All Posts Tagged With: "safety"
Drunk student paralyzed by fall from bed
Sues university for negligence
An American student who fell asleep drunk and woke up paralyzed after falling more than a metre from his dorm room bunk bed is now suing his school, Fordham University in the Bronx. Kei Usami, 20, smashed his head so hard that he fractured his spine, according to a the New York Post. His suit alleges the university was negligent for failing to put guardrails on the bed. The former tennis player is now in a wheelchair. He says his goal is to walk again by the time he graduates in 2013.
Stabbing at McMaster University
Injured youths won’t help police
Hamilton Police aren’t getting any cooperation from the three young men who were stabbed outside McMaster University’s campus pub early on Saturday morning, reports the Hamilton Spectator. The three men include two 18-year-olds and one 19-year-old—all of them from outside Hamilton.
It’s reminiscent of an incident in September when four people went to hospital and at least two others were cut during a knife fight at a house party near McMaster University. None of those injured cooperated with police. They were also from out of town.
More than 100 thefts near U. of Western Ontario
Police warn students
Dennis Rivest by MyFanshawe on YouTube
Students in London, Ont. are being warned by police to secure their doors, windows, and patio doors due to an increased number of break-and-enters near student housing. Western News reports that more than 100 have occurred near the University of Western Ontario in recent months.
London Police officer Dennis Rivest held a press conference at Fanshawe College recently to offer more information. He called the thefts “crimes of opportunity” and believes that thieves may be walking from residence to residence, looking for easy ways to break in and steal electronics. He says students should not only secure their residences better, but should record serial numbers for computers, cameras, TVs and tablets.
Two separate attacks on females in Ontario
One woman grabbed, another kissed by strange man
Police in two Ontario cities are looking for male suspects after separate incidents involving university-aged females that occurred on or near campuses this week.
The first happened at the University of Western Ontario at 6:40 a.m. on Wednesday. After a female left her vehicle and walked to work near the TD Waterhouse Stadium, she was grabbed from behind by an unknown male who is described as white and aged 25 to 35 with a thin build and a stud or ring in his lower lip. He was wearing a grey hooded sweatshirt under a black leather jacket and black jeans, reports the London Police Service.
The second incident involved a 21-year-old woman near the Wilfrid Laurier University and University of Waterloo campuses on Thursday around 3:30 p.m. A man unknown to the woman hugged and kissed her on the cheek before letting her go. Waterloo police told the Waterloo Record that the man is described as dark-skinned and short in height with a large belly and short dark hair. He was wearing a red sweater or jacket and jeans.
Deadly construction collapse at York University
No injuries to students reported
One man is dead at York University after a piece of construction equipment, possibly a crane or drilling machine, toppled over onto construction workers around 2:30 this afternoon. Another man, who is 36-years old, is still trapped in the debris as of 4 p.m., reports CP24. Three people have been taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The accident happened beside the Schulich School of Business where construction workers are drilling for the Spadina Subway extension. The accident has caused road closures, including portions of Keele St. York students are currently on a reading week break, so few are on campus. No students have been injured.
Is your water fountain safe?
Fredericton schools find unacceptable levels of lead
Even as universities across the country are banning bottled water, alarms are going off about the safety of the water coming out of drinking fountains at some Canadian campuses.
The student newspaper at St. Thomas University is reporting that eight drinking fountains at the small university are being shut down because of high levels of lead detected in the fountains. University officials were uncertain as to the exact source of the contamination, and vowed to replace the fountains with newer models equipped with filters to make the water safe.
According to the report, STU only looked into their fountains after recent tests at the University of New Brunswick showed unacceptable levels of lead in 18 per cent of fountains and sinks — along with others that were very close to the limits set out by Health Canada. New fountains are on order there, too, according to The Brunswickan, coming in at a total cost of roughly $100,000 dollars for twenty fountains.
Why does this matter? Long-term exposure to small amounts of lead can harm the nervous system. According to Health Canada:“Recent scientific studies on lead show that adverse health effects are occurring at lower levels of exposure to lead than previously thought.”
Concerns over water quality at school drinking fountains are not new. A US investigation in 2009 turned up lead-contaminated drinking water at schools in every American state. Some of the lead came from the school’s own well or local water supplies, while lead-soldered pipes were identified as culprits in other cases. In Canada, one study found that 27 per cent of “first draw” samples taken in Ontario schools had high levels of lead, and 9 per cent still had high levels even after the system was flushed.
How many more schools have contaminated water that is going undetected? Since STU only identified its problem after learning of the UNB case, universities across the country may need to begin more systematic monitoring of water quality. At present, Ontario is the only province that has legally mandated monitoring of school drinking water. Mandatory or not, universities should consider conducting tests of their own.
