With Kingston, Ontario still reeling from an intense Queen’s University homecoming weekend, one that included 8,000-person street parties and fights with police, city officials are gearing up for another weekend that may be alike.
The homecoming was initially planned for two weekends, beginning last Thursday and scheduled to end on October 24. The divided celebrations were meant to give those who missed last year a chance to celebrate on one weekend and alumni a chance on another.
Read more:
Kingston and the Islands MP Says More Needs to Be Done to Stop College District Parties
Then the university changed its plans and scheduled welcome events to end on October 17 and coincide with the end of the reading week.
Still, plans appear to be in the works for what students and a popular YouTube influencer will call “focus” or “fake-hoco” next weekend.
“Fake hoco will take place on October 23,” said Jack Denmo, in his YouTube Movie done about last weekend at Queen’s.
Denmo makes a living creating videos that are tailored to the party culture of Canadian college students, and has recently made similar movies about the Western and McMaster welcome events.
Global News went to the Queen campus on Tuesday to assess whether a second weekend of unauthorized festivities might be in the works.
Most of those who spoke said they were aware of the second unofficial homecoming weekend.
“Yes, I’m pretty sure there will be one next week. I don’t think the students really care that people are arrested and stuff. It’s from Queen’s, it’s a party school, so I’m pretty sure it’s still going to happen, ”said Queen’s student Kajanan Shanmugarajah.
The plans are not lost in the application of the city. In a joint press release Monday, city of Kingston statutes and police say they are beefing up staff for next weekend in case more unauthorized street parties take place. Officials expect visitors to travel to Kingston for the festivities.
“While many community members can be vaccinated, out-of-town visitors to gatherings that make physical distancing and other public health measures nearly impossible are extremely concerning,” the statement said.
The message came with a warning from Kingston’s new medical health officer, Dr. Piotr Oglaza, who took over from Dr. Kieran Moore on Monday.
“We recognize that the impact of COVID-19 has been particularly stressful for young adults; however, large gatherings of people who do not follow the boundaries and rules of social gatherings are counterproductive to the efforts and safety measures that have been put in place to protect our community and keep everyone safe and healthy, ”said Oglaza .
Parties like those that were seen in Kingston last weekend, and that are expected for the next, have not been isolated from Queen’s University. Some partygoers have been taking advantage of homecoming weekends across the province.
Queen principal Patrick Deane pointed out that some of the people who attended the noisy welcome celebrations last weekend weren’t Queen students at all.
“We know that there has been a kind of traveling group that attended these welcome events across the province, causing a similar level of disruption in different communities,” he said.
As for the consequences for those attending the party, at least 100 people received some type of ticket for the events that took place in the University District last weekend. Three people face criminal charges for obstructing police, and the city has threatened to name nearly 60 people in the media under its aggravated holiday nuisance statute.
However, it is unclear whether the financial penalties are sufficient to deter partygoers, as the threat of increased fines before the final homecoming weekend did not stop the crowds that gathered for Thousands.
Deane has repeatedly said that there will be consequences under the student code of conduct for those who violate COVID-19 regulations on and off campus, but many, including Kingston politicians, say these consequences have not been harsh enough.
“What I’m asking, in a call to action, is that the university say: ‘Listen, if you are charged and found guilty of a crime during this special time where the city has taken special measures during the special event the weekends like this, you will be expelled from school, ”said Mark Gerretsen, MP Kingston and the Islands, on Monday.
In fact, most of the school’s nonacademic code violations did not end with serious consequences in the past year.
According to code of conduct violation numbers posted on the school website, during the 2019-2020 academic year, 123 students were held responsible for the violations. That number skyrocketed to 321 for the upcoming academic year, most of which, 225, were “incidents related to the guest-in-residence policy and large gatherings during COVID-19.”
Still, of the more than 300 violations found in the 2020-2021 academic year, only eight percent received any corrective action, while the vast majority, 84 percent, were addressed through educational measures.
Penalties under the code can range from a written warning, a letter of reprimand, additional educational assignments to a period of probation and non-academic expulsion.
But Deane has also made clear that the code of conduct process is not intended to expel students without giving students the right to defend themselves and appeal decisions.
The principal said the school’s biggest challenge is not dealing with a bad apple or two, but a culture that promotes the kind of behavior seen over the past weekend.
“That sense of privilege, which supports the notion that, well, ‘Yeah, so what? It’s just a fine added to my total cost. ‘ I mean, that’s awful, and it will take time to move forward on that particular aspect of cultural change. But it is essential that we do so, ”he said.
Reference-globalnews.ca