Nothing to take pride in……..
FROM THE KINGSTON WHIG-STANDARD
By Ian Elliot
Local News - Monday, September 26, 2005 @ 07:00
In the aftermath of this weekend’s Homecoming havoc, Queen’s University officials say they will examine the future of the annual event.
Police and university officials vowed tough sanctions against those involved in an out-of-control street party that attracted between 5,000 and 7,000 people. During the mayhem late Saturday and early Sunday, a car was overturned and burned, an ambulance was blocked and police and other officials were pelted with bottles.
Asked whether Homecoming should be held next year, Janice Deakin, the university’s vice-president and dean of student affairs, said, “All options are on the table.”
In response to a question about whether it might be cancelled, she said she couldn’t rule this out. “We will be looking at all options,” she repeated.
George Hood, the university’s vice-principal of advancement, gave the same answer when asked whether the entire weekend’s events could be scrapped.
Kingston Police Chief Bill Closs praised his officers’ restraint in the face of what he called “a drunken street brawl.”
Police and fire crews were pelted with bottles and other objects as the party raged out of control. One black officer was the target of racial epithets shouted from the crowd.
Closs said his officers were “subjected to the most vile and disgusting behavior that a police officer could possibly encounter.”
The 100 Kingston Police officers were outnumbered approximately 50-to-1 by the crowd of more than 5,000, many of whom were very intoxicated.
Police laid 200 liquor act violations and laid 19 criminal charges.
Thirty-five people ranging in age from 17 to 30 were arrested and spent the night in city police cells.
Closs estimated the bill for extra policing would be in the range of $60,000. That doesn’t cover police time that will be taken to prosecute all those charges.
Those arrested included a mix of Kingston residents and out-of-towners who came for the party.
But Closs wouldn’t blame the latter for the weekend problems.
“The people from out of town came to Kingston to take part in a drunken brawl,” he said.
“The catalyst for all of this is Queen’s Homecoming and students who host the drunken parties and I refuse to offload the responsibility on people who come in from out of town.”
“I can state that I am extremely disappointed and appalled by the behaviour of the people on Aberdeen Street,” Deakin said.
One of the main initiatives the university tried this year was a free concert featuring the Tragically Hip’s Rob Baker and others at the Miller Hall parking lot but it was lightly attended. City councillor Floyd Patterson, who represents the district and was touring the area until 1 a.m., said the pilot project was a flop.
“I would say, if they thought this pilot project would keep the students in one place and stop them from migrating out to the streets, it was an utter failure,” he said.
Although the worst was confined to Aberdeen, he said students blocked traffic, smashed bottles and otherwise disrupted other areas around campus where non-students live and said Queen’s needed to get a grip on the situation.
“This sort of behaviour is disgusting and angering and insulting to the permanent residents of this community and Queen’s needs to go a long way to addressing this,” he said.
The university will co-operate fully with police in prosecuting those identified as engaging in criminal behaviour this weekend, Deakin said, and will also conduct its own investigation.
It can also levy internal sanctions, such as fines, community service, suspension or expulsion against students and will be pursuing those options, Deakin said.
The student code of conduct, by which all undergraduate and post-graduate students are required to abide, specifically singles out massive block parties like this weekend’s as ground for punishment.
“[Students] should also bear in mind that compliance with this code implies non-participation in disturbances such as street parties which have been formally prohibited by the Senate, adherence to the laws governing the possession and/or consumption of alcoholic beverages and generally maintaining the reputation of the university,” the policy reads.
Sanctions against students are taken by a special committee of the Alma Mater Society and the Society of Graduate and Professional Students. Students can appeal those rulings to the university administration.
“It will be interesting to see how the AMS chooses to deal with these issues,” said Closs.
Deakin was on the scene of the massive street party on Aberdeen and praised city police for their restraint even as they were under assault by bottle-throwing revellers.
“I think the police were incredible,” she said.
“In the face of everything they had to deal with, they did an outstanding job.”
Closs said police, led by Insp. Brian Cookman, were under orders to use a “minimum” amount of force and that without co-operation of students, the only way they could possibly have restored order to the streets was through the use of a riot squad and weapons such as pepper spray and Tasers.
The difficulty of clearing the streets in such a way is that it leads to panic, and students would be in danger of being trampled in a rush if they were dispersed. Police would also be loath to disperse the crowd because there was nowhere to disperse the mob to except the surrounding streets where they could create more widespread mayhem.
Closs will be meeting with university officials in coming weeks to discuss the weekend incidents. He made it clear he’s not happy with the increasingly lawless Homecoming events and the burden that falls on his force to police them, the cost of which will be borne by city taxpayers.
He said if Homecoming continues, he would like to see a policy of, for example, mandatory expulsion of any student convicted of a criminal act or liquor licence infraction within a certain area of the student neighbourhood during Homecoming.
“We will be meeting with the university, but I have to say I am extremely disappointed in what happened on Aberdeen Street as a result of Queen’s Homecoming,” he said.
ielliot@thewhig.com
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