Preface

AuthorMark Witten - Sarah Runyon
Pages1-2
PREFACE
by Mark Witten and Sarah Runyon
is year’s Appeal Board came onto the scene bursting with fresh ideas and new visions for
Appeal. Why do we publish only student work? Why is the journal green? Nothing was sa-
cred; we wanted to change everything. Rebrand the journal, non-student authors, more on-
line content, potential partnerships, the list went on.
Yet as the year progressed a maturation process ensued. We began to ask: is there really a
need for another traditional law review? Probably not. Make no mistake, we didn’t settle
for the status quo. We have strived to improve Appeal in an amalgam of ways. e transi-
tion to open access online publishing is almost complete, and a modied format remains
in the works. However, in the end, we settled upon a more respectful change trajectory.
We came to se e Appeal’s evolution over the last  years — from a glossy magazine to a ro-
bust academic journal — as an invaluable inheritance shaped by countless contributors.
Slowly but surely we returned to our core: edgy, quality, student scholarship.
We also came to appreciate that there are immense advantages to publishing student work.
To begin, as the scholarship in this volume attests, there is no shortage of powerful stu-
dent writing. Without Appeal, some of these works would be damned to languish eternally
on long forgotten hard-drives. And this actually leads to another advantage. Student au-
thors recognize that opportunities to publish their work are rare, and as a result, they are
(for the most part) a joy to work with. Our edits were received with grace and our sugges-
tions with enthusiasm. But perhaps the most important advantage of student scholarship
is that student writing epitomizes academic freedom. Several of our authors are well aware
that their papers may receive sour receptions in their respective legal communities. Yet
unconcerned with politics, research funding, or tenure, they were free to voice their
thoughts — unltered, uninhibited, uncensored.
And our authors’ voices will be heard. Each of these articles will be read, studied, and cited.
Every month requests for reproduction drop into our inbox, and a steady stream of royal-
ties trickle in. A quick Google Scholar search reveals that, amazingly, our student authors
are cited in academic journals around the world.
But enough about our talented authors lest we begin to swell their heads. Some thank yous
are in order. is volume of Appeal would not have been possible without the dedicated
support of our generous sponsors, faculty supervisors, volunteers, external reviewers, past
boards, and the University of Victoria, Faculty of Law. We are very grateful for every con-
tribution we received, whether money, experience, or time.
APPEAL VOLUME 16 w1

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