After a 20-year-old man was assaulted during homecoming weekend on Sept. 24, students from the University of New Brunswick and St. Thomas University are voicing their concerns about the annual celebration.
Crowds of people showed up at Windsor Street to celebrate the return to classes. While it was mostly students from UNB and STU partying, the police received a call reporting an assault case and complaints from neighbours.
Sonya Gilks, public information officer for the Fredericton Police Force, said she can’t identify the three suspects who were arrested for the assault due to ongoing investigations, but added the police expect to arrest more people.
She also said the victim was sent to the hospital in “critical but stable” condition.
“We know when large crowds like that gather and groups of people are drinking things can escalate,” Gilks said. “So those kinds of behaviours are not condoned and we would really encourage people to be responsible and respectful.”
Gilks said after HOCO, the police increased patrols and worked with the neighbourhood and the universities to address the issue.
“It’s our responsibility for the daily safety and security of residents and visitors to the city … so we want to assure the residents that there will be zero tolerance for those who engage in criminal behaviour,” she said.
Students said they saw furniture burned on Graham Avenue, people urinating on houses and a lot of litter. María De la Parra, a second-year international student at STU, said she went to a house party at Windsor with her boyfriend and her friends.
“I remember we got [to a party in Windsor street] and my boyfriend and I were trying to go upstairs, but there were two people covering the entrance … because the house was too full,” she said.
De la Parra said she expected to see many drunk people, but was surprised by the turnout and the number of people “hanging out” in the middle of the street, blocking the traffic.
The next day, she said the host of the party contacted her boyfriend to ask him if he can help clean up the mess.
“[The host] sent a video of his house full of bottles and whatnot … and [the trash] even went [onto UNB campus],” she said. “Oh God, it was so much trash. It was crazy.”
Mercedes Ortiz, a third-year international student at STU, said she was drinking at her boyfriend’s house and around noon, the pair went to meet with friends at Windsor. She danced and drank with her friends until 5 p.m.
“[When we walked back] there were a lot of beer cans on the street,” she said.
Neither Ortiz nor De la Parra saw any violence, but the two agreed the amount of trash they saw was overwhelming. To avoid situations like these, Ortiz said universities should be more engaged with what is happening off-campus.
“I think it would be a better safety measure for all of us,” said Ortiz.
Shafnan Ahmed, a second-year student at Mount Allison University, said he went to a couple of homecoming parties with his friends from Fredericton. He remembers seeing police cars monitoring the area.
“There were probably three or four [police cars] on each side just checking,” said Ahmed. “I just stayed there from 2:30 p.m up until 6 p.m. when the cops showed up [at the house].”
Gilks said the police will keep investigating and encourage people to behave in a responsible manner.
“There are a lot of great things to celebrate about being back in school but do so in a responsible manner. We share the city and we would really appreciate the public’s cooperation,” she said.
