UA R1 (2024-2025): Supporting the Establishment of Campus-Wide Community Restorative Days

Acknowledged by the President

• Resolution:
  UA R1 (2024-2025): Supporting the Establishment of Campus-Wide Community Restorative Days
• Day:
  May 1, 2025
• Action:
  Acknowledged by the President
• Summary / Notes:

  Dear Zora and Ava,

   

  Thank you for conveying SA Resolution 17: Campus-Wide Community Restorative Day and UA R1: Supporting the Establishment of Campus-Wide Community Restorative Days. I recognize the Student and University Assemblies’ interest in supporting our community in response to challenging events, on and off of Cornell’s campus.

   

  Cornell utilizes a holistic approach to advancing wellbeing for our community, through our adoption of and institutional engagement with the Okanagan Charter. These guiding principles shape our responses as well as the initiatives, recommendations, and policy development that support our community.

   

  When our campus community is impacted by local and/or global events, our goal is to ensure that students are supported in the manner best suited to them as individuals. We encourage students to speak with instructors to discuss what that means, recognizing that cancelling classes may not be a supportive measure for all students.

   

  We’ve learned from our students that coming together for class can be a way to be in community and process difficult events, and that postponing exams or assignments might be a more effective way to offer academic support without compromising instruction time. We recognize that there is not a one-size-fits-all solution and that some students benefit from the structure and consistency of their known schedule when dealing with stressful moments or issues.

   

  We encourage students to make decisions about their own wellbeing, and we encourage faculty to offer support as well as flexibility when our community experiences a tragedy or exceptionally stressful experience. Many faculty note the inclusion of wellness absences on their syllabi and recommend that students determine if they need to step away from class for their health.

   

  Because such events are unpredictable, cancelling classes could become overly disruptive to our academic cadence, and place stress on faculty and staff instructional teams while compressing coursework and deadlines.

   

  Thank you again for your thoughtful consideration for our community.

   

  Sincerely,

   

  Michael Kotlikoff

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