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Western Law leads pack with domestic violence teaching Western is one of only two law schools in Ontario that has incorporated domestic violence education as a mandatory component in its academic curriculum. According to a Toronto Star report, five out of seven Ontario law schools haven’t abided by the recommendations of a report published by the Domestic Violence Death Review Committee in 2011. The report strongly recommended that domestic violence should be a part of the mandatory courses in first-year modules. The Committee called for this to be implemented for all law students in Ontario beginning in 2015. The report is based on the committee’s reviews of numerous domestic violence cases. It was found that lawyers had poorly advised victims prior to incidents of domestic violence as a result of a lack of education in handling those cases. As a result, the Law Commission of Ontario created module templates schools could use to incorporate domestic violence education into their curricula. “Students should be exposed to issues of domestic violence in their mandatory courses,” Erika Chamberlain, associate dean of Western’s law school, said. “There are a lot of things law students have to learn in three years and having an extensive module and a mandatory course on domestic violence risk assessment may not be something every law school wants to adopt.” Although Western doesn’t have a separate module or course on domestic violence education, the topic is integrated into two of its mandatory first-year courses. Lakehead University’s faculty of law also includes mandatory domestic violence education. The other five Ontario law schools are at the University of Toronto, York University, Queen’s University, University of Ottawa and the University of Windsor. • Raajveer Puri
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Olivia Zollino • GAZETTE
Slates face off one final time at Huron Olivia Zollino NEWS EDITOR @OliviaAtGazette
Team Litchfield and Team Sophie went head to head at Huron in the last slate debate yesterday before voting started today. Moderated by the current University Students’ Council vice-president internal Emily Addison, the debate was focused on the concerns of affiliate colleges and improving the relationship between Huron, Brescia, King’s and the USC. Internal candidates Dilani Logan and Alex Benac began with questions regarding the role of the Peer Support Network.
Logan stressed the need for students to understand the purpose of PSN and wants to make it more easily accessible, where Benac emphasized that the service was available to all students, regardless of faculty. When asked about sexual violence policies at affiliate colleges, Logan said she wants to communicate with affiliate councils and provide resources that the USC has to offer. Benac mentioned the culture variations at affiliate colleges, saying a “cultural shift” should occur. External candidates Lindsee Perkins and Richard Sookraj took to the microphones, although they simply reiterated their platforms and danced around audience
questions. Both candidates agreed that student visibility in London is an issue. Perkins, however, pressed Sookraj regarding the one-piece bus pass, stating the process was already in motion. Sookraj seemingly took a note from Team Sophie’s playbook and stated that there needed to be continued advocacy until the bus passes were in the hands of students. In the final portion, presidential candidates Jack Litchfield and Sophie Helpard went head to head. The two passive-aggressively disagreed about most topics, from the logistics of mental health training to soph resources to short-term goals on their platforms. “By September, all food choices
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will be on the menu and available for students,” Helpard said, regarding her commitment to a variety of food choices for students. “What about cost efficacy? Did you look into cost margins?” Litchfield said. Time ran out before the two came to a conclusion, although Helpard simply said that she had. Perhaps the greatest part of the debate came from the active involvement of the unusually large audience, who asked questions that concerned a range of issues affecting students all over campus. Elections start today at 8 a.m. and run until Wednesday night. The winners will be announced on February 11.
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