Clue: Mystère à Skit Nite is happening WEDNESDAY NIGHT at Club Soda. Get your last-minute tickets in the link in @McGillSkitNite’s bio.
MUGAMBI JOUET
LUNDI 17 MARS 2025 16H00- 17H30
NCDH 312, FACULTÉ DE DROIT
Guest speaker in Prof Johanne Poirier’s Comparative Federalism class
“The Interaction between Federalism and Abortion Policy and Politics in Canada and the USA”
MARDI 18 MARS 2025 16H00-18H00
WAXMAN COMMON ROOM, FACULTÉ DE DROIT
Informal discussion on “American Exceptionalism in a Changing Western World”
RSVP BEFORE MARCH 14, 2025 CAROLINE.HOMET@MAIL.MCGILL.CA
Université McGill Faculté de droit Pavillon Chancellor-Day 3644 rue Peel Montréal, H3A 1W9
A Unique Experience for McGill Law Students
RÉFLEXION NOCTURNE: BIENVEILLANCE
Jean-Sébastien Léger | 2L
Puisque nous revenons tous d’une semaine de relâche, j’espère vous avez pu en profiter pour vous reposer, recharger vos batteries, passer du temps en famille ou entre amis, voyager tant au Canada qu’ailleurs, lire autre chose que le CCQ et participer à des activités qui vous apportent joie et réconfort. Je me permets donc de vous partager une réflexion que j’ai eue lors d’une nuit d’insomnie partielle. Une réflexion sur ce qui rend notre Faculté différente de ce que décrit Jean-Philippe Barils Guérard dans Royal , qui est principalement basé sur l’expérience à la Faculté de droit de l’autre côté du Mont-Royal. Cette réflexion s’est arrêtée sur un mot : Bienveillance (Benevolence in English). Il s’agit d’un état d’esprit ou d’une qualité que l’on peut démontrer.
Benevolence can be found in multiple shapes or forms across our Faculty and community. It starts with simple acts such as holding the door for someone out of breath from climbing Peel, smiling at your peers or waiv-
ing when you cross someone in the halls. It can be found in study groups that share the burden of reading 1500 pages a week, sharing class notes, or just collectively panicking because three projects are due within the next 48h, and you only have the cover page done. It’s also upper-year students offering advice or an ear to listen to 1Ls. In general, it’s giving back to the community and being kind.
On retrouve également des actes de bienveillance liés à notre ventre ; comme dirait Obélix « Quand l’appétit va, tout va. » La bienveillance, c’est partager un repas entre amis entre deux cours à Thomson House, faire une commande de groupe sur une application de livraison en soirée et la partager dans l’atrium, ou apporter du café ou des gâteries pour ses collègues, C’est aussi partager de bons moments lors des évènements de groupes, soit organisés par l’AÉD, ses clubs (oui le VP Finance n’a pas le choix de faire une plug quand même) ou entre amis autour de jeux
de sociétés, de raclette, de thé ou peu importe c’est quoi votre vibe. Finalement, c’est être fiers de nos collègues et de nous-mêmes et tendre la main à ceux qui en ont besoin. Bref, les occasions de faire preuve de bienveillance sont nombreuses et diversifiées et sont au cœur de ce qui fait notre Faculté un endroit où il fait bon vivre.
I believe that the most important thing in this Faculty is not classes or grades but rather the people that make up this Faculty. It’s the people we meet and with whom we enjoy sharing this chapter of our lives. All in all, I encourage every one of you to open your eyes to the benevolence that marks our Faculty. We are at the finish line of this semester, which, for most, means more stress, insomnia, and time spent in the library. While the Gods of the B Curve will do their part for our grades, we must collectively do our part to make the remainder of the semester more enjoyable. So be kind, soyez bienveillants. I wish you all the best for the end of the semester!
REFLECTIONS OF A 1L
Heeva Chavoshi | 1L
My last 1L lecture is exactly a month away. The days have felt agonizingly slow (especially Thursdays), yet the year has flown by. I remember early in the first term, an upper year, Mario, told me that by the end of the semester, the way I think would transform—and by the end of the year, my old ways of thinking would be unrecognizable. I chuckled and hoped he was right. It might be too early to say, but I think he was.
When I think of my August self—the one blissfully unaware of what doctrine is—she feels green. And I say that knowing my current self, who still regularly Googles “what is a tort,” is about the shade of lettuce. But I do sense growth. I feel it when I analogize cases in class with situations I hear about in real life. I feel it when my friends and I ironically throw Latin terms into conversation. I feel it when I take a step back and recognize all the work I’ve done over the past seven months: every page read, every case brief filled, every ratio written.
