Numerous students report being egged in University District

Although it’s a bad thing to egg a house or car, it’s worse to egg a human being. Despite this, several students have reported being egged in the University District in recent years. 

The Journal reached out to students and received dozens of stories about being egged on or around campus.

In the early hours of Mar. 21, Paige James, ArtSci ’20, was walking with a friend near Victoria Park. According to her, a run-down pick-up truck drove by and without stopping, hit her friend in the head with an egg.

The egg scraped James’ friend’s forehead, prompting James to phone Kingston Police soon after. James’ friend — who declined to comment — filed a report with the police the next morning.

“Normally when you egg a house you have a reason for egging a house,” James commented. “Do they just want to make people’s days miserable?”

While James’ friend reported the incident to police, it appears they’re only one of a few who make this decision. All other cases relayed to The Journal went unreported.

Ben Grady, Sci ’18, told The Journal he was egged in May 2016 when walking north on Victoria St. between Brock and Mack St. at around 2 a.m.

“I felt something hit my backpack, then saw the car drive away. Since it was winter, I assumed it was a snowball, so in good humor I smiled and waved at the car, and continued walking home,” Grady wrote in a message to The Journal. “Once I reached my house, I found my backpack was soaked in egg, and after a few days of trying to clean out the smell I found I needed to throw it out.”

Grady isn’t the only student who didn’t report their experience to officials. Lavie Freedman, Sci ’19, decided against it when he was egged two months ago on Aberdeen St.

“As [my friend and I] headed home with poutine in hand, we turned on to Aberdeen St. when suddenly three eggs came flying our way,” Freedman wrote in a message to The Journal. “Not knowing whether it was someone in a car or people who had ran off, we didn’t think much of it.”

Sammy Barsky, Sci ’21, told The Journal he was narrowly missed by a group of people tossing eggs out of a blue Sedan during the first week of classes this year. 

“I called Campus Security and they suggested I make a police report but I didn’t,” Barsky wrote. “I barely got a look at the people because they drove off quickly and couldn’t be identified. They wouldn’t have caught them. It wasn’t worth my time.”

Despite all the cases relayed to The Journal, Campus Security said they haven’t received any recent reports of students being hit by eggs. Director of Campus Security and Emergency Services David Patterson noted that, “throwing any object at people is dangerous, particularly from a moving vehicle.”

“Eggs can cause significant harm, and might also pose an allergic risk,” Patterson wrote to The Journal in an email. “Anyone who witnesses this type of behaviour on campus should call security, or off campus, call Kingston Police.”

Media Relations Officer Cameron Mack also shared that Kingston Police “[does] not receive many calls of this nature.” 

“However, if the persons involved should be identified, charges could be laid including mischief or even assault with a weapon depending on what or who was struck by the eggs,” he wrote in an email to The Journal. “We consider this a dangerous act and would look at pursing charges.” 

Mack added that police recommend that victims should try and obtain the license plate of the perpetrator’s car, make note of vehicle details and report the incident immediately.