLO ALL,Marty Wales, LSA President

“For those of you looking to get out and have some fun every once in a while...”

ON HONOURIFICS

I am a member of the Mennonite faith, in the Anabaptist tradition. The Anabaptist tradition- the

‘re-baptizers’- were some of those in the Reforma-tion who took adult commitment to the Faith very seriously. I also attempt to take my faith commitment very seriously, and allow it to permeate all aspects of my life.

Menno Simons, the Faith’s namesake, was quite op-posed to worldly titles. He argues that while Scribes and Pharisees used honourific titles to refer to them-selves, neither the apostles nor the prophets did so. Menno seems to like the apostles and prophets bet-ter than the others. If great members of the faith like Isaiah and the Apostles Paul and Peter did not take these titles upon themselves, very few others should arrogate these titles.

Coming from the prophetic Christian tradition, and the prophetic Anabaptist tradition at that, it is very difficult for me to refer to people by honourific titles- unless those titles are ‘friend’, ‘ally’, or the like, to refer to those who engage in work for the betterment of the world and the protection of people. Applying honourific titles to some, and not to others, when those honourifics come with higher levels of respect and presupposed worth, is anti-religious, tantamount to idolatry for a prophetic Christian, among others. To imply that some persons are above others is to deny the claim made in Genesis that all persons are made in the image of God.

Being in law school, on my way to participation in the legal profession, clearly raises some issues for me re-garding honourifics as idolatry. Particularly troubling is the practice of referring to a judge as ‘your honour.’ If I refer to a judge this way, and the judge does not re-fer to me this way, this clearly establishes a hierarchi-cal relationship between us. This sort of relationship is both anti-egalitarian and anti-Christian. Who will I let define me, and define the world for me? Who gives the

highest word? Will it be God, as presented through the Christian canon and sacred history, or the Empire and the legal profes-sion? God says that all are equal and does not recognize divi-sions among persons, and the Empire seeks to do away with this democratic tradition- who should I follow? The choice is clear from a prophetic Christian tradition.

On February 6th, I will participate in the First Year Moot as a requirement for my first year at U of S law, at which time I will be expected to refer to another, a faculty member, as ‘your honour.’ This is problematic. If I do not refer to the presiding faculty member this way when speaking, there may be academic conse-quences for me. If I follow my faith, I may be academ-ically penalized.

Some may attempt to rebut my argument in one of two ways:

1. The equality of all persons is not actually a core tenet of my faith; it is merely a political

disposition later given theological backing. Creating this conflict between ‘my faith and my academic suc-cess’ is hyperbolic and misleading; or

2. Though equality of persons is a core element of the Christian tradition, the use of honourif-

ics for judges (and those playing judges) is not mak-ing ontological anti-egalitarian claims. Rather, when we refer to a judge as ‘your honour,’ we honour the position and not the person. The honourific title is representative of a functional necessity for the proper ordering of the courts, and does not make any claims about the relative worth of persons. Hence, egalitarian religious teachings are not sufficient to justify resis-tance to this naming, because the titles do not touch those spheres.

Daniel LeBlanc

To the first possible rebuttal I would say this: my political philosophy and theology exist in a dialectical relationship, informing each other. It is very difficult to see where one begins and one ends, as the social ethics of socialism and prophetic Christianity are very similar. That said, my faith does not become ‘impure’ or worldly simply because it is informed by philoso-phy and politics. The writers of sacred texts and actors in sacred history have also been informed by outside considerations. Secondly, I think this objection is largely informed by a belief that religious practice should occur primarily in the private sphere, as though the Christian faith is only between the indi-vidual and God. This is problem-atic for many within the church, who believe that Christianity has both a vertical (the individual and God) and a horizontal (the individual and others) dimension.

