May 25, 2010

Dear U of T Student,

RE: G20 Summit: Restricted Access on St. George Campus

As you may know, the G20 summit will be taking place in Toronto on June 26-27, 2010. Queen's Park North, which is immediately adjacent to the St. George Campus, was recently designated as the official protest site.

We of course respect the legitimacy of peaceful protest. But we know from past G20 summits (including last year's summit in Pittsburgh) that these protests may be associated with violence, tear gas, arrests, disruption and damage to buildings.

It our hope that these untoward incidents do not materialize here in Toronto. However, it is only prudent to act so that we protect those students, staff, and faculty who do not wish to participate or get caught up in these protests. Hence, we will be moving through a series of restricted access measures during the G20 -- the week of June 21-27.

On the St George campus, there are no classes scheduled during this period in the Faculty of Arts and Science. Summer session exams will be moved to the early part of the week, with accommodation made for students for whom this disrupts plans. For the later part of the week, classes scheduled in other faculties will be rescheduled. These plans do not affect classes or exams scheduled at UTM and UTSC.

Those students staying in Innis, New, University, and Woodsworth college residences who wish to remain on campus at this time will be moved to other U of T residences from Wednesday evening through to Sunday. If you are affected by one of the college residence closures, staff from your college will be in contact with further details. Planning decisions for Victoria, Trinity and St Michael’s colleges will shortly be communicated by the heads of those colleges.

In addition, no events will be held on the St. George campus during that week (Monday, June 21st to Sunday, June 27th).

What this means effectively is that the St. George campus will be for all intents and purposes closed from 6:00 p.m. Wednesday, June 23rd through Sunday, June 27th. We will be continuing to work on our planning over the next days and weeks. Please consult the Preparedness website (accessible on the U of T homepage or directly at www.preparedness.utoronto.ca) where further information will be posted.

Sincerely,


Jill L. Matus
Vice Provost, Students

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Office of the Vice-Provost, Students
University of Toronto
27 King's College Circle, Room 221
Toronto, ON M5S 1A1

ovps@utoronto.ca
www.viceprovoststudents.utoronto.ca