It’s paradoxical. Law school has taught me more than I’ve ever learned, yet I’ve never felt so dumb. It’s hard when your only source of academic validation is yourself—no more A+s, glowing report cards, or pats on the back. You have to remind yourself: you are smart, you are capable, and you are doing it.
Every day is a challenge, and that is a wonderful thing. What a privilege to be pushed further than you thought you could handle. What a privilege to be educated by and alongside some of the brightest people you’ve ever met. What a privilege to recognize the distance between you today and your previous self. On the days and in the moments it all inevitably feels too much, I remind myself of these privileges, and the weight of it all feels just a touch lighter.
The path ahead of us—whether as a 1L or otherwise—is still long, winding, and uncertain. And what a privilege that is.
EXPLORING ISRAEL
A Unique Opportunity for McGill Law Students
Jewish Law Student Association
At McGill Law, we are often given the chance to learn about the different communities and backgrounds of our colleagues. Through the many affinity groups centred around a regional culture, a religion or an identity, we are often astonished by the time and effort put in by our peers to give us insight into their communities. Whether an organized talk, a themed coffeehouse, or a tabling in the atrium, students have put on amazing programming and activities for their colleagues to better understand their backgrounds.
With the same desire to give back to the community and help students learn more about our community and background, the JLSA is proud to announce in these pages that we are taking McGill Law students to Israel! Many of our members have deep connections to Israel - Our
President, Sam Benzaquen lived in Israel for two years, our VP Nicole Nashen has extended family in the country, and a number of the Jewish community members at McGill Law are born in Israel and speak Hebrew. With this desire to provide insight into our culture and community, the JLSA is offering an extremely accessible opportunity for McGill Law students to visit Israel with us. We have worked incredibly hard to fundraise, organize and arrange the logistics for a unique trip from May 2 to 9 to see and explore the country.
This is not simply an educational trip, it is designed for you to immerse yourself in the culture and community. We will be eating Friday night Shabbat dinner with a local family, and visiting the Western Wall. We will be exploring the streets of Tel Aviv and learning about
Israel’s Hi-tech industry and start-up mentality. Over the course of these activities, participants will be encouraged to ask deep and critical questions about ongoing Israeli affairs. This trip offers law students a chance to move beyond the headlines, meeting Jewish people, Christians, Muslims, Druze, Israelis, Palestinians, and more—to gain a more nuanced understanding of the realities on the ground. Participants will be directly engaging with Palestinians and Israelis through meetings with community leaders, legal professionals, and activists, gaining insight into the challenges faced by both communities. This experience will also be legally enriching. Participants will be hearing from Israeli Supreme Court Justices, learning about the Israeli legal system, and exploring the unique constitutional, legislative and political challenges facing the country.
We want to make this experience one where partici-
pants will feel comfortable asking difficult questions, engaging thoroughly and learning throughout. In order to best achieve this goal, the trip will be peerled. Sam Benzaquen, President of the JLSA and Nicole Nashen, VP of the JLSA, will be leading the trip and helping run programming on the ground. In collaboration with our non-partisan partners, iTrek and Federation Combined Jewish Appeal, we have ensured that this trip remains affordable. As we move forward, we will also be canvassing participants to hear what they want to see on the trip, and cater our itinerary to the community’s interests. Our goal is to build each part of the trip with input from the students embarking on it. We want to take you where you want to go.
If you are interested, we invite you to apply at https://forms.gle/cvTsvHVkz2uJiK6c9 ! Everyone is welcome. For more information, contact JLSA at jlsa.mcgill@gmail.com.
EDITOR-IN-CHIEFS
RÉDACTEURS EN CHEF
Jessica Keer Li
Pablo Mhanna-Sandoval
SOCIAL MEDIA DIRECTOR
DIRECTRICE DES RÉSEAUX SOCIAUX
Faith Dehghan
ART DIRECTOR
DIRECTRICE ARTISTIQUE
Souang Wu
LAYOUT EDITOR ÉDITRICE DE MISE EN PAGE
Camille Duhaime
COPY EDITORS
SECRÉTAIRES DE RÉDACTION
Brandon Grimaldi
Despina Tritos
Paul Ye
COLUMNISTS
CHRONIQUEURES ET CHRONIQUEUSES
Heeva Chavoshi
Jean-Sébastien Léger
CONTRIBUTORS
CONTRIBUTEURS
Jewish Law Student Association
Special thanks to Prairie Koo for designing the layout.
Les opinions exprimées sont propres aux auteurs et ne réflètent pas nécessairement celles de l’équipe du Quid Novi. The content of this publication does not necessarily reflect the views of the McGill Law Students’ Association or of McGill University.
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