Dear FHIS community,
On September 20th in Europe and the US and on the 27th in Canada, millions of people worldwide will be striking from school and work to demand that the climate crisis be acted on as an emergency (https://globalclimatestrike.net/). It has been declared as such by many institutions, including the Canadian federal government and the City of Vancouver.
UBC students, staff and faculty are organizing an event to take place September 27 at 11 am in front of AMS Nest, with a bus and bike convoy afterwards to join the Vancouver Climate Strike at Vancouver City Hall (1-5 pm).
The Department of French, Hispanic and Italian Studies (FHIS) takes a supportive position towards students, faculty and staff who wish to partake in the Global Climate Strike.
We encourage all interested faculty members and students to show the same support, by cancelling classes on Friday, September 27, 2019 and striking alongside the students, staff, and fellow faculty members who wish to participate in the Global Climate Strike.
Should some instructors decide to hold class that day, we ask that they not penalize students who may be absent for the strike. Instead, please consider arrangements so that striking students can receive missed course content and/or make-up missed exams, quizzes, or other assignments. We also recommend and kindly ask that instructors not reschedule these classes. We encourage students who plan to participate in this action to discuss it with their instructors. Students may also apply for academic concession – more on this can be found in the UBC Calendar or on this website: https://students.ubc.ca/enrolment/academic-learning-resources/academic-concessions.
We are all invited to take a moment to reflect on the importance of addressing climate change, to appreciate the meaning of this disruption, and to find in ourselves the courage and inspiration to act.
Sincerely,
Joël Castonguay-Bélanger
Associate Professor | Department Head
Department of French, Hispanic and Italian Studies