Should universities punish students for off-campus behaviour?
STU’s new code of conduct strikes the right balance: Petz
Photo courtesy of eliduke on Flickr
Keep on your best behavior St. Thomas students or you could not be a STU student no more. The university has a new code of conduct that will apply to your activities both on and off campus. A committee of university officials, students and faculty will now be able to impose punishments for things like hazing, including fines of up to $500 and expulsion. Seems draconian, right?
The new rules are the result of a policy review that followed the death of Andrew Bartlett. Bartlett died last October after attending his volleyball team’s initiation party at an off-campus residence where hazing and excessive drinking allegedly took place before he fell down a flight of stairs and fatally injured his head.
Though it’s clear that universities should be accountable for their students while they’re living, working and studying on campus, policing student behavior off-campus is more controversial.
But by limiting their code of conduct to occasions when students are clearly representing the university, STU’s new code of conduct strikes the right balance between student rights to behave how they like and the university’s right to protect its reputation—-not to mention their duty to keep students safe. The code rightly spells-out which behaviours are acceptable and which are not.
To violate the code, an incident must involve at least two STU students and occur at a university-sanctioned event or one where the student is representing the university. Hazing is highlighted, with a list of more than 20 examples spelled out. Overall, hazing is defined as “any activity expected of someone joining a group (or to maintain full status in a group) that humiliates, degrades or risks emotional and/or physical harm, regardless of the person’s willingness to participate,” reports The Aquinian student newspaper.*
The death of Andrew Bartlett is not the first incident to prompt questions about whether university discipline rules should reach off campus. Following allegations of hazing at the University of Alberta chapter of Delta Kappa Epilson fraternity at their off-campus location, the university suspended the fraternity for five years, disallowing DKE from using university services or associating itself with the U of A. Despite calls for a harsher punishment, there was little else the university could do to discipline the chapter under the U of A’s code of student behavior.
Another incident that stirred up debate on university discipline was the Stanley Cup rioting in Vancouver. Some wanted the University of British Columbia to punish those found guilty of taking part in looting. A spokesperson for the UBC told campus paper The Ubyssey that they would be letting the police and the courts determine discipline for any students involved in the looting.
Like STU, UBC made the right choice there too.It’s reasonable for universities to try to protect their students’ safety and their own reputations, but universities are no substitute for good parenting and good decisions on the part of students. Their duty only goes so far.
*This story has been updated from an earlier version that failed to attribute details of the draft code to The Aquinian, a student newspaper at St. Thomas University. Maclean’s On Campus regrets the error.
Knife fight injures six near McMaster
Party-goers came from club outlawed by McMaster
Four people went to hospital and at least two others were cut during a knife fight at a party near McMaster University. Police entered the party at 69 Mount Royal Ave. at 4:30 Friday morning.
Earlier in the night, police arrested two people at an event called ACADEMIX 101, which was taking place at Club 77 in downtown Hamilton. The event was advertised by Next Level Entertainment (NLE), which calls itself “McMaster’s official entertainment and talent group” on Facebook. Last year, McMaster University banned all events that take place at Club 77 from being advertised on its campus.*
Police entered Club 77 after hearing about fights inside. Two 20-year-old men, one from Brampton and the other from Mississauga, were arrested. Later, police contended with a crowd of roughly 400 people outside of the club. Some of those people ended up at the party on Royal Ave., police said.
No victim or witness has co-operated with police so far. The house has a smashed front door, a slashed window screen and metal bars from a railing on the front porch are bent or missing.
Next Level Entertainment’s Facebook page appears to be administered by Kisanath WooDz and Pratheeb K’mar. “AT MCMASTER STUDENT CENTER SELLING TICKETS,” WooDz posted to the page on Thursday around 4 p.m. Earlier in the day, someone listed as a student at York University, wrote that 900 tickets had been sold. Before that, someone else posted that “…the Waterloo/Laurier bus is officially SOLD OUT, only bus left is the York bus.”
*This story originally repeated an incorrect fact that the Hamilton Spectator had attributed to a McMaster spokesperson. Gord Arbeau of Community and Public Relations at McMaster clarified on Monday that Next Level Entertainment was not banned from campus. It was the promotion of events at Club 77 that McMaster University had banned. Maclean’s On Campus regrets the error.
Acadia student dies after binge drinking
Student was seen playing “flip cup” in residence
Acadia photo courtesy of Martin Cathrae on Flickr
An male student at Acadia University who was sent to hospital earlier this week has died.
The 19-year-old from Calgary was found unconscious Tuesday morning around 12:30 a.m. in a basement dorm room inside Chipman House residence, reports CBC News.
