It is with great pleasure, that we can officially announce that we have succeeded in our tireless mission over the past four years: As of the 2013/2014 academic school year, there will be a Modern Greek Program offered and taught at the University of Toronto St. George Campus!

The Centre for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies (C.E.R.E.S.) at the Munk School of Global Affairs will be hosting a suite of Modern Greek courses. The courses will include Modern Greek language, modern history, modern politics, cultural studies, and eventually, a connection between the University of Toronto and an institution in Greece for an exchange or abroad program.

As of right now, the Faculty of Arts & Science has given the green light to C.E.R.E.S to develop a coherent Modern Greek Program that focuses on numerous contemporary subjects that fall under History, Politics, Culture, and Language. There is still a whole lot of work to do, however it looks like we will have a number of half credit courses introduced in U of T’s course calendar for the Spring semester of the 2013/2014 academic year.

The Greek Students’ Association has faced countless rejections, was told to give up, and told that we never had a chance. Today, our dream is now a reality.  I would like to thank all of you for always being there for the GSA through all of our events, signing the petition we distributed last year, and always believing in us.  I would also like to thank Professors Robert Austin and Randall Hansen from C.E.R.E.S. for working tirelessly with us since October and for never giving up on the initiative.

Aside from the numerous cultural, social, and academic events that we host on a monthly bases, the GSA has also worked alongside many individuals and organizations to finally bring the Modern Greek Program back to U of T. Most prominently, we would like to thank the Consulate General of Greece in Toronto, the Hon. Dimitris Azemopoulos and his entire office for sharing the same vision of success with us right from the beginning. We would also like to thank the Hellenic Heritage Foundation of Canada for also believing in our goals and initiating our movement for a Modern Greek Program by Event Sponsoring Toronto’s National Hellenic Students Association Spring 2012 Convention.

Our gratitude stretches further to many associations and organizations. The Greektown BIA, Signature Productions,  Pan Arcadian Association of Ontario, Pan Macedonian Association, Ellas News, the Greek Community of Toronto, restaurants and bakeries along the Danforth, the HFO, and many, many more generous Hellenic Canadian organizations and businesses that have supported all of our endeavours. And lastly, as mentioned in yesterdays’ statement, we also thank our student members who have believed in all of our initiatives from day one.

The GSA will be celebrating this momentous occasion on May 16th at our end of Year Banquet: the SEF Toronto Formal.

For SEF Toronto Formal tickets, please CLICK HERE