Aperçu d’une année universitaire unique et solidaire

Faculty, staff and students share short reflections of their experience teaching, learning and working under exceptional circumstances during the 2020–2021 academic year.

Malgré l’avènement de « Zoom University », ma connexion avec la Faculté et les autres étudiants est resté intacte : en plus de ménager mes efforts pour organiser des évènements virtuels, je suis resté en contact avec mes plus proches amis de la Faculté.

Simon Filiatrault, 3L, ILADA Co-President

Who knew that I’d get to know individual students despite being separated by a screen, that learning could be effective while students interacted virtually, and that a class spirit could emerge in the face of the isolation and challenges of COVID-19?

Prof. Rosalie Jukier, Associate Dean (Academic)

My 1L professors developed particularly creative ways to address the challenges posed by the pandemic; the Faculty’s tireless commitment to providing an engaging virtual learning environment made for a truly special — and memorable — year!

Connor Hasagewa, 1L

I thought 1L would have the largest learning curve in law school, but the past year came with its own challenges. Staying in touch with 1L friends, and participating in activities such as the LEX Program and the Canadian National Negotiation Competition helped me through the year. I look forward to being on campus next year, when I won’t have to ask, “Can you hear me now?”

Ariel Holmwood-Bramwell, 2L

My fellow students and I drew strength from “solidarity in the time of distancing.”

Prof. Nandini Ramanujam, Co-Director, Centre for Human Rights and Legal Pluralism

En début d’année, deux étudiants, pianistes professionnels, ont gentiment accepté de partager des extraits de concert avec la classe de droit constitutionnel. Le but était d’apporter un peu de douceur, de beauté et de lien social entre nos multiples petites cases Zoom. Un jour, problème de wifi : je dois fermer ma caméra et changer de pièce. À mon retour trois minutes plus tard, un étudiant avait spontanément pris sa guitare et jouait pour ses camarades. J’ai compris qu’on commençait à « faire communauté », un élément pédagogique tellement essentiel.

Prof. Johanne Poirier Chaire Peter MacKell sur le fédéralisme

Writing a doctoral thesis is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Although it has been very challenging and lonely, I am grateful for those moments of debating an idea with my partner, or finding inspiring authors from different times and places.

Ling Chen, DCL candidate

Amidst this insanity, I have found the strength and the energy to work on my thesis in one thing: the fact that I feel part of an academic community that is eager to understand and transform social inequalities. This keeps me hopeful.

Maria Ceballos-Bedoya, DCL candidate

22FOCUS LAW / 2021-2022 / MCGILL UNIVERSITY

Challenging, different, difficult, inspiring... This year was like no other for McGill Law. However, we prevailed, and the energy of our community helped bring us together, letting our imaginations run wild – and organizing the biggest GLSA conference in history!

Miroslaw Sadowski, DCL candidate

Despite the challenges of studying online, our professors sought to ensure our well-being. While it might have been easier to teach us as boxes on a screen, we were welcomed with compassion and humanity, creating an environment conducive to our growth.

Audrey Poulin, 1L

What is the Matrix? A prison of the body and the mind. Mais tant qu’il y a de la vie, il y a de l’espoir. Ceux-ci furent parmi les thèmes de mes cours de droit pénal cette année. Confined to a digital landscape, my students resiliently explored the evolution of criminal law, prisons, and beyond. Our class discussions were stimulating, and our memories will live on.

Prof. Mugambi Jouet

This year will be an unforgettable one for both pedagogical and personal reasons. While it is great to have longer periods of uninterrupted reading time, I learned that I took for granted the brief moments in between class, events and meetings in the atrium, hallways, and library to catch up with classmates. I’m learning to cherish all events and those in-between moments.

Khadija Ahmed, 2L 2021 winner of the Centre culturel islamique de Québec Memorial Award

I have so much respect, love, and compassion for all of our students who had the pressure of excelling academically while living through this global crisis.

Shrabani Debroy, Local Wellness Advisor

Despite all the mishaps, with the help of the Faculty members and the staff, graduate students managed to push through the year, and completed this academic year successfully.

Atagün Kejanlioglu, DCL candidate, past President, Graduate Law Students’ Association

McGill Law’s unique strength is its community, and community fosters a stronger legal education. While this year was incredibly difficult in many ways, I think it would have been more difficult had it not been for our community, which kept in contact virtually.

Beatrice Courchesne-Mackie, 3L past President, Law Students’ Association

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