“It is with tremendous sorrow that Acadia University today confirms that our student, who had been critically ill since September 6, has died. Our deepest and most heartfelt condolences are extended to all family members and friends,” the school wrote on its website. “Acadia will continue to respect the family’s request that no other personal details be released.”
Nathan Rodger told CBC News on Tuesday that the student in question had been playing a drinking game before paramedics took him away to the hospital.
“He was drinking a 40 [oz.] of something and he pretty much drank the whole thing,” Rodger said. “Yeah, we were playing ‘flip cup’ and he had it straight in the can, just right in the thing. Not even mixing it. I think he finished probably most of it, all of it.”
Couches burn near University of New Brunswick
In Fredericton, furniture blazes are dangerous tradition
Photo courtesy of qmnonic on Flickr
It’s a sure sign that students are back at school in Fredericton. The Fire Department has responded to three couch fires since Sunday, Platoon Capt. Jeff Mills, told the Times & Transcript newspaper.
“It’s a joke and it’s fun for someone,” said Mills. “But it’s tying up personnel that could really benefit someone else,” he added.
There was an epidemic of couch fires near Fredericton’s two new universities, the University of New Brunswick and St. Thomas University, in 2007, when 43 furniture fires were recorded on Graham Avenue alone. After the the city created designated days for roadside pick-up of trashed furniture, the total dropped to 17 in 2008 and nine in 2009. Including the three this frosh week, there have been six so far in 2011.
Mayor Brad Woodside offered a message for students after hearing of the fires. “This is your home away from home and live, love, laugh and enjoy,” he said, “[But] respect the community when you’re here, we’ll treat you like family, but treat this like it’s your home as well.”
York arms security staff with batons
Lower enrollment follows violent crimes
York University will arm its security staff with handcuffs, batons and bulletproof vests. It’s an effort to make students feel safer on campus.
One unnamed source told The Toronto Star that the move is clearly being made to fight future enrollment drops that could stem from perceptions that York is unsafe after high-profile crimes on and near the Toronto campus this year. Wallace Pidgeon, an official York spokesperson, refutes this claim.*
As of August 3, 40 fewer students had confirmed enrollment at York than had one year earlier, according to the Ontario University Application Centre. That’s a 0.6 per cent drop in a year when confirmations grew by 2.0 per cent overall.
Youth suicides rise in step with film suicides
Authors blame PG-13 rating for increasingly graphic portrayals
Photo courtesy of HaoJan on Flickr
Authors of a report from the Annenberg Public Policy Center have shown a correlation between the dramatic rise in the portrayal of graphic suicides on film and the increase in the youth suicide rate.
Their study looked at 855 films produced between 1950 to 2006 and found that the number of explicit representations of suicide had tripled over the period. That increase paralleled the tripling of suicide by young people aged 15 to 24 in the U.S. from 1960 to 1990.
“While we cannot establish a causal connection here, it is interesting to note that the tripling of U.S. teen suicide since 1960 coincided with this increase in movie suicide portrayal,” Patrick E. Jamieson, the lead author, said in a press release.
Continue reading Youth suicides rise in step with film suicides
Memorial boots man who stabbed student
Chinese student was studying English language
Memorial University has chosen to suspend Qiang Tang, the 23-year-old student from China who stabbed a fellow student in March. He won’t be able to re-apply until August 2012.
Tang pleaded guilty to assault causing bodily harm after he fought with a fellow student who he accused of speaking too loudly in class. He was given a year of house arrest by a St. John’s judge last month, but the school was left to decide whether he could return to campus.
Citizen and Immigration Canada are investigating to decide whether to deport Tang.
The bicycle thieves are arrested
Baiting programs are cutting down on theft
Photo courtesy of Simply Bike on Flickr
Students wallets, laptops and bikes are common targets of professional thieves.
So it’s encouraging to read that four bicycle thieves have been caught and charged at the University of Saskatchewan. None of those charged were against students and, in this case, the culprits were youths.
Even better news: The Sheaf reports that the number of bikes reported stolen on campus has fallen from roughly 75 to 100 per year a decade ago to around 15 per year. That’s because Campus Safety officers have fought back against with “bait bikes” that lure theives.
RCMP at the University of British Columbia, which has a persistent problem with thefts from lockers, has introduced a “bait locker” program.
We can only hope other schools follow suit.
Virginia Tech on lockdown
Gunman reportedly spotted on campus
Virginia Tech was locked down Thursday morning after witnesses reported seeing a man carrying what may have been a gun on campus. Three children attending a summer camp told police they saw a man walking quickly by the campus volleyball courts, armed with what looked like a handgun covered by a cloth. The university released an alert at 9:37 a.m. and the campus went into lockdown.
