As Mayor, I’m disappointed by the disrespectful and irresponsible actions that took place during this weekend’s Queen’s homecoming celebrations. There is simply no place in our community for this behaviour.
I know the majority of Queen’s students share these sentiments and are embarrassed by the conduct of partygoers this weekend. As a city we continually welcome and value all of our post-secondary students, but we also expect all students to act like any other resident, showing respect and taking pride in being a part of this community.
Unsanctioned parties and excessive alcohol abuse that have accompanied Queen’s homecoming will only be solved through continued collaboration. These problems are complex and require a multi-faceted approach together with Queen’s administration, neighbours, and students.
From a city perspective, one community wide approach we are working on is a nuisance bylaw that focuses on unwanted behaviours like public intoxication, excessive noise and out of control parties. This bylaw is intended to apply to all residents and visitors to Kingston throughout the year. We will be conducting public consultation next month and I ask all residents to provide their input as we move forward.
I would like to express my sincere appreciation to our paramedics, police and hospital emergency staff who were true professionals and worked tirelessly throughout the weekend. We appreciate everything you do to keep our community safe. I would also like to thank Queen’s student leadership and the many student volunteers who did a great job putting together this year’s ReUnion Street festival, and who worked to clean up the neighbourhood around Queen’s on Sunday morning.
To our broader community, thank you for your feedback as we continue to take steps to address and prevent the disrespectful behaviour associated with homecoming weekend. There is more work to be done on this front and I look forward to working with our partners to address this issue.