Dear Class of 2015, Thank you for taking an interest in the SLS elections.

I know that this is a busy time for you. I wish you the best of the luck as you prepare for exams. Right off the bat: if I am elected, the SLS will organize next year's election at least one week earlier in the semester, so that the next 1L class isn't caught between the study crunch and getting more involved in the SLS. It's important to acknowledge that the Class of 2015 is uniquely impacted by many of the recent changes at the law school. At the top of everyone's mind is the new grading system. While I am confident that the Career Development Office has reached out to many of the big law firms in Toronto, their communications don't always reach past traditional employers or penetrate as deeply as we would like. Next year, I want the administration to provide you with a pdf of a one page letter from the Dean explaining the changes, which all students can clip to their CV when applying to jobs, especially jobs that are outside of the OCI process. I also think it's important that the Faculty or failing that, the SLS track the results of the new grading system. Did it make 1L less stressful, as the administration promised it would? I have my doubts. How has it affected employer decisions? The administration or again, failing that, the SLS needs to evaluate the success or failure of the grading system so it can decide whether to carry on with it. Secondly, changes to the mandatory curriculum have been abruptly announced with respect to biz org/fiduciary obligations and ethics training. There's not much we can do about the requirements, since they come from the Law Society of Upper Canada. But we can control how those changes are implemented here at the law school. We can hit pause and consult with the Class of 2015 about how best to fulfill the new requirements without unduly burdening students. What kinds of courses would you like to see offered to fulfill the fiduciary obligations requirement? And, importantly, your class deserves to know when the administration will have more information which ought to be well before course selection begins this summer. The temporary space will affect all students at the Faculty next year. But some of the knock-on effects will be felt most acutely by you. For instance, we can reasonably expect that the transitional space will result in more requests to study abroad in 2014-2015. You will make up most of that cohort. Let's start working with the administration now to open up more spots for law students to study abroad, at least for the duration of the building construction. I have lots of ideas. The platform that I am running on was developped collaboratively by a group of about 15 people. It reflects my values both in content and in how it was built. You can find it here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/SLS-Candidates-for-Student-Experience-Accessibility-andTransparency/136423696535457?fref=ts I believe that change is possible. I've spent the last two years making law school the kind of place I think it should be. I spearheaded a recommendation from the Class of 2014, which added three school days between the end of classes and the beginning of 1L exams. I worked with students and the administration to introduce conversations about diversity into Orientation Week and Joint Professionalism Training. In the wider school, I oversaw The Varsity's fight for an increase to its

student levy. And now, I'm working with an incredible group of students on the battle over tuition a project that is already changing the conversation on fees at the Faculty and in the province. I hope that you'll consider voting at Bora's Head on March 25, 27, 28 at lunch. In the meantime, as Maya Ollek once told me: get lots of sleep and trust your brain. All the best -Marcus McCann