To the second possible rebuttal I would say this: I am not only concerned with persons’ ontological identi-ties, but also with their lived experiences on the earth. The ontological reality is not able to be changed- what we ought to work for is a system of governance which is in line with the reality of all persons as equals in God’s eyes. It is very difficult from an egalitarian posi-tion to accept anti-egalitarian principles for the sake of order or efficiency. This argument strikes me as being open to Martin Luther King Jr.’s critique of many white churches- that they choose order over justice. What help is it to say to someone, lawyers included, that their (God-given) identities as equals will be dis-

regarded, but only for a short time, or only in particu-lar circumstances? If we are to be equals, as prophetic Christian tradition demands, then we must be equals all the time. We cannot accept functional roles which result in persons being (momentarily) disempowered. We cannot adopt idolatry for the sake of expediency. I am firm in my belief that I should allow God to name individuals, to speak the highest word. God has called us equals and believing the word of another party- Empire, courts, universities, religion- over that amounts to idolatry. I believe the use of honourifics in the legal setting, and in the fabricated pseudo-legal setting of the first year moot, amounts to anti-egalitar-

ian language. If I choose to submit to that pres-sure, to come ‘under the banner’ of that teach-ing instead of that of my ‘Rabbi’ is to commit a grave sin- to deny God’s word.

Though this is true, I may not be brave enough to do what is right, to affirm my humanity and that of others. Academic penalty is not an insignificant price to pay. Upsetting the College is also not negligible -- these are persons with significant influence. If invoking a cost-benefit analysis, these factors make the cost of religious ob-servance quite high.

It remains to be seen whether I will be courageous enough to live out my religious convictions in this context. What I am sure of, however, is that I would be braver if others joined with me. There is strength in solidarity. I need the strength of others to live well and to resist the re-naming of the legal system.

“Particularly troubling is the practice of referring to a judge as ‘your honour.’ If I

refer to a judge this way, and the judge does not refer to me this way, this clearly estab-lishes a hierarchical relationship between us. This sort of relationship is both anti-

egalitarian and anti-Christian.”

Bachelorette of the Month

TaMeaganThese girls share everything...

Bachelors of the University of Law, have you ever wanted to double your pleasure? Or double your fun? Have you ever felt like you were dating two girls at once? Have you ever dreamt of putting in the work for one girl and get the payoff of two! Well, you’re in luck: This month’s bachelorette is the two-headed blonde bombshell TaMeagan!

Tamara and Meagan have been inseparable since they were botn five feet apart in a hospi-tal in the blonde capital of the world, Sweden.

Rumoured to have shared an umbilical cord, the Blonde Twin Towers can often be spotted sitting beside each other in the law library, still a mere five feet apart.

Completely identical, save for a birthmark in the shape of a tortoise on Tamara’s left calf, they will often confuse potential suitors by as-suming each other’s identity

TaMegan’s perfect date includes riding tandem bi-cycles, followed by a viewing of their favourite Farelly brothers movie, “Stuck on You”. A motorcycle ride (with you in the sidecar) will take you to amateur night at Saskatoon Burlesque. You will be encouraged (forced) to participate, where these two experts will educate you in the finer points of this erotic art.

If you’re performance passes their test, a ménage a trois might just be in store. (We think that means a meal for three.)

By: Pat Bush

LAW SCHOOL DATINGPremiseAfter another lonely night of doing law readings, you realize that you haven’t had any human interaction in days. You’ve lost contact with all previous friends and family as law school has consumed your life.

Suddenly a bright idea strikes you: Why not date law students? You see them every day and you share the same experiences and it’s convenient! What can pos-sibly go wrong?

Stage 1 – The HoneymoonThis has to be true love. You’re both motivated and ambitious (because you’re in law school, obviously). You have amazing and intelligent conversa-tions and it’s great being able to see each other every day. This is the greatest idea you’ve ever had!

Stage 2 – Reality Creeps InYou start to realize that law students are terrible people and you’re seriously beginning to question why you would voluntarily want to spend more time with one. You have nothing to talk about besides school, which is a sensitive topic. Talking about grades is off limits. You don’t have time for any other hobbies. Slowly you begin to resent everything about each other.

Stage 3 - DenialIn a desperate attempt to make this work, you con-vince yourself that things are ok. Sure, you might

hate your life and the sight of the other person makes you cringe, but what is the alterna-tive? Everyone goes through rough patches, you just need to get through this and then things will be back to normal again.

Stage 4 – The Break-upYou can’t take it anymore. Your life is awful. You meet up for the awkward break-up and part “as friends.” And now you taste sweet freedom. It’s all up-hill from here, what can possibly go wrong? Wait, why

is there an-other stage?

