A Message from Royster Harper

Parents and families of the U-M Community,

I’d like to sincerely thank you for your generous gifts on Giving Blueday. These gifts help to provide our students with transformative experiences during their time at Michigan, ranging from student organizations like Alternative Spring Break that provide scholarship funds to students to complete a service trip, to community-building activities like Recreational Sports. Though these experiences take place outside the classroom, they are aspects of student life are key to the formation of our students’ identities and dreams. I thank you for your gifts to the futures of our Leaders and Best.

As we bear the bitter cold of Michigan winter, many of our students are fervently looking forward to our mid-semester vacation beginning on February 24 and continuing until classes resume on Monday, March 5. During this break, students have opportunities to get active exploring caves with Recreational Sports Adventure Leadership or participate in one of the many Alternative Spring Break opportunities. If your student is staying in Ann Arbor for the break, there are opportunities to engage locally with the International Center and with the Ginsberg Center. They may also be seeking warmer weather or coming home to be with you.

During this time of pause, encourage your student to take time to rest and rejuvenate. It’s vital that they focus on maintaining their health and wellness throughout their classes, extracurricular activities, and academic breaks. By taking time to recharge and re-center themselves over break, they can ensure that they return to campus with renewed purpose and energy.

Break is also a time when your student may be finalizing their housing for the 2018-2019 school year. You may wish to explore the abundant resources our campus and community have to offer. Students can utilize Beyond the Diag for off-campus housing fairs and Student Legal Services housing resources. The University Housing selection process is currently underway as well.

Lastly, recent events and conversation surrounding Richard Spencer and his request to speak on campus may have also affected you or your students’ thoughts, and I wish to reassure you: There is nothing more important to us than the safety of our U-M community. Should our students, our faculty and staff, and our overall local community be at risk, we will not allow the event to go forward. Currently, no potential dates are being considered before the end of the current academic year, which ends with commencement on April 28.

President Schlissel has strongly stated, “His views, and those of his organization and its followers, are antithetical to everything we stand for at the University of Michigan. We strive for intellectual rigor and equal opportunity for all who seek to learn, teach and conduct research for the public good.”

We are committed to our values and the safety of all of our students. In order to share with you more details on how we are approaching Spencer’s request and the community conversation surrounding it, I invite you to read this update from President Schlissel and the Regents of the University.

As always, if I can be of any assistance in connecting you with our many resources and services, please do not hesitate to contact this office – assist-me@umich.edu or (734) 764-5132.

E. Royster Harper
Vice President for Student Life

 

To help Student Life continue making a difference in students' lives, please consider making a gift.