Students, alumni urged to party responsibly during Queen's University homecoming

Alumni return to Queen's University in Kingston, Ont. for homecoming weekend. (Dylan Dyson/CTV News Ottawa)

KINGSTON, ONT. -

Police, city officials and Queen's University are calling on students to tone down the partying in Kingston, Ont. this weekend.

Queen's University homecoming is officially back in-person for the first time since 2019, with the city and its residents expecting rowdy and raucous crowds.

Chris Walmsley has lived on Albert Street in the University District for nearly 25 years and says homecoming has become a big problem.

"Lots of parties, broken glass, we've had railings kicked out here, so there's property damage."

Walmsley tells CTV News that when he moved into his home, 70 to 80 per cent of his neighbours were permanent residents and homeowners. Now he's one of just a few who are still left on the street. The rest of the homes belong to students.

"Everybody has sort of given up and we're at our limits now too," Walmsley says. "So we've got to move out probably sometime, it's just untenable at this point."

The university says this weekend marks a big occasion as homecoming returns to in-person events, and 2,700 alumni and their guests are expected on campus.

"There's no question that while the tradition of alumni homecoming is almost a 100-years-old, it is being marred by some of the behaviours that happen off campus," said Karen Bertrand, vice-president of advancement at Queen's University.

Kingston got a taste of what's to come last weekend as faux homecoming parties were held in the school's surrounding communities.

Police say at its peak there were 8,000 partiers in the streets. Three hundred officers were deployed to deal with the crowds and 13 arrests were made, all for public intoxication.

"It does give us a bit of a roadmap," says Brian Pete, this weekend's events commander with the Kingston Police.

"Of course, last weekend was the 'faux-coming' or unsanctioned event which there are significant differences. Because there are lots of people coming back to Kingston this weekend for legitimate alumni and homecoming events."

"We're just strongly encouraging, and the entire alumni community is strongly encouraging students to celebrate safely and in a way that is respectful of the Queen's community," said Bertrand.

Pleas were also issued earlier in the week by the Kingston Health Sciences Centre, who said their emergency room was overflowing due to partygoers coming in with injuries, severely intoxicated, and under the influence.

"People being hit by vehicles, thrown objects, falling through roofs, through balconies, off balconies, off roofs," said David Pichora, President and CEO of Kingston HSC.

"It's not just a matter of having them sleep in off in a corner somewhere," he says. "They're in the critical care part of our ER with IVs running and we've even had some that need to be intubated and ventilated."

Kingston police have brought in outside units from Ottawa and the OPP in preparation for the expected crowds. Community liaison officers have also been walking the university district for the last two weeks and speaking with students, sharing their message before the big weekend.

"We're not telling people not to have fun," says Pete, "but it does have to happen in a safe and responsible manner."