NAHEED FOR PRESIDENT Dearest Queen’s Law,   Over the past two years, I’ve worked hard to improve your student services. Over conversations with student leaders, administration, and faculty, I’ve carefully researched and constructed a platform that can be implemented in a year. I’m confident that the relationships I’ve built with faculty and administration will help me respond quickly to the needs of students. Please take a look, and if you have any questions, please feel free to contact me. I hope to earn your vote on Feb 27th and 28th!  

All the best,  

Naheed Yaqubian !

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THE BEST EDUCATION What: Extended or even 24/7 library hours during exams. More seating in the library. How: Since our library is centrally funded by Queen’s University, we can’t keep SNAILS out for good or place restrictions on seating. That being said, extended hours are certainly an option if we work with the University to digitize books and materials. From my research, there is a university-wide project in place for digitization, but I will ask for the project to start with the law library, smallest of all. With less physical resources, less administration will be needed during the day, leading to budget savings which can be used for extended hours. This will result in longer hours and more seating with the already-constrained budgets our library has to work with. I look forward to working with administration on this issue! What: Published teaching reviews of professors, putting reviews, grading schemes, the curve and course outlines all in one place. How: My research has told me that published teaching reviews is currently opt-in for professors, with the multiple-choice comments on the Scantron sheets being available to students if a professor chooses. (Unfortunately, the comments on the back remain private as an aspect of the professor’s employment contracts). The LSS can work with the Queen’s Law administration to centralize grading schemes, the curve and course outlines for courses to make student’s choices easier, and ask key professors to make their teaching reviews public in the hope that the rest will follow suit. This will ensure professors remain accountable to students for the quality of their education, and students will be able to make better choices in the course-selection process. Informed choices result in a better educational experience! What: An online room-booking system for classrooms in Macdonald Hall. How: Meeting with a tutor? Hosting a club event? Instead of going to Room 200 to book classrooms, my goal is to centralize room bookings with the Queen’s Law library booking system. I’ll work with the university to add the IT infrastructure and add the class schedule to the current booking system. It’s all about making your life a little easier! What: Study puppies during exams. How: Queen’s University currently allows pets on campus, and I plan to partner with the Kingston Humane Society and DAMH for an event that would bring puppies (and kittens!) in for students in December and April. Students would also be welcome to bring their pets in for a stress-busting day of fluffy, furry, fuzzball fun. (Say that three times fast.)

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THE BEST CAREER What: Student input into the creation of the LPP program by the Law Society of Upper Canada (LSUC). We should have a say in the training and accreditation of new lawyers, and as your President I’ll push for a strong student voice at the table. How: There are three ways in which Queen’s Law students can have input into the new Law Practice Program, an alternative to traditional articling introduced this year by LSUC:

1. As the Ontario Bar Association representative for Queen’s this year, I’ve found the OBA very receptive to student needs and requests. I’ll make opportunities available for students to participate in their working groups and committees, which will also offer strong networking opportunities across the province.

2. As the founder of the Law Students Society of Ontario, I plan to spearhead an LPP task force that will collect student voices from across different schools to create a report that truly represents the student voice.

3. The faculty of Queen’s Law will likely be asked to submit an opinion about whether educational institutions should play a role in the creation of the LPP program. Students can participate as part of the school-wide Articling Task Force, and I’ll make sure that a survey is used to gather student feedback.

I promise to respond quickly to issues of the day in a professional and efficient manner that reflects the voice of students. When it comes to advocacy, I’ve got your back! What: Leadership at the Law Students Society of Ontario, an advocacy group created by yours-truly. How: The Law Students Society of Ontario is my brainchild after watching an articling reform process that left out the needs and opinions of students. I held a conference here at Queen’s in October that brought together LSS’s from across the province to create a draft constitution, and am working with our friends at Osgoode Hall for another conference on March 1st. Together, we can have more clout and speak with one voice. As founder, I’ll continue to represent the Queen’s voice at the table, should we choose to join. If we join, your student fees won’t increase, but your voice at the table will! Vote yes to the LSSO this Wednesday and Thursday, and vote yes to my leadership and strong student representation in Ontario.

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What: An insider’s guide to OCIs to drive informed choices during the process. How: Queen’s Law Career Services wants to maintain good relationships with employers in large and small centres, so it would be up to the LSS to compile an honest review of firms, in-house positions, government jobs, and other opportunities for students to review. Much like the Career Services guide to interviewing with the government, the insider’s guide to OCIs would talk about interviews at specific firms, the atmosphere, the questions, and most importantly, what you need to know to get ahead. This would not be limited to OCIs but rather is intended to serve as a country-wide job ‘insider’s guide’ for students. I would start by asking current 2Ls and 3Ls to provide feedback on their interviews, and work with my VP Administrative to come up with a package we could distribute across the list-serv to interested students. The more information you have, the more empowered you will be making key career decisions! THE BEST EXPERIENCE What: Build on the Happyness Project to link it with Queen’s mental health services and the SGPS for counseling services for professional students. How: This year, I co-founded the Happyness Project, a peer-support service through Education and Equity Services that has seen roaring success. As President, I’ll work with the SGPS and the Queen’s Business School to provide counseling services for professional students. We have specific needs and concerns, and pay a lot of tuition for a central system that is clogged with undergraduates and not sensitive or responsive to our students. It’s an ambitious goal, but an extremely important one, and the relationships I’ve built with Education and Equity Services and Vice-Provost and Dean Ann Tierney will hopefully help begin the process. The first step is to get all the relevant actors on the same page, something I hope to do with a Queen’s-wide Happyness Project. What: Artwork in the lounge from Queen’s Law resident artists. Maybe even a rotating installation. How: The Queen’s LSS, faculty and alumni have put a lot of time and money into our new lounge – let’s take it a step further and really make it our own. As President, I’ll work with the administration to put out an RFP for art, following the colour scheme and aesthetic already carefully maintained in the lounge. We’re more than just lawyers, and it would be great to showcase some student talent!

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What: A transparent and accessible LSS. How: Let’s build on what we already have! I’ll institute bi-weekly email updates after each LSS meeting, including a link to the minutes. The LSS archives (currently consisting of boxes in the office) will be digitized and put on-line for student leaders to have access to a database of resources and previous ideas. I’ll work with clubs like Law Students for Technology and Innovation to use technology like Ribbot to get feedback and ideas flowing. Finally, when I send out my weekly office-hour emails, I’ll include updates on my achievements and platform projects, with opportunity for feedback along the way.! What: Bringing drink tickets back to smokers, with door prizes and costume awards. How: Our clubs and Year Councils work hard to put on some fabulous smokers, and I think the LSS Core should provide monetary incentives (aka dolla$$) for year-council and club smokers at key points in the year, like Halloween, Valentines Day and post-exams. Let’s be real here – you came for the Castle and stayed for the smokers, and we’re going to keep the good times rolling. What: A second microwave and hot water tap in the lounge, with free coffee and tea. How: It don’t cost much for a bit o’ comfort! My chats with the current LSS President have told me that we can afford all of the above from the current LSS budget, as long as we find a way to keep it away from sneaky undergrads. Perhaps a lock-box (code: S-N-A-I-L-S) under the counter will suffice? And I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of waiting 20 minutes to heat up my Lean Cuisine. Again, it’s all about your overall experience here at Queen’s! What: Work with Education and Equity Services to publicize accomodations information beginning with first-year orientation, emphasizing our stringent standards. How: As President, I will introduce a seminar in orientation week about how to access accomodations, taking students through the process so they know how stringent the requirements are. The LSS can work to publicize relevant documentation on the Education and Equity Services website, making it acessible to all. Finally, we can also work with the administration to randomize room bookings for exams (instead of the status quo which is alphabetical order), making it less obvious which students have accomodations. All of these efforts, however, will have to be combined with the Happiness Project and the DAMH club to reduce stigma about mental health and disability issues on campus. It only makes sense for the information to be there if students aren’t afraid to ask for help when they need it, and promoting an inclusive environment is a huge goal of mine as your President. Let’s promote a safe, inclusive, welcoming environment to all!