Move comes as Ontario universities step up campus security
Warning: Mentions