U of T Law welcomes another exceptional cohort of 212 JD students from an applicant pool of over 2,000. Over half the class are women and nearly half identify as a person of colour.
“Since 2015, the Faculty has been able to get a clearer picture about the diversity of our first-year students through a self-reporting survey,” says Alexis Archbold, assistant dean of the JD program.
“We believe that transparency is an important part of addressing the underrepresentation of certain communities in legal education. The annual class information helps inform our programming – new initiatives like Black Future Lawyers – but also demonstrates our outreach is having an impact.”
As the Faculty of Law is offering a combination of remote and in-person teaching this term, Jennifer Colvin, manager of the events and facilities for the law school, created pillows featuring important reminders about social distancing. Each seat is reserved for individual use in Jackman Law Building’s Harcourt LLP atrium.
“We wanted to create a safe and comfortable ‘welcome back’ for students, faculty and staff,” said Colvin.
Manager of law’s student mental health & wellness, Terry Gardiner, began consultations with law students in July, and held the first of a yearlong series on mindfulness in August. The sessions are facilitated by Elli Weisbaum, a doctoral student at the Faculty of Medicine, whose research is focusing on integrating mindfulness into healthcare settings.
“The novel coronavirus has created widespread uncertainty and increased anxiety across the globe. It is important to acknowledge the current emotional landscape so students understand they are not alone in their experience. We began proactively engaging evidence-based strategies like mindfulness this summer, so as a law school community, we could start the school year confidently, feeling ready for what lies ahead,” said Gardiner.
Gardiner also helps support the student-led peer mental health support program that matches first-year students with upper-year students who have lived experiences of mental health.
The program’s goal is to support students through the challenges associated with entering law school and offer an additional sense of community. Mentors are trained to develop skills and tools around Faculty and university-wide supports and services as well as establishing safety nets for mentees to rely on as needed.
“While we fight the stigma that still surrounds the experience of mental health challenges and mental illness, this unique program offers a connection to lived experience of mental health challenges and successful navigation of law school. Peer support has been shown to support deeper understanding and connection, quicken the pace of recovery and help participants learn how to better work through issues as they arise,” says Gardiner.
“It’s going to be an academic year unlike any other in the Faculty’s history,” adds Archbold.
"But we are excited to get back into our lovely space and support our students to have an amazing year."
