Safety, security concerns on the rise at Manitoba campuses

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 21/11/2024 (290 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Concerns about campus security are growing as Brandon University professors question why it’s taking so long for their employer to conduct a safety audit, while University of Winnipeg colleagues condemn a new access policy developed behind closed doors.

As of Thursday, Winnipeg police had yet to find any evidence to back up reports of an alleged threat that cancelled classes, exams and events at the University of Manitoba two days earlier.

The panic that ensued Tuesday — warranted or not — reminded Brandon University Faculty Association members that their calls for a third-party probe into safety measures at BU remain unanswered.

“It’s proactive. We put snow tires on our cars not because we think we’re going to get into an accident, but to protect us in the case that we run into inclement weather,” said Gautam Srivastava, president of the association representing approximately 300 academics in Brandon.

An external review is overdue to pinpoint vulnerabilities, Srivastava said, noting delays at U of M between the first 911 call Tuesday morning and the Winnipeg-based administration’s alert to community members.

The professor of computer science said his colleagues in the BU gender and women’s studies program have requested additional safeguards dating back to June 29, 2023.

One day earlier, an armed man entered a gender studies class at the University of Waterloo in southwestern Ontario and stabbed a professor and two students.

Brandon academics penned a formal letter to university administration asking for an audit later that summer. More than 15 months later, they are still waiting.

During that time, there have been many internal discussions and incidents on campus, including the removal of someone who was mixing an unknown white substance on July 9, a violent altercation between two people on July 16 and an Oct. 3 alert about an air pistol found in a bathroom.

BU president and vice-chancellor David Docherty acknowledged the U of M situation in a mass email Tuesday, and announced imminent plans to double the security complement on campus so two officers are on site 24-7.

“We are nearing a final (request for proposals) for an outside expert to conduct a full safety audit of campus, to help us identify and prioritize risks as well as potential solutions,” he wrote in the memo to students and staff.

University spokesman Grant Hamilton said the audit will accompany new initiatives to enhance safety related to daily campus life and emergencies, and its scope will be informed by recent and in-depth consultations with representatives from the Indigenous Peoples’ Centre, BUQueer and other groups.

BU recently added new safety signage, removed classroom locations from publicly accessible information and limited hours when many doors are unlocked.

U of M has made similar changes to protect employees who have received serious threats linked to their research on politicized topics, said Erik Thomson, spokesman for the province’s largest faculty association.

Instructors can now opt to keep their classroom numbers private, Thomson said, adding that in some cases, staff are assigned to teaching spaces with multiple exits.

Asked about the response to an unfounded threat on the Fort Garry campus this week, he said it’s an opportune time for leaders to look at how they’re reporting emergencies “and whether it’s up to snuff.”

Thomson added that university employees who work out of the medical sciences buildings at the Bannatyne campus have long been frustrated that they are typically kept out of the loop when situations arise at the neighbouring Health Sciences Centre.

It’s unclear if the latter concerns will be involved in a review promised by administration this week.

Meantime, researchers in downtown Winnipeg want the U of W to revisit updated rules on accessing school properties because the faculty association was not consulted on them.

The Sept. 27 amendments were posted in the wake of a pro-Palestinian protest that operated an encampment on university grounds in the spring.

They outlaw activities that have not been pre-approved by administrators, ranging from camping to setting up day tables. Events and gatherings may be denied based on expected safety risks, interference with school operations or “damage to university reputation,” according to new access restrictions.

The policy states no one is allowed on school grounds outside regular hours unless authorized by security.

“How did these come to be decided as security decisions or as purely administrative questions? They’re deeply political,” said Bronwyn Dobchuk-Land, an associate professor who researches community policing and social issues.

There is a difference between discomfort and safety, and U of W needs to think about what kind of neighbour it wants to be, Dobchuk-Land said.

Making assumptions about who should and should not be on campus and security personnel identification checks, which have become more commonplace, create hostile spaces, she said.

Policies are reviewed and updated every five years and it was simply time to review this one, last updated in 2019, said Caleb Zimmerman, executive director of communications.

Criminal justice professor Steven Kohm said creating a fortress may seem like the logical response to community concerns, but openness encourages more activity and that boosts visitors’ sense of personal safety.

Kohm is in favour of a combination of infrastructure that makes people feel safe, even if it’s “security theatre,” and clearer internal protocols and programs to assist community members in crisis.

“We can make sure we have a campus that’s designed safely with lots of bright lights and clear sightlines and emergency phones and security patrols and cameras,” said the professor who teaches a course on safety and crime prevention at U of W.

“But the other side of the picture is having an internal response that is invisible and aimed at providing supports.”

Faculty members from Manitoba universities are meeting to discuss safety matters next week when they attend a Canadian Association of University Teachers conference in Ottawa.

maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca