Dear Class of 2018,
First and foremost, congratulations on your acceptance to the Peter A. Allard School of Law at the University of British Columbia! It’s no easy feat, and you should be proud of yourselves for the achievement. I’m James Struthers, the 2015 Orientation Coordinator, and a soon to be second year law student (2L) here at the Allard School of Law. It feels like just yesterday I was getting this email from Rachel Lehman, the 2014 Orientation Coordinator, and having just finished my first year, I can say with confidence that the coming year will be challenging, but will also be stimulating, exciting and rewarding.
#AllardOrientation2015 is mandatory, and will take place during the day between Tuesday September 1st and Friday September 4th, with optional events taking place Sunday August 30th through Friday September 4th. I want to make sure that you are all up to date and informed as things progress this summer. I’ve included below a few things you might want to concern yourself with over the next few weeks.
Staying Connected:
- To ensure that you are receiving all the important information you need, confirm that UBC has your current email address (Click this to take you to the SSC contact info page). Once you begin classes, you will be accessing information through the UBC Student Services Centre (SSC) online.
- Check out the Peter A. Allard School of Law Orientation website for everything you will need to know about Orientation Week, 1L and interesting information about faculty, upper year students and extracurricular activities. The website will be continually updated throughout the summer, so be sure to check back often.
- If you are a Facebook user, join the Peter A. Allard School of Law Class of 2018 Facebook group to find updates about Orientation Week and to connect with your classmates. If you do not wish to join Facebook, you will not miss any information about our academic program. All important information will be emailed to you from the Admissions Office and/or posted to the Orientation website. That being said, Facebook is a major channel of communication within the student body, and though some students choose not to register, if you would like to stay informed regarding sports, clubs, LSS and other events, deadlines and opportunities, it is suggested that you register and join the Class of 2018 group.
- We here at Allard Hall have risen up and out of the Stone Age, and onto Twitter. Follow us here to get quick updates on information going on the Orientation Website and other useful links and law-related re-tweets.
- Throughout the summer, and during Orientation Week, make sure to use the #AllardOrientation2015 hashtag on your Facebook, Twitter and Instagram posts. This will make reminiscing and connecting with one another a whole lot easier, and help us keep track of online participation and interact with you during Orientation Week.
Summer Icebreakers:
Every year, the Allard School of Law holds Pre-Orientation Icebreakers in cities across Canada so you can meet some of your new classmates before school begins. These casual meet-and-greets will be hosted by upper-year Allard Law students. We are currently looking into hosting Icebreakers in Victoria, Vancouver, Kelowna, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Toronto and Montreal. Keep an eye out for an email with more information soon! If you are not currently living in one of these cities but would like to meet some future classmates, just email me with permission to release your contact information to other incoming students in your area and we will try to match you up.
Orientation Week 2015:
Orientation Week is a favorite of both incoming students and upper years, and it provides the most effective and informative introduction to everything the school has to offer, a number of opportunities to make new and lasting friends, and meet faculty, staff and upper year students who can be instrumental in your success at Allard Hall and beyond. You wouldn’t want to miss much, even if it wasn’t mandatory. This year’s Orientation Week will be held Tuesday September 1st to Friday September 4th. The week will consist of a variety of introductory lectures from notable faculty members, informative presentations from guest speakers from the Vancouver legal community, and other fun group activities and evening events. These sessions will help students to prepare for the upcoming academic year, while highlighting the wide range of extracurricular opportunities offered at Allard Law. In addition, the Mature Students’ picnic in Stanley Park and a brand new series of events called Vancouver Adventures (Stay tuned for a blog post with more details) will take place on Sunday, August 30th and Monday, August 31st respectively. These are optional events.
First Year Courses:
All 1Ls are automatically enrolled in first year courses in July, so you don’t have to worry about online registration. You can check out the first year timetable with course sections here. Note the schedule is subject to change! You will receive your individual schedule and class section assignments later at orientation. Your professors will supply syllabi during Orientation Week with textbooks listed, and booklists can also be accessed online via your SSC account. Textbooks will be available at the UBC Bookstore or through the Used Book Sale that is organized by our Grad Committee in September.
Access and Diversity:
Students who may require accommodations while at law school should ensure they contact UBC’s Access and Diversity Office and Kaila Mikkelsen, Assistant Dean of Students at Allard School of Law (Mikkelsen@allard.ubc.ca).
If you have questions or need some advice at any time throughout the summer or 1L, please don’t hesitate to ask me! I am happy to help with anything. You can contact me by email at orientation@allard.ubc.ca, by direct telephone on weekdays at (604) 827-3552, or on the Class of 2018 Facebook Page.
For now, enjoy a fun and relaxing summer and I look forward to meeting you in September!
Your 2015 Orientation Week Coordinator,
James Struthers
duation Committee organizes a used textbook sale every year and this year, we will be ready to go with the 1L books for Orientation Week. We will have all your 1L books available and we have a wide array of barely used to heavily highlighted (good if you want to selectively read!) textbooks with a similarly wide range of prices. Keep a lookout for announcements or notices about when and where the sale will be happening – it will likely begin on Day 2 of O-Week. So don’t you fret, you can save yourself a few hundred dollars and still have your first week readings done (even though, let’s be honest, the first week readings are so unnecessary, but we all know you’ll read them anyway, because we did).
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