In a story in Maclean’s Sept. 1 issue on the controversy over same-sex marriage, Patrick Monahan, dean of York’s Osgoode Hall Law School, said he would be surprised to see the top court suddenly set sail against the prevailing legal breeze. “Nothing is inevitable with the courts, but certainly there has been a very strong trend in decisions over the past five to seven years to recognize and give effect to rights for gays and lesbians.” Mars, the space odyssey
Paul Delaney, astronomy professor with York’s Faculty of Pure & Applied Science and director of York’s astronomical observatory, was quoted in the Toronto Star Aug. 27 in a story on Mars. Delaney said he favours Jupiter as a planet of interest over Mars. “[Mars is] neither here nor there to me. Oh, it’s fine, don’t get me wrong, but if I have my druthers, Jupiter’s my favourite.” On the other hand, Delaney said that Mars is a more exciting designation for space exploration. “If you’re going anywhere other than the moon, Mars is the place,” he said.
His first pack of weed
In the Toronto Star Aug. 27, Osgoode Hall Law School Professor Alan Young was quoted in a story about a Toronto man getting his first official pack of medical marijuana. Jari Dvorak picked up a package he’d been waiting for for more than seven years. Young, who is one of Dvorak’s lawyers, said he was delighted with the news, although, he added, “It’s not a great system yet. They don’t make the [application] process that simple.”
Alma matters: planned gifts benefit everyone
York grad Ronald Brash (MBA ’79) was featured in a Toronto Sun story Aug. 27 on how York University benefits from planned giving by donors like himself and others. Brash designated one-third of his estate ($275,000) for engineering student bursaries that cover full tuition. “I’m hoping that someone who might not otherwise get a chance at an education will get a chance with this bursary,” he said. York received three bequests and three gifts of life insurance in the past year — amounting to $885,000 in student support across four faculties, noted the Sun article.
On air
You can get a telescopic view of Mars at York University this week, announced CFTO-TV’s “Newsbeat Today” and CIII-TV’s “Global News” Aug. 26.