How York is keeping you safe

Mike Sholars
Editor-in-Chief
A string of recent sexual and physical assaults has rocked the York community.
Following the April 5 attack of Valerie Bustros by three males outside the Absinthe Pub, the May 5 sexual assault of a female student in the Seneca@York building and the murder of Qian Liu on April 15, Excalibur approached the York administration. Our question was simple: what are they doing to ensure the safety of their students?
“Any time any of this happens, it affects us all here on campus and within the greater York community,” said Wallace Pidgeon, assistant director of York media relations. “Any of the incidents over the past while have certainly made it a time of concern, a time that has been very difficult.”
He asserts that York has been active on student safety for years. Some of those actions include adding $535,000 to the safety and security budget to bring it to $8.9-million for the year, adding an extra 25 security cameras to the 600 currently installed on campus and investing $200,000 into additional light fixtures.
Pidgeon said the amount of core security staff could be increased by 40 per cent, and that Toronto police have increased the number of patrols within York’s borders as of April 20.
As for York’s own security patrolling, he said they have “increased frequency in the evening from seven o’clock at night.”
Pidgeon referred to statistics from Toronto police’s 31 Division to put York’s crime rate in perspective. The crime rate in the City of Toronto is seven times higher than on York campus, and the crime rate in the York University Heights area is eight times higher. The York Village is included in that eight-times-higher crime region.
Unfortunately, increased security initiatives on York campus do not carry over to York Village.
“We don’t have jurisdiction on residences off campus,” said Pidgeon. “We administer on-campus residence life; that’s our jurisdiction.”
He explained that all incidents that occur off campus—including the murder of Qian Liu and the May 6 sexual assault of a female by two males wielding knives—are under the jurisdiction of Toronto police.
Joanna Duklas, acting vice-president of students at York, further affirmed this fact.“The Village is not part of Keele campus,” she said. “It is privately owned property.”
Nevertheless, students are working to create their own safety system. Many students united to form a community watch in April, an effort that Pidgeon gives his complete support.
“I applaud the students for doing this,” he said. “I would gladly walk with them and see what they do. Anything that students feel compelled to do, as far as safety and security is concerned, is a plus.”
All students are urged to check www.yorku.ca/safety for bulletins, safety tips and messages from the administration.