Virginia Tech Police released a sketch of the person believed to be carrying the weapon and posted it on its website at 12:44 p.m. As of 1 p.m., police were still combing the campus. Classes have been cancelled for the remainder of the day and the school continues to update its website and Twitter account with new details. Students have also been alerted to the situation via text messages and emails.
Virginia Tech was the site of a 2007 massacre that left 33 people dead. Federal authorities ruled that the school acted too slowly in alerting its students and staff to the threat, sending out an email more than two hours after gunman Seung-Hui Cho had already shot two students. The university upgraded its emergency alert system after the shooting.
Officials Thursday morning said they were looking for a 6-foot-tall white man with light brown hair and a blue and white striped shirt. The children who gave the initial report were interviewed by police and their claims were deemed to be credible.
Update: Viginia Tech officials lifted the lockdown around 2:45 p.m. The alleged gunman was not found.
SFU chemistry professor found dead
Man from Richmond, B.C. taken into custody
Police found a dead woman on Tuesday night that they have now confirmed to have been 37-year-old Simon Fraser University professor Melanie Alexis O’Neill, reports CBC News.
Police believe the death may have been a homicide but they have not yet determined the cause of death.
O’Neill was an associate professor of biological chemistry at Simon Fraser University. She was recently awarded tenure.
Police told CBC that a man who knew the owner of the home was taken into custody in Richmond, B.C.
Fourth assault in four months at university
30-year-old former student arrested in campus attack
Photo courtesy of Alyssa L. Miller on Flickr
A former York University student, Faizan Ali, 30, is charged with entering one of the university’s residences on Friday evening and sexually assaulting a female acquaintance and her friend, reports CBC News.
That’s the fourth alleged assault involving a student on or near the suburban Toronto campus in the past four months.
The most famous crime occurred on April 15 when Chinese student Qian Liu, 23, was murdered at her private residence near campus. Brian Dickson, a 29-year-old former resident of the same house was charged. The murder made headlines around the world because Liu had been video-chatting with her boyfriend in China at the time that Dickson allegedly killed her.
The other assaults were reported on April 5 when a student was attacked by three males outside The Absinthe pub on campus and on May 5 when a student was sexually assaulted in the Seneca@York building.
Wallace Pidgeon, of York University media relations, told student newspaper The Excalibur in April that officials are making the campus safer by adding 25 security cameras to the 600 already installed, plus $200,000 more in light fixtures.
UBC student died of cocaine-induced heart attack
Coroner concerned by head injuries during police custody
Photo courtesy of andronicusmax on Flickr
A University of British Columbia student died from a cocaine-induced heart attack three days after being released from police custody in Whistler on Feb. 23, 2010.
Silas Rogers, 20, was arrested for public intoxication during the Vancouver Winter Olympics after taking heroin, alcohol and snorting a crushed-up anti-anxiety medication. He was then taken to the local RCMP detachment, where he stayed for 11 hours. Following his release, he went to a friend’s house in Vancouver and continued to take drugs, including cocaine. He was found unconscious by friends a few hours after retiring to bed, during which time he experienced the deadly cocaine-induced heart attack, reports Metro News.
During his time in jail, recordings showed that Rogers struck his head eight times against the floor and the walls. The jail guards didn’t notice because the video monitor at their workstation was broken. Owen Court, the regional coroner, said in his report that although the falls were not the cause of death, he found it troubling that “an obviously intoxicated individual fell and struck his head numerous times while in police custody, yet received so little attention.”
Blinded student returns to Vancouver
Rumana Monzur will receive treatment at UBC
The University of British Columbia student who was blinded by her husband during an attack in Bangladesh will return to Canada on Tuesday. Rumana Monzur has been granted a temporary resident permit by Immigration Minister Jason Kenney. Because she will not be studying again right away, a student permit was inappropriate, reports Postmedia News.
Women around the world have rallied around the master of political science student as a symbol of how women sometimes struggle to be allowed to study. UBC officials say they have raised more than $35,000 toward Monzur’s expenses while she lives with her father on campus and recovers from the June 5 attack. She will receive care from the school’s department of ophthalmology. It’s unclear whether her five-year-old child will come to Canada. The husband is in a Dhaka jail awaiting trial.
Blackout drunk? Watch out!
Students get drunk, hurt themselves and forget what happened
More than half of students got blackout drunk — in other words, they couldn’t remember what happened — at least once in the past 12 months. Seven per cent reported six or more blackouts. That’s according to a new study of 800 undergraduates and 150 postgraduates at North American schools that’s published in the journal Injury Prevention.
What’s worse, the researchers found that more blackouts mean more injuries — a lot more. Overall, 25 per cent of drinkers reported injuries while drunk. That figure increased by 57 per cent when that person had blacked out at least once in the past year and by 300 per cent when they had blacked out more than six times. So, either watch those drinks — or watch out for hazards!
