Last week we hosted two events that played to our strengths. The first was a terrific panel discussion on the H1N1 virus. We featured five prominent public health experts from our own campus explaining the risks, evaluating Canada’s preparedness and recommending best practices. All of our panelists are world class. It was a fabulous, value-added session and it got a lot of positive media coverage for uOttawa.

The second event was a visit by the Foreign Minister of Spain. He gave a most interesting presentation about Spain, the EU and the Americas, then answered questions on everything from counter-terrorism to Afghanistan. Just the kind of first-class event with an international flavour you’d expect on a campus in the heart of a G8 capital city.

I hope your summer was terrific. In my last blog entry, I said I wanted to take the summer off blogging to evaluate and examine my blog and its effectiveness in communicating with our students. I received some great suggestions and comments from students and we will put into action several of those suggestions. For example, we organized a vox pop to get your opinion on a variety of issues.

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(download the mp3 file of this Vox pop)

I have a team of dedicated staff in my office that will moderate my blog to ensure it remains an effective communication tool for the entire student population.

I hope it has improved by trial and error since I started it last year. As always, comments and suggestions are welcome.

We Need to Do Better

In the first days of September, some students (too many) moved into rooms in our residences that had not been thoroughly cleaned or renovated. Something went wrong, and we had to scramble to fix things. It was naturally very upsetting for the students, their families and stressful for staff. I am terribly sorry that this happened. We are going to do everything possible to thoroughly inspect rooms and apartments and make sure that they meet high standards of cleanliness before they are occupied by our students.

The Need to Reach Out

We suffered a terrible loss on September 12 with the death of Michel Gariépy, a student in Droit Civil. His death had an immense impact. It's hard to know what to say about such a profound tragedy. It makes us think about the nature of community.

Never forget the importance of reaching out to others. Be aware of your own feelings. September is always an exciting time on campus but it's also very stressful. Student life can be challenging and sometimes difficult.

I remember.I turned 18 just as I began my second year in undergrad at this University. That year, I went through a tough period, experiencing what I now know were anxiety attacks. It just seemed that all the pressures of life were coming together and I didn’t really have the ability to sort them out or deal with them. The symptoms I was experiencing made it even more difficult for me to relate to others and I got into a negative spiral. Although I lived at home, I didn’t feel that it was something I could discuss with my parents. I don’t remember counselling being available on campus. I eventually called a name from the Yellow Pages and ended up seeing a psychologist regularly for about a year. It made all the difference, but I’ll never forget how alone I felt until that very kind person began to listen to me and helped me put things in perspective.

Take the time to speak with friends. Stay in touch with those around you. Each of us has to find the best way of dealing with pressure and stress. Of course today, the University has excellent counsellors available. Some might find that family members or professors are helpful mentors. But sometimes the best “therapy” is found in talking to a friend. It's amazing how you'll find that others are dealing with problems and pressures too, and how much good it does just to talk about your feelings.

That's especially true at a time like this, when the campus has been touched by such tragedy. Never forget that we are first and foremost a community, with a responsibility for each other.