UOSU COMMISSIONERS FOCUSING ON KEEPING PANDA SAFE WHILE PROTECTING STUDENTS’ RIGHTS
The Ottawa Police Service (OPS) will have a significant and sustained presence in Sandy Hill, Byward Market, and Old Ottawa South for Panda, the U of O’s homecoming weekend on Sept. 30 and Oct. 1.
Superintendent François D’Aoust of the OPS said in an interview with The Fulcrum that police will be present for pre and post-Panda activities. The OPS will also be requesting the assistance of the Ontario Provincial Police to bolster numbers of officers deployed.
“We’re working closely with our partners, with Ottawa by-law and regulatory services, the Alcohol Gaming Commission of Ontario and the universities as well to prepare for the Panda festivities,” said D’Aoust.
D’Aoust also discussed the OPS’s messaging for the event, which will be an “aggressive campaign starting on [September] 25.” Police liaison officers will be going door-to-door in Sandy Hill to talk to residents and will have key messages on social media for information and safety tips, including “being a good neighbor, meaning no loud parties,” according to D’Aoust.
“We want to make sure that the students are good neighbors to the other residents at Sandy Hill and in Old Ottawa,” said D’Aoust. “So the messaging is being a good friend, and watching out for the safety and well being of each other.”
Commissioners from the University of Ottawa’s Students’ Union (UOSU) on the other hand, are pushing for a fun and safe Panda where students can have an enjoyable experience while respecting their neighbors.
Interim student life commissioner Rayne Daprato pointed to a necessary balance between the rights and responsibilities of students for Panda weekend.
“We’ve really been working on reminding the non-students of the community that we also have rights,” said Daprato.
Maisy Elspeth, advocacy commissioner for UOSU, agreed with the importance of reminding students to not trash their neighborhood, but gave equal importance to reminding others that students are valuable members of their community.
“Students of Sandy Hill are members of Sandy Hill,” said Elspeth.
Elspeth and Daprato have been discussing Panda activities with both the University of Ottawa, Carleton University, and the OPS in preparation for the weekend.
“There’s gonna be a pre and post-Panda event on campus that is open to students, and they are going to be serving drinks,” said Elspeth.
In terms of the presence of police officers on campus for the event, Elspeth’s original understanding was that external security would be hired, and expressed a lack of clear communication with the OPS.
“I had to ask multiple times if there will be cops on campus and originally it was ‘no, not at the event’. And then it was, ‘well, yes, but they’re not really gonna be visible unless there’s an issue’,” said Elspeth. “My understanding thus far is that there will be cops on campus, and I think I can say pretty unequivocally that we’re not happy with that.”
In 2022, the cost of policing Panda and pre-and-post game activities in residential neighborhoods was between $300,000 to $500,000.
