En memoire de - in memory of Alexandra Dodger (1983-2011).

• Author: Awad, Dina
• Position: Obituary

This issue is dedicated to Alexandra Wojciechowski Dodger, a McGill Law alumna who worked as a managing editor on Volumes 54 and 55 of the McGill Law Journal. Alex had finished her coursework and commenced her articles at Amnesty International in Ottawa. She had written the New York Bar and was registered to write the Ontario bar. In the early hours of October 15, 2011, Alex was struck and killed by a drunk driver while she was walking home.

Alex fearlessly pursued justice and equality while at McGill's Faculty of Law. Anyone who met her could immediately tell just how dedicated she was to improving access to justice, locally and internationally, for those who were marginalized or invisible. From workers' rights to migrant rights and women's rights, Alex was particularly effective in her work because she was driven, above all, by a sincere connection to the people for whom she was fighting. In other words, Alex was driven by love. She knew how to fight, but she could also startle you with her kindness.

Alex was also an avid traveler, a vivacious adventurer, and a true intellectual. She wandered the world, never once forgetting where she came from: a working class household in Etobicoke. Nevertheless, from Paris to Palestine, Alex really knew how to relate to those around her, and she did not shy away from the most challenging of debates. She had a potent combination of unpretentious genius, vision, loyalty and humour. She took her passion, combined it with the consciousness of her privilege and beliefs and infused it into all of her intellectual pursuits. Because of this, she had the unique ability to change the way that those around her thought about themselves, and their world.

Those who knew Alex observed that she had already accomplished more in her young life than most people could accomplish in two lifetimes. Perhaps this way it is easier to grasp why her time had come. Our tragedy is that we are left to wonder what she would have achieved, had she not been taken so soon. What is left in her physical absence is for us to draw strength from what Alex stood for, to learn from what she believed and from the way she lived. Let us be inspired by the promise that Alex held, and live life without reservation or regret. Let us push for change and create the kind of world that Alex would have been proud of. In this way, we will keep her memory alive.

Rest in peace, Alexandra.

Dina Awad

Friend and colleague, managing editor of Volumes 55-56.

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