By Lucianna Ciccocioppo
Law students didn’t have any problem saying good-bye to the Moot Court Room, in advance of its demolition.
The recent graffiti party on May 23, 2013 officially closed out the room in preparation for construction of the new Jackman Law Building.
Forty students and faculty, including Dean Mayo Moran, decked out in a hazmat suit, put on gloves, grabbed some cans and started to spray paint.
Mr. Jackman take down this wall. Loot the Moot. Toxic torts. Moot Court you are now moot are just some of the light-hearted tags currently gracing the walls inside and outside the MCR.
For 3L Brendan Stevens, the memories are bittersweet.
“Tagging the Moot Court Room allowed students and faculty to share fond memories of the place and relay some frustrations with the room's inherent limitations,” says the president of the Students Law Society. “The event also allowed me to express myself in a creative fashion, which is always a welcome addition to any day.”
His large red and white rose was a tribute to the MCR’s namesake, Justice Rosalie Silberman Abella.
“It was a fun event,” says Ben Iscoe, vice-president (social) for the SLS. “The administration accurately identified a room that we students would be eager to destroy.”
Daanish Samadmoten says, at first, he was hesitant “but eventually I spray-painted a bunch of different things. I think MCR is a pretty nice room because I have good memories: Justice Abella judged the Grand Moot there in my first year and I had my own moot take place there, too.”
It was likely the only time these future lawyers could "contravene" Section 430 of the criminal code.
"There really aren't that many opportunities in life to take spray paint to a wall and partake in some graffitti," says Ash-Lei Lewandoski, 3L. "We all spent hours in this room as students. This party with friends was an event not to be missed."
Still, it was a unique way to vent—and vent they did “about the little annoyances—the lack of WiFi, the fluctuating temperature, the cramped space.”
Says Samadmoten: “Something about spray-painting the Moot Court made it feel more permanent and meaningful than just venting about it to my friends after class.”
View the great graffiti artwork in our slideshow, or on our Facebook page.
Photos by Heather Thornton and Lucianna Ciccocioppo
