Nearly a year after an individual broke into Queen’s Waldron Tower, the University has taken steps to increase security at the residence.
However, some improvements are still in progress as a new group of first-years students settle in.
The distressed individual broke into Waldron Tower on Oct. 25, 2025, at roughly 5 a.m., breaking the glass of the residence’s front doors and leaving blood on some of the walls. Campus Security and Emergency Services (CSES) arrived within minutes of being contacted. When police arrived, the individual was apprehended and brought to Kingston General Hospital for a psychiatric evaluation.
READ MORE: Distressed man breaks into Waldron Tower leaving students shaken
In a statement to The Journal, Queen’s said it completed multiple security upgrades at Waldron over the past year, following a review conducted with CSES staff “trained in Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design.”
The review was completed in October 2025 and identified three main areas for improvement: exterior doors, the ground-floor windows, and interior access control within the building, the statement said.
Queen’s did not elaborate on the specific improvements made in each area, but said work on the doors and windows was completed within weeks of last year’s incident. Work on interior access control “required more extensive work,” with the University saying it began last winter and is continuing.
After last year’s incident, the University told The Journal that security measures at Waldron Tower and other residences on campus included double-locked glass doors, electronic key access, exterior lighting, blue lights in laundry rooms, and 24/7 campus patrols.
In a statement to The Journal, Bennett McIntosh, Sci ’29, said he lived in Waldron Tower during the incident. Regarding security, McIntosh said that “fobs would definitely be safer,” referring to the fobs that other residences, like Victoria Hall, require to use the elevators.
“I don’t think it’s a necessary change but if they were to implement something, the fob for the elevator or stairs would kind of eliminate any chances of another incident and only be a slight inconvenience which people would get used [to],” McIntosh said.
The University also said it would review additional security improvements, including reinforcing entrance glass and restricting stairwell and floor access.
While Queen’s did not provide a timeline for when these changes would be completed, it said work on interior access control is still in progress, meaning students have begun another academic year while some of the improvements are still underway.
Another student who lived in Waldron Tower the previous year, Roshan Jailty, ArtSci ’29, said that he thinks the doors should be made stronger and that there should be measures taken to ensure people always close the door when entering or exiting the building.
He also said campus security appears more active around other residences, adding that Waldron’s distance from main campus, proximity to Kingston General Hospital, and the presence of more unhoused individuals in the surrounding area make him feel less safe.
According to Queen’s Housing and Ancillary Services website, the University has undertaken several infrastructure projects at Waldron Tower. These include a sustainability initiative replacing older lighting systems with LED fixtures and a modernization of Waldron Tower’s student rooms, which is set to take place over the next five years and focus on creating “more efficient layouts.”
Security enhancements are not mentioned in the Housing and Ancillary Services’ publicly listed infrastructure projects.
In its statement, Queen’s said it “is committed to maintaining a safe and supportive living environment for all students,” adding that the University “continues to review and enhance safety measures across all residences.”
Tags
Residence, security, Waldron Tower, Waldron Tower Break In
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