College pleads with students to lay off partying, Facebook
Fanshawe getting a bad name over infamous partying and police are on the look out
Fanshawe college is once again under media scrutiny after another party got out of hand in a student-housing area near Fanshawe, this time resulting in multiple stabbings and a serious injury.
In the early hours of Saturday, October 13 London Police services were called to 900 Fanshawe College Blvd. in response to a fight that was taking place in the area. Two men were stabbed during the altercation, which the police believe was started after a group of unwanted visitors showed up at a party, and a third man was hospitalized and in serious condition after being struck by a beer bottle resulting in a gash running from temple to jaw on one side of his face.
An email circulated to students by the College on the Monday following the incident asked students to limit the size of their parties for the next couple weeks, and urged them not to post the invitations online in social networks such as Facebook.
“[They're] not asking them not to have fun,” stressed Travis Mazereeuw, FSU President. “They're not asking you not to hang out with your friend. I think it's a matter of just not having massive street parties with people you don't know.”
An opinion, which is mirrored by the college.
“This has garnered so much attention,” said Emily Marcoccia, Fanshawe's Manager of Marketing and Communications. “We know what time of year it is with all the exams that students will want to party- all we're saying is think twice. The situation has gotten intense for the last [while]. And we believe we just need a calming period to look clearly at this problem.”
But beyond the confines of Fanshawe, stories of the parties are taking on a life of there own, garnering attention from media in Toronto, Ottawa and even Edmonton. And what the college is worried about is the bad name the attention is giving the students and an apparent cheapening of their education.
“People [are] now starting to label Fanshawe as a party school where the students are out of control,” continued Marcoccia. “We've already had emails and phone calls from people saying ‘I'm really worried about the credibility of the college and whether or not I want to hire its students.'
“Which is a shame because we're talking about a college community of 15,000 students and only about 20 have been directly involved in any serious inappropriate activity in the last year.”
The police, for their part, are stressing that they aren't taking this latest problem lightly considering that the violence has been escalating with every incident. Their short-term solution is an increase in patrols and a larger than normal police presence in the area for the next few weeks in hopes of stemming the problem.
“Individuals in that area must take responsibility for their actions and must be accountable,” said London Police Services Deputy Chief, Brad Duncan. “They're no different living in that particular area than any other citizen in the community, and we expect people to understand that their actions will have serious consequences. Someone could have easily been killed, or just as seriously injured as a result of these activities.”
“My concern is that you have individuals who have absolutely nothing to do with what sparks the violence, but as a consequence could become a victim,” explained Duncan. ”If you're hosting a party, or facilitating a party, in a residence you're a tenant of and something seriously goes wrong, there are liabilities both criminally and civilly that apply to you for being involved.”
All parties agree that College is doing all they can to placate the situation and find a middle ground between the students and the communities in the Fanshawe area. But what it all comes down to is that it's up to the students themselves to understand not just the legal side of the problem, but the possible consequences if another party was to get out of hand and escalate beyond a stabbing; that next time people may not be so lucky to escape with just hospitalization.
“I'm not about to enforce anything off-campus, these are people, they're adults” stressed Mazereeuw. “[But] when you're an adult you make your own decisions, and if you make some stupid ones, then that's your own fault. So I think the college is just asking students to use their best judgment for the next little while.”
Fanshawe college is once again under media scrutiny after another party got out of hand in a student-housing area near Fanshawe, this time resulting in multiple stabbings and a serious injury.
In the early hours of Saturday, October 13 London Police services were called to 900 Fanshawe College Blvd. in response to a fight that was taking place in the area. Two men were stabbed during the altercation, which the police believe was started after a group of unwanted visitors showed up at a party, and a third man was hospitalized and in serious condition after being struck by a beer bottle resulting in a gash running from temple to jaw on one side of his face.
An email circulated to students by the College on the Monday following the incident asked students to limit the size of their parties for the next couple weeks, and urged them not to post the invitations online in social networks such as Facebook.
“[They're] not asking them not to have fun,” stressed Travis Mazereeuw, FSU President. “They're not asking you not to hang out with your friend. I think it's a matter of just not having massive street parties with people you don't know.”
An opinion, which is mirrored by the college.
“This has garnered so much attention,” said Emily Marcoccia, Fanshawe's Manager of Marketing and Communications. “We know what time of year it is with all the exams that students will want to party- all we're saying is think twice. The situation has gotten intense for the last [while]. And we believe we just need a calming period to look clearly at this problem.”
But beyond the confines of Fanshawe, stories of the parties are taking on a life of there own, garnering attention from media in Toronto, Ottawa and even Edmonton. And what the college is worried about is the bad name the attention is giving the students and an apparent cheapening of their education.
“People [are] now starting to label Fanshawe as a party school where the students are out of control,” continued Marcoccia. “We've already had emails and phone calls from people saying ‘I'm really worried about the credibility of the college and whether or not I want to hire its students.'
“Which is a shame because we're talking about a college community of 15,000 students and only about 20 have been directly involved in any serious inappropriate activity in the last year.”
The police, for their part, are stressing that they aren't taking this latest problem lightly considering that the violence has been escalating with every incident. Their short-term solution is an increase in patrols and a larger than normal police presence in the area for the next few weeks in hopes of stemming the problem.
“Individuals in that area must take responsibility for their actions and must be accountable,” said London Police Services Deputy Chief, Brad Duncan. “They're no different living in that particular area than any other citizen in the community, and we expect people to understand that their actions will have serious consequences. Someone could have easily been killed, or just as seriously injured as a result of these activities.”
“My concern is that you have individuals who have absolutely nothing to do with what sparks the violence, but as a consequence could become a victim,” explained Duncan. ”If you're hosting a party, or facilitating a party, in a residence you're a tenant of and something seriously goes wrong, there are liabilities both criminally and civilly that apply to you for being involved.”
All parties agree that College is doing all they can to placate the situation and find a middle ground between the students and the communities in the Fanshawe area. But what it all comes down to is that it's up to the students themselves to understand not just the legal side of the problem, but the possible consequences if another party was to get out of hand and escalate beyond a stabbing; that next time people may not be so lucky to escape with just hospitalization.
“I'm not about to enforce anything off-campus, these are people, they're adults” stressed Mazereeuw. “[But] when you're an adult you make your own decisions, and if you make some stupid ones, then that's your own fault. So I think the college is just asking students to use their best judgment for the next little while.”
