Victoria Silman | News Editor
Featured Image: Toronto police and fire services responded to a non-York member vandalizing the room in Accolade East. | Fatema Ali
Following one incident where a student was arrested, police and fire services were called in response to reports of a non-York member barricading themself in a music practice room in Accolade East (ACE).
The incident, which occurred on February 7, came two days after a student was arrested for threatening other students in a classroom.
According to Public Information Officer for Toronto Fire Services (TFS), Captain David Eckerman, the call was received at 8:19 a.m. A TFS twitter update says they were dispatched at 8:21 a.m. for a police assist call to York Boulevard.
Eckerman says the incident involved what TFS believed to be hazardous material, to which the department responded accordingly.
“Prior to TFS’ arrival, the individual had left the scene but did leave white powder in the room. Toronto Police Services (TPS) their Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear defence (CBRN) team, which is the hazardous materials response,” he says.
“TFS then secured the room and awaited police arrival. An assessment was made and no hazardous materials were detected. There is no further information on what the material was. TFS completed the clean up and closed the call at 11:03 a.m.,” he adds.
Yanni Dagonas, advisor and deputy spokesperson for York, confirms the incident occurred Thursday morning, and involved suspected drugs.
“Thursday morning, suspected drugs were found in ACE room 250. As a precaution, the room and nearby part of the area was sectioned off and Toronto Fire was called to investigate. The room was cleared, there was no significant impact to the area and no classrooms were closed or rescheduled,” he says.
With two incidents in one week, the YFS responded with information regarding the Annual General Meeting (AGM) motion, which ultimately passed, to remove TPS from campus.
According to Sebastien Lalonde, vice president of campaigns and advocacy for YFS, the motion was written by the York University Black Student Alliance (YUBSA), however, it was submitted without a mover. As a result, President Rawan Habib moved the motion to facilitate a discussion.
While the motion states “the YFS to call for the removal of Toronto Police from our campus,” Lalonde clarifies the YFS’ understanding of the language in the motion refers to how police respond to incidents on campus.
“We take our understanding from the language of the motion. As the motion states, the YFS is mandated to working with the administration and community at large in order to investigate the creation of a more democratic control over security on campus,” he says.
Lalonde adds: “This would affect the ways in which TPS and Security services respond to situations, which seems to be the main issue addressed in the motion.”
Furthermore, Lalonde says the YFS will continue to pursue the motion, despite the recent incidents on campus, as per the AGM decision.
Referring to the motion, Lalonde says: “The York Federation of Students is governed by the decisions taken at the Annual General Meeting and so will be doing it’s best to adhere to the carried be it resolved during the meeting.”
YUBSA could not be reached for comment at the time of publication.