Stage 5 – AvoidanceThe solu-tion to any break-up is avoiding your ex like the plague. However, this becomes impossible

because you have every class with this person. Conve-nience becomes your own personal hell. Your friends are divided between picking Team You and Team Ex. Apparently they like your ex better. Ouch.

ConclusionWinston Churchill adequately demonstrates how your relationship will turn out should you date law students:

Lady Astor: “Sir, if you were my husband, I would poison your tea.”Sir Winston Churchill: “Madam, if I were your hus-band, I would drink it.”

Michelle Lang

“You start to realize that law students are terrible people and you’re seriously begin-ning to question why you would voluntarily

want to spend more time with one.”

With the recent conclusion of The Ridiculous NHL Lockout of 2013, many around the College of Law could be seen and heard expressing their excitement over “the return of hockey.” While it’s great to see that the billionaires and millionaires have finally made amends, hockey hasn’t returned. It never went away.

Allow me to get the small minor-ity of you who don’t keep constant tabs on your beloved Campus Rec. D-League Hockey Heroes of Rutherford Rink up to speed. The SD-Ls, formerly known as The Gavaliers, and before that, as The Bearristers, is a team captained by Tyler “Hot Nights” Nightingale and composed entirely of Third Years Studs; it is currently enjoying its best season since before any of us were law students.

After a four-week exam/holiday hiatus, the team got off to a blazing start to the second half of the regu-lar season. Led by the silky scoring touch and iron-hearted determina-tion of Sachia “The Bear” Longo, The SD-Ls recently pulled off the biggest come-from-behind victory in the College of Law’s century-long history,* defeating B-League rejects Trinidad & Tobago 8-6 after trailing 6-2 with nine minutes left to play. This character win was followed up by a determined effort that resulted in a 4-0 thrashing of long-time rivals, A Pile of Theses.

As of January 21st, The SD-Ls are perched atop of the seven-team D-League with a rock-hard 8-1 record. On offence, the team has compiled a respectable 37 goals for, with consistent production coming from the aforementioned Bear along with Alex “Blue” Steele, Paul “Dirty Dangles” Kan-gles, and Lincoln “Honest” Crooks.

The team has allowed a league-low 23 goals against, attributable to a solid defensive corps led by Dustin “Ginger Pronger” Gilland-ers, Evan “Hulk Smash” Herbert, Scott “Silent Assassin” Allen, and the venerable backstopping of Matt “Patrick” Straw, who recently quashed any media speculation of a goalie controversy by posting his first career D-League shutout. For the first time in three seasons, The SD-Ls appear poised to make a se-

rious run at a D-League Champion-ship.

The team is also hoping to claim victory in the College of Law’s inaugural Keg Cup, orga-nized by second year student Alex “Mo’ Hockey? No Problems!” Morrison. For those of you who have had their heads in the snow, The Keg Cup consists of a five game series played between the College of Law’s two Campus Rec. squads, the aforementioned SD-Ls and the C-League’s Bearristers. To date, the tournament has received incredible support from the student body with record crowd atten-dance. Rough estimates show The Bearristers, a team composed of first and second year students, hold an edge in fan support despite the presence of Alex “Superfan” Fox and friends. However, after a pair of hard-fought victories, The SD-Ls find themselves ahead where it really matters: they currently lead the series 2-0.

By the time this copy of The Caveat hits the newsstands, it is this reporter’s hope that The Keg Cup will have been decided in The SD-L’s favour, so that he may bask in the radiant light of victory while gorging on a Bearrister-purchased keg. However, because 2-0 is the

THIRD YEARS GUNNING FOR A THREE-PEAT AS CHALLENGE CUP APPROACHES

Alledgedly written by: Gene Parmesan, Spiritual Mentor, Sports Reporter and LSA President-in-Exile

worst lead in hockey and because there are rumours swirling throughout the college that The Bearristers are hiring a coach, anything remains possible. Regard-less of the tournament’s outcome, it has surely helped both teams prepare for the premiere hockey event of the year, The Challenge Cup.

