The beginning of a new academic year

The beginning of a new academic year at the University of Guelph is filled with familiar events and always some new ones.

There is the managed chaos as first year students move into residences on campus.  There is the hooping and hollaring of orientation games.  Over the long weekend, dozens of students were out in the community collecting spare change for charity.  The University of Guelph has a remarkable record of student volunteerism.  Students plan to break a world record tomorrow in their goal to end world hunger. I will be there to watch them make history.

This year, I have welcomed new international students to City Hall and encouraged new graduate students to get involved in the community.  I also spoke to university staff and faculty at the annual Community Breakfast thanking them for the university’s contributions to the local economy, the culture and heritage of Guelph and making a difference – on campus, in the community and around the world. 

I know it is not all fun and games for the downtown or some residential neighbourhoods.  It may be easy to paint students with the same brush – especially when your quality of life is being directly impacted – but that just isn’t fair or real. Our Police Services along with many community stakeholders are working to proactively manage  the impacts in the downtown and neighbourhoods.  This commitment to community policing has delivered real success in the downtown and we will continue to work to improve the experience for our neighbourhoods.