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Dear Queen’s students,

This is the time of year when the principal would normally send out a welcome letter. In many ways, this is just such a letter, but these are unusual times and we are doing things differently this year. We are pleased to see some students have arrived in Kingston. You are important, integral members of the Kingston community and it is nice to have you back.

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly changed the way all of us go about our daily lives. Concerns about spreading the virus are real and each member of our community must take responsibility for reducing the threat of infection. At this time, it is imperative that Queen’s students clearly understand the university’s position regarding student behaviour that disregards public health directives.

Orange Shirt Day affords us an opportunity to reflect on and acknowledge what was stolen from Indigenous children in the residential schools: their culture, their community and feeling of connectedness, their joy in life, their innocence, and in so many cases, their future. We all have an obligation to take that opportunity as part of reconciliation, but educators have a particular responsibility because our job must be to foster and support young people in almost exactly the areas in which the residential schools sought to deprive them.

Dear Students,

This weekend Queen’s alumni will be celebrating Homecoming. Unlike past years, Homecoming will be celebrated remotely. There are no in-person events planned. Still, I hope you will share in the spirit of this quintessential Queen’s event by celebrating in a safe, socially distanced way.

Thirty-one years ago, 14 women lost their lives at the hands of unspeakable misogynistic violence – they were murdered because they were women. Another ten women were injured that day and as awful as that event was and remains in our memory, women are still experiencing gender-based violence in this country daily.

We remember and honour the women who died at École Polytechnique all those years ago and as we mourn the loss of their futures and potential, we also must remember the many others who have suffered violence because of their gender.

On behalf of the students, staff and faculty at Queen’s University, I offer our deepest sympathies to the family and friends of the victims of Flight PS752 that were tragically taken one year ago. I remember when I heard of the plane crash, I was struck by the sheer horror and magnitude of the loss. As we learned more in the days that followed of the details of the crash and of the lives of the people on board the plane, our university community was gripped with a profound sadness, particularly when we found out that one of our own students, Amir Moradi, was among the victims.

Our university condemns the hateful, sexist, racist and anti-Semitic messaging that occurred during a Zoom hack yesterday by unknown hackers during a guest lecture from Yale Professor Kathryn Lofton at the School of Religious Studies.

Late last month, the university informed its alumni volunteers and reunion classes about plans to host two Homecoming events in October. Many of our alumni were hopeful that this year, they might be able to return to Kingston.

Dear Members of the Queen’s University Community,

Many people are wondering about our expectations and plans for the Fall term, so I hope the following observations will be helpful and encouraging. The key message for everyone is that the imminent roll-out of mass vaccinations is giving rise to a new optimism, and despite some immediate and continuing COVID-19 challenges, we can all look with justification towards a brighter future. Because of what our public health experts are predicting, in fact, the university is planning for a resumption of in-person activity in September.

I know I speak for all of Queen’s University when I say how deeply we are moved by the suffering and loss that has been a daily reality in India for the last several weeks. Media coverage has shown in explicit detail the devastating effect the current wave of the pandemic has had in that country. Our university is home to many students, staff and faculty from India, many of whom still have close ties and family living there, so I understand that the toll this situation is taking on them is considerable. The university is committed to assisting those affected in any way it can.