Immediately following the March 6 incident when two students were injured after a firearm was discharged in the York Student Centre on the Keele Campus, York President and Vice-Chancellor Mamdouh Shoukri requested that a number of actions be undertaken to enhance the safety and security of the York University community. Here is a brief update on the progress made to date:
Action item 1: Senior university officials to meet with the Toronto Police Service to review the incident and to provide joint recommendations to improve campus safety and security.
On March 18, York President and Vice-Chancellor Mamdouh Shoukri, Vice-President Finance and Administration Gary Brewer, and Robert Castle, senior executive officer in the Office of the Vice-President Finance and Administration, met with officials from the Toronto Police Service (TPS). The meeting was productive and represented a continuation of the positive ongoing dialogue between York University and TPS officials to make the campus as safe as possible for the University community. Going forward, York University and TPS will continue to meet to advance the conversation and explore additional steps to improve campus safety.
Action item 2: York Security Services to post dedicated security staff on site in the Student Centre Food Court.
Effective March 10, York University Security Services staff have been on site in the Student Centre Food Court. The Security Services staff is conducting regular patrols of the Food Court and other key public areas in the central core of the Keele campus. The enhanced Security Services patrols will continue for the remainder of the current academic term. TPS will continue their regular patrols of the Keele Campus.
Action item 3: Discussions to be held with the Student Centre about augmenting security in and around the Student Centre with video cameras.
There have been positive discussions with the Student Centre Board of Directors. The Student Centre’s Board of Directors undertook a review of safety measures and, as reported in Excalibur, have approved the installation of cameras facing all building exits and increased building lighting.
In addition to these three priority action items, the YorkU Mobile Safety App, which has been downloaded by more than 10,500 community members, has now been upgraded to feature a push notification of security messages.