“Words Cannot Express the Depth of Our Sorrow”

September 27, 2021

Dear members of the UBC community.

This week we are grieving for the loss of two students, whose lives were horribly cut short. It is difficult to comprehend and express the enormity of the loss of these two bright and promising young adults, who were part of the UBC family.

Words cannot express the depth of our sorrow, but as we try to make sense of this terrible news, we need to take care of one another and to be there for one another. Do not hesitate to reach out for support, from your teachers, from staff, from UBC. Caring for each other and leaning on friends and other community members can be the most effective support of all.

We are here to help. You’ll find a list of services at the end of this message and the list is also available on my website at president-2023.sites.olt.ubc.ca/support. Please reach out to any of these services if you are in need.

I know that many of you are shocked and upset; you are wondering how such a tragedy could happen. Rest assured that we are working directly with the RCMP and the BC Ministry of Transportation & Infrastructure to review the circumstances of this tragedy and to determine appropriate measures to reduce the risk of further incidents. We will advocate for government to introduce additional measures to make Northwest Marine Drive safer. Identification and implementation of appropriate, long-term measures could take some time but we will push for immediate measures where possible.

The university will be continuing to engage with the families and friends of the victims of this tragedy in the coming days to determine how we might best honour and remember these members of the UBC community. We will keep our community informed as we have more information in the coming weeks.

Take care.

Santa J. Ono
President and Vice-Chancellor