September 2002
1. Robert Birgeneau, President, University of
Toronto
Last September, at our memorial
event in the aftermath of the September 11th attacks on the United States,
I urged the University of Toronto community to exhibit tolerance and civility
in the face of those terrorist acts by not directing our condemnation towards
innocent members of our own community. At the same time, I affirmed
the community’s need to condemn those acts of terror and those individuals
who perpetrated them.
Pressing international issues
have a particularly significant impact on the University of Toronto because
society looks to us for leadership, analysis and understanding. The University
of Toronto is a composite of numerous nationalities, cultures, religions
and creeds. As an institution, we are, in microcosm, a mirror of
the world itself. However, precisely because we are a centre of higher
learning, we must not become a mirror of the kind of intolerance and suspicion
that would most often occur during times of unsettling events both here
and abroad.
Particularly as we prepare
to begin a new academic year, and as the one year anniversary of September
11 approaches, we must reaffirm our civility and be respectful of each
member of our community. We must, as a community, set an example
for the rest of society by coming together and reasserting our common bonds.
In recent months, incidents have occurred at this university that to some
appear to call into question these fundamental standards. They stand
as highly visible examples of the sometimes tenuous balance between the
rights and the responsibilities that flow from another fundamental university
principle – that of academic freedom.
As a centre of great expertise
and human talent, the University of Toronto has an obligation to focus
its resources on the problems that afflict society. We should work
to better our world by promoting understanding between peoples and by finding
remedies for the most complex problems confronting humanity. This
is the leadership that those of us in institutions of higher learning can
and must give in times of crisis.
These efforts must not infringe
on our fundamental principles of freedom of inquiry and free speech.
The University is almost unique in society in guarding these principles
that have been won over the centuries in the face of numerous attempts
to thwart them. I would contend that there is a far greater risk
to our society when these tenets are denied or made subservient to doctrine
and intolerance. However, academic inquiry and reporting must also
be based on responsible scholarship so that its conclusions, no matter
how unpopular they may be, can be supported. To pursue any other
course is to endanger the principles of academic freedom by undermining
the validity of scholarship and debasing the very purpose of academic research
in a free society.
As we begin a new year of
teaching, learning and research, in a world forever changed by the events
of September 11, 2001, I encourage all members of the University of Toronto
community to remember the unique role our institution plays in world understanding.
I ask that each of us embrace the challenges and the opportunities that
our diverse community affords us in helping to build a world of greater
tolerance, understanding and respect. Finally, I remind all of you that
the University will not tolerate harassment, in any form, against any members
of its community. All the members of our community must be free to express
their values, faith and views without fear of reprisal.
University of Toronto
Bulletin, September 9, 2002.
2.
Paul
Davenport, President, University of Western Ontario
One year ago, on September
11, 2001, we at Western were witness to brutal terrorist attacks on the
people of the United States. On this first anniversary of that horrific
day, we again express our condolences to all those Americans, Canadians,
and others around the world who lost loved ones in New York, Washington,
and Pennsylvania.
Our University community
continues to feel both sadness and revulsion at the events of a year ago,
and a deep sense of solidarity with those American families who are mourning
the loss of so many loved ones. The professional, personal, and family
ties between those of us at Western and our American friends are many and
profound.
As was the case one year
ago, we are reminded of the importance to our community of free inquiry,
openness of thought and expression, and personal respect for all on our
campus. These values lie at the heart of a just and civilized community,
and shape the University’s contribution to our larger society.
Western News, September
12, 2002.
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