Homecoming 2022 recap: the sanctioned & unsanctioned

Students take on Aberdeen in unsanctioned gatherings

Following the fauxcoming celebrations the week prior, students gathered for unsanctioned Homecoming celebrations on Aberdeen St. in a similar fashion to years previous. 

Kingston Police said in a press release the Oct. 29 Homecoming street party involved action taken by police and Bylaw Enforcement. Kingston Police said they worked with “community partners” to address and mitigate dangerous gatherings in the University District. 

According to Kingston Police, officers continued to observe aggressive, volatile, and unsafe behaviour, which they believe has become more commonplace in recent weeks.   

“Unfortunately, despite our broad community outreach by Police Liaison Team (PLT) members and other resources that were deployed in the lead up to homecoming, we still saw many dangerous gatherings with high-risk behaviour displayed throughout the weekend,” Antje McNeely, Kingston Police chief, said in the press release. 

Police reported individuals jumping from rooftops and in one case, an individual was struck by a brick-like projectile thrown in the crowd of students. 

Officers from the Toronto Police and other nearby cities, such as Brockville, were present to support Kingston Police in their enforcement efforts. 

Over the weekend—on both Oct. 28 and 29—there were a total of 72 noise and nuisance complaints in the University District and a total of 66 charges under the Liquor Licence Control Act. 

One individual was arrested for impaired operation of a motor vehicle, with two individuals arrested for allegations involving weapons.

The 92 administrative monetary penalties issued totaled $44,400.

Fall Harvest Alumni Gathering open to all 

On Homecoming day, the University organized an event open to all mobility types on Agnes Benidickson Field. The event included local artisans, live music, and complimentary coffee and hot apple cider. 

The family-friendly event included alumni artists and CFRC, who played on-site tracks in celebration of their 100-year anniversary. 

READ MORE: CFRC celebrates 100 years of radio broadcasting

Vice-Principal (Advancement) Karen Bertrand said the gathering was meant to be an event for all Queen’s staff, faculty, students, alumni, and Kingston community members. She said the goal of the gathering was to allow everyone to engage with Homecoming celebrations. 

Bertrand highlighted strong engagement with the event as an example of harm reduction programming on campus. 

“I was told there were a number of students coming through, and there was a number of families that were coming through. Of course, we have a number of Kingston vendors,” Bertrand said in an interview with The Journal.

Speaking more generally to Homecoming celebrations, Bertrand said participation levels were at par with pre-COVID-19 numbers with 2,700 alumni and their guests returning to Kingston for the weekend. 

At the Fall Harvest, there was a booth called the Memory Lane project that documented the Tragically Hip for an upcoming Amazon prime documentary. They requested to have community members share memorabilia about The Hip during their time in Kingston.

Alumni attend annual ‘Meet & Greet’

Alumni were invited to attend the annual Homecoming meet & greet that took place on Oct. 28 from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. and on Oct. 29 from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m., starting with a visit to Grant Hall.

Registration tables divided by reunion year welcomed alumni back to campus. Volunteers and campus representatives were in attendance to answer questions, assist with the registration process, and familiarize guests with everything new on campus.

Alumni were encouraged to check-in, find information about all the activities happening over the weekend, pick up their nametag, grab a campus map, program guide, souvenirs, reunion pins, and much more.

The Journal spoke with Jeremy Butteriss, Comm ‘97, at the event, who was attending Homecoming for his 25th reunion and spoke about his plans for the day.

“The main thing is to see old classmates and other people on campus,” Butteriss said. “We’re going to go to the football game too.” 

Reunion classes had reserved football game tickets and were able to pick them up between 8 a.m. and 11 a.m.

The Tricolour Guard registration desk was set up, welcoming the class of alumni who graduated from Queen's 50-years ago or more.

The Tricolour Guard class was invited to a cocktail reception at Grant Hall on Oct. 29 from 5:30 to 9 p.m. to connect with fellow Tricolour Guard members and learn about the current state of the University.