At home, online and with humour, U of T’s Class of 2020 celebrate a virtual convocation

With social media, Zoom calls and signs planted on front lawns and draped from apartment balconies, there was no shortage of well-wishing for the University of Toronto’s class of 2020 – the first in the university’s 193 years to celebrate convocation remotely.

Some crafty graduates set the stage for their at-home convocation with cardboard props and makeshift gowns. Others left a running commentary of congratulatory messages on a chat window that accompanied the virtual event.

Justin Basinger (1987-2020), JD Class of 2012

The University of Toronto Faculty of Law is saddened to hear of the sudden passing on May 27, 2020, of Métis alumnus, Justin Basinger (1987-2020), Class of 2012.  

In just two weeks, more than 15,000 University of Toronto students will graduate at a convocation ceremony unlike any other in the university’s 193-year history.

The “virtual” proceedings – necessary because of public health rules preventing large gatherings during the pandemic – will be viewed on laptops, smartphones and other devices as graduating students, families and friends tune in from the safety of their homes around the world.

The Faculty of Law, friends, family and colleagues are mourning the loss of Justice Romain Pitt, a trailblazing lawyer and judge who died last week at the age of 84. 

Born in Grenada and arriving in Toronto at the age of 19 to study at the University of Toronto, Pitt went on to co-found the first partnership of black lawyers in Canada and serve as a founding director of Caribana, now known as the Toronto Caribbean Carnival.

Announcement  on behalf of the Students’ Law Society

The University of Toronto shares the profound concerns that have arisen in response to recent events in the United States and here in Toronto. On behalf of the U of T community, let me repeat in the strongest terms possible our condemnation of anti-Black racism and discrimination.