By Dexter LeRuez
Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) students are hopeful that new class space will be created due to the TMU law school’s relocation.
As previously reported by The Eyeopener, the Lincoln Alexander School of Law is set to be moved to 277 Victoria St. in 2025.
The school acquired the building alongside 38 Dundas St. E. last summer, as previously reported by The Eye.
“This will be a permanent new space for our law students, faculty and staff,” TMU president Mohamed Lachemi told The Eye in an interview. “It will establish a highly visible presence for the law school and the university at the busiest intersection in the country,” he said.
Currently, the school is based out of the fourth floor of the Podium Building at 350 Victoria St.
Riyan Jama, a first-year collaborative nursing student, thinks the school’s current location fails to inform people of its usage.
“I’ve been to the fourth floor but I wasn’t sure what exactly went on there,” said Jama. “I feel like if they move [the law school], they have an opportunity to promote it more so people know it exists.”
According to Lachemi, the university was aware that a new location for the law school would be needed to satisfy accreditation bodies when the school was opened in 2020.
However, one student is unsure if the space will be best used by the Lincoln Alexander School of Law. Kyle Lingum, a fifth-year business communication student, doesn’t know “how much space the law school needs.”
Lingum highlighted a lack of lecture space for undergraduate students while acknowledging his limited knowledge of the law school.
“It’s tough because I know the undergraduate classes…have very little lecture space,” said Lingum. “But I’m not too sure, [the law school] might [have] the same problem.”
“The student and faculty population has significantly grown since the law school’s launch, and additional space is needed,” said Lachemi. “Larger classrooms and
dedicated space for research and academic work are critical in ensuring the law school’s continued growth and success.”
The Lincoln Alexander School of Law was inaugurated in 2020, as previously reported by The Eye. It was renamed from Ryerson’s Faculty of Law to its current name in 2021, as previously reported by The Eye.
The building currently used as a safe injection site and is 11-storeys high with 115,000 square feet of space.
With so much space for the university to use, Jama hopes that more resources for students of faith can be established on campus.
“I feel like if there is a place where we could sign out prayer mats and
[access] resources, that would be nice for sure.”
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