On this day, I address you, students, staff, faculty and community members. It is extremely important, in these times, being unprecedented and never experienced before, that we recognize as the UofT community how important it really is.
Recently, I have been thinking long and hard, and with much input from my esteemed colleagues, about what can be said in situations that we have all come to experience here at the University of Toronto. I speak to you, students, staff, faculty and community members, as a human, and member of the world in which we live.
With this statement, I wish to express that these are times that we are living through. Things have happened before, and, as many of us are slowly understanding, will probably happen again. We, as members of the UofT community, are coming to learn that society exists, whether we like it or not, and whether or not we are able to recognize it.
The truth is, this university stands on principles. These principles have been etched in the stonework of our buildings and the papers we read, as well as the digital documents we engage with in this new digital age. As things change, we must hold onto these principles.
I implore you, respected friends and members of the University of Toronto community, to hold tight to the things that exist, and to think about the things that do not exist, but may very well exist one day, or even, may have existed in the past.
I thank all of my colleagues, coworkers, staff, and the people I work with to continue to work with me. With this team, I hope to lead us into a future where things are the same, but also some things are different, maybe.
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