When parties get out of hand, we all suffer the consequences.
Over the Sept. 26-27 weekend, the University of Guelph hosted their annual homecoming festivities, including a concert band, alumni events, and of course, a student street party.
The parties, however, quickly erupted into chaos. Students were pepper-sprayed, beer cans and other items were being thrown into crowds, people were scaling walls, among much more. There were confrontations with police officers, multiple arrests, and over 60 people were sent the hospital.
To state the obvious, what happened over Guelph homecoming is appalling and those who participated in the violence — which as Queen’s students, we know is a minority of those in attendance — should be held accountable. It’s mob mentality, and those who are looking for issues will always find them.
Homecoming is supposed to be a time of fun and positivity. The fact that Guelph’s got so out of hand this year is not only unacceptable, but also incredibly unfair to the students trying to enjoy their weekend respectfully and the residents whose neighbourhoods are being trashed.
Not only that, but it would be irresponsible for the City of Guelph to ignore this incident when planning for future years. It’s all but guaranteed that students can expect a heavy police presence and a much more forceful crackdown on partying at Guelph during future events.
This will likely also affect other homecoming celebrations, including the one at Queen’s later this October. After we’ve already seen an increase in party crackdowns at Queen’s in recent years, you bet it will be even stronger this time around.
It really is a shame. The enactment of Kingston’s University District Safety Initiative, which allows for a stricter enforcement of fines during large party weekends, already proves the City of Kingston, Kingston Police, and the University are actively trying to curtail partying at Queen’s, and what happened at Guelph will simply add fuel to the fire.
And as unfortunate as it is, and as is often the case with Queen’s too, it’s likely that a good proportion of those who engaged in the destructive chaos didn’t even go to Guelph.
In an effort to get the quintessential and hilariously unrealistic “university experience,” those travelling from out of town for partying festivities at any university often act the rowdiest to “make the most of it.”
In reality, though, those actions give police forces and university administrations an infinite supply of justifications to further curtail the party culture at Canadian universities.
And the worst part is, considering how awful it was at Guelph, you can’t even blame them.
This is also not to say local student partiers aren’t also the cause of dangerous situations. Local students can also be at the heart of unacceptable behaviour during street parties, and that can’t be ignored.
This means there is a strong onus on the local student community to hold each other accountable and call out that poor behaviour, a responsibility that is oftentimes neglected.
A culture of respectful partying is possible; it just requires concerted effort and the willingness to tell someone off when they’re putting others at risk. It’s not difficult to party responsibly and have basic respect for others — it should be considered the bare minimum.
It doesn’t help that social media personalities, and social media more broadly, promote this kind of behaviour. They encourage larger crowds, embolden rowdy behavior, romanticize the partying lifestyle, enable the wrong type of attitude, and, ultimately, contribute to the issue.
If we want to have any shot at improving these issues, it’s crucial to make a strong effort to educate students about their community and emphasize the importance of respecting their home, even if it’s just a temporary one.
The more we develop a responsible party culture, where students are willing to call one another out, the less likely things will get out of hand.
— Journal Editorial Board
Tags
Guelph Homecoming, Homecoming, University of Guelph
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