As exciting as the Campus Rec. season and the Keg Cup have been, when it comes to hockey at the Col-lege of Law, one event towers above the rest in terms of importance. This year, Hell’s Bells will be ringing loud and clear as The Challenge Cup takes place on March 1st, 2013. Make sure to circle that date in your calendars now to avoid having to miss it for some-thing silly like participation in a moot. As is tradition, The Challenge Cup is a one-day tournament that will feature five teams: one for each ‘grade’ of law school, one composed of Junior Alumni, and one composed of Senior Alumni. Hockey players of any skill level are encouraged to come out!

The First Years present the Tournament’s biggest rid-dle: Do any of them play hockey? Are they good? Will they show up? Will they put the advanced scouting reports compiled by Chantelle Thompson and Stacey Walker to good use? Rumour has it that “Mean” Dean Anand will not be giving students an official day off, so if you’re in first year, really good at hockey, and were considering playing… don’t. Instead, you should spend the whole day at school to avoid breaking The Oath and ending up on the infamous List of Students Who Don’t Get Invited Back in September. The rest of you are encouraged to exercise your discretion as adults.

The Second Years will be looking to bounce back from a poor showing last year. The team has a desire to win and a wealth of talent throughout their lineup. In fact, ensuring that everyone gets his or her fair share of ice time may prove to be challenging for such a well-bal-anced roster. The Second Years have a question mark in net but if they can find a serviceable keeper, he or she could take them over the top. Otherwise, goaltend-ing is likely to be the hill they will die on.

The Alumni teams always present a challenge. The Ju-niors are rumoured to be flying in alum from BC and Alberta and if names like Aaron Starr or Kyle Ross don’t make you lose sleep at night, you don’t want to win this tournament badly enough. The Seniors, though a bit slower than their junior brethren, should not be taken lightly as our team learned last year – what they may lack in foot speed, they make up in a wealth of veteran leadership and solid defensive play.

Finally, the Third Years. The Class of 2013 are defend-ing back-to-back Challenge Cup Champions and the team is poised to complete the first Challenge Cup three-peat in the Tournament’s history* but they’ve been around long enough to know better than to take things for granted. As if the Challenge Cup’s grueling schedule doesn’t present enough of a challenge, the Third Years will be missing some key personnel this year. Gone from the roster are Jill “The Thrill” Bishop, Jon “The Price” Ozirny, “What About” York Dundon-ald, and the aforementioned Hot Nights. The effect of their absence will be lessened by the talented presence of Brett “MacGrooover” McRuvie, John “The Hockey Player Formerly Known as Boom-Boom” Andreas-sen, and Matt “The Cannon” Straw but there will also be increased pressure on the heart & soul grinders of the team to excel. Glen “In The Box” Nesbitt, Andrew “Always Pays His Debts” Restall, “Mighty” Mike Stevens, Loree “Coops” Gillert, Brett “No Show” Stevenson and Dave “The Polish Pony” Werminski will have to minimize the muffins while giving 110% over the full day to help turn the Three-peat dream into a reality. In addition, any exchange students who have played high-level hockey are encouraged to get in touch with any of the third years mentioned in this article ASAP, as they would be welcome to the roster with open arms.

As the Challenge Cup comes and goes, the jukebox in the corner will be blasting out my favourite song, the nights will get warmer and it won’t be long. Won’t be long ‘til summer comes. Now that the boys will be here again.

*Historical Accuracy Not Guaranteed.

ADVENTURES IN WINDSORAnd so it came to this.

After wearing out our welcome in Vancouver last year, Canada’s best and brightest -- future lawyers all -- invaded Windsor like a conquer-ing army.

I’d say that Windsor didn’t know what to expect, except -- actually -- they didn’t: Windsor hadn’t partici-pated for years. Big mistake.

Now, your University of Sas-katchewan College representatives behaved ourselves with the upmost in Prairie pride: We came, saw, competed and left, dignity mostly intact. But what sights we beheld, what competitions we won and what dignities we saw tarnished...

Your corespondent arrived at the hotel a bit later then most of the gang. In other words, I arrived just in time to watch one of the Que-bec schools repacking in the hotel lobby. You see, dear reader, they didn’t actually make it past the first night -- something about bowling with beer bottles in the hallway. ...It must be a two-solitudes thing.

Now, having checked in and man-aged to survive the first few hours it was time to represent. Fortunate-ly, the ultra-classy Hotel and Ca-sino Windsor provided the inspira-tion for our first Law Games event -- a Greco-Roman toga party. It probably goes without saying that -- known as we are for bringing the

party -- we represented well. If you look to the left of the page, you’ll see Kevin reping hard. Yep. Enough said.

The sports and events were about what you’d expect. Galen piped, the first-year’s played and a few Law Games veterans slept their afternoons away. It happens.

Three shoutouts:

1. The first years who showed up. Way to go, guys -- it

was awesome to pass the torch to a new crew. We’ll see you next year.

2. Loree. Team MVP. Obvi-ously. (Unanimous choice.)

3. Steve for being our captain (my captain!). He wasn’t

stressed and he saved our beer.

Glenn MacKay

THINGS TO DO AROUND SASKATOONPeople, there are lots of things to do in Saskatoon other then partying. Here are few suggestions:

For movie lovers there are lots of theaters and movie places. To name a few: Galaxy in downtown, Roxy Theater on 20th Street, Rainbow Cinema and Cineplex in the Market Mall. Above all, we have our own styled Broadway Theater that plays lots of fun stuff. So check those out. These can be very exciting places.

Want to learn about the history of Saskatchewan? The Western Development Museum is a must. I know many of have not yet checked that out. Not to under-mine your choice and taste, but living in Saskatchewan and not going to this amazing place is near criminal. This place features the progress of Saskatchewan from the initial ingress of the Westerners until today. A 1900s boomtown is portrayed in this museum, where you can be lost in times and feel the way they felt.

Go to Mendel Art Gallery for a calm evening sur-rounded by a tranquil vibe. Mendel is nestled into the landscape of the west bank of the South Saskatch-ewan River in Saskatoon and close to the University of Saskatchewan. Free admission, dynamic programs and exceptional hours of operation keep the gallery lively and full of people. There is a civic conservatory, which attracted me. It has diverse floras from across Saskatchewan and Canada that is enthralling. Every month it conducts flower shows which in fascinating.

Did you hear about Diefenbaker Center? Even if you heard, I doubt how many of you visited this place. Yes, it is a stone-throw distance from your classroom. Perhaps you can see the walls of this center through the window of your classroom. It houses the history of modern Canada in style. Yes, it showcases one of Canada’s pre-eminent prime ministers, John G. Dief-enbaker. You can check the parchment of the Bill of Rights as propounded by Diefenbaker. Unfortunately the center is closed now, but it will open during March. Do not miss it.

If you want to witness world-class ice carving, then know that it is happening right now in Saskatoon. The carvings are already open for public display. International ice carvers put up their creation, which is a great view for all ages. For children, they added ice slid-ing, kick sliding, ice climbing and sledding. This is a great spectacle, which will go on until mid-February. The carvings are on display throughout the day in the Farmers Market on Avenue B.

If you happen to have no interest in going places and wish to seat back and enjoy leisurely time, then one thing you can do is read “CATCH 22”. It’s a 1961 novel by Joseph Heller. Probably you can find it on-line. But you can read it for free since I have a copy of it. In this book, Italy becomes a microcosm of the modern world as it might look to someone dangerous-ly sane. It has characters such as Milo Minder Binder, who devotes all his time to infinitely elaborate com-mercial enterprises. At one point he bombs his own airfield in exchange for a promise from the Germans of the cost of the operation plus 6 per cent. A small excerpt goes as follows:“From now on I’m thinking only of me.” Major Danby replied indulgently with a superior smile: “But, Yossarian, suppose ev-eryone felt that way.” “Then,” said Yossarian, “I’d certainly be a damned fool to feel any other way, wouldn’t I?”

I guarantee that once you’ve started CATCH-22, you’ll be irrevocably held by it; and when you’ve finished it, you’ll never stop talking about it. You’ll certainly never be the same person again.

If you are a serious kind of reader like some of the people that I see around, read “War and Peace” or whatever, but don’t just waste your time and money going to the bars every weekend: Make your Saska-toon experience a memorable one that you will cherish for the rest of your life.

Khurshed Chowdhury

Challenge Cup