To: Graduate students at the University of Waterloo
From: James W.E. Rush, Vice-President, Academic and Provost
Date: May 16, 2024
Subject: Progress on Emergency Communications and Supporting 2SLGBTQIA+ Communities
In January, we updated you on our progress on action items emerging in the wake of the Hagey Hall attack. We shared our progress on improving our Emergency Response Plan, changes to campus spaces, and on our ongoing work on campus climate and culture.
Today, we are able to share an update on changes to WatSAFE and the replacement of our Emergency Notification System, and details about how we will fulfill our commitments to support the 2SLGBTQIA+ communities here at Waterloo, which include the following:
- the appointment of Washington Silk, a 2SLGBTQIA+ Counsellor from Campus Wellness, to facilitate a series of consultations with our 2SLGBTQIA+ community this summer
- the hiring of Alex Pershai as a new Associate Director, Equity who will be focused on gender identity and expression
- partnering with Pride at Work Canada to support a range of programming activities and job postings
- Office of Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Anti-Racism's (EDIRO) new Gender and Sexual Equity Road Map
Marking Pride and the anniversary of the Hagey Hall attack
We will mark our continuing support for the 2SLGBTQIA+ community during Pride with a ceremony on Monday, June 3 from 8:45 to 9:45 a.m. to re-raise the Intersex-Inclusive Progress flag and the Two-Spirit Pride flag (which have continued to fly on masts since last June). An invitation to this event will be sent within the next few days. In the meantime, visit the Pride website for information about Pride activities, including our support for the Glow Centre at Pride Toronto from June 28 to June 30.
June 28, 2024 marks the anniversary of the hate-motivated attack in Hagey Hall. An invitation to stand together in the Dana Porter Library Quad on June 28 at 1:00 p.m. will be sent in June. We encourage you to join us in affirming your support of gender expression and identity, and to stand with those who experienced trauma the day of the attack or trauma related to their expression of gender. We acknowledge that the approaching anniversary of the attack could be difficult, and we encourage you to reach out for support.
Advancing our work on free expression and respectful engagement
The Task Force on Freedom of Expression and Respectful Engagement has completed consultation sessions with the University community. Many of you have also provided feedback through the anonymous online feedback form, which will remain open until May 30, 2024. The Task Force is now working on drafting proposed principles to guide our community.
To foster our commitment to free expression and respectful engagement, the University is hosting the international interdisciplinary conference “From Targeting in Academia to Promoting Trust and Understanding” on June 27 and 28, 2024. We encourage all members of the University community to attend.
We look forward to updating you on the progress of these—and more—initiatives throughout the year.
James W.E. Rush
Vice-President, Academic and Provost
Office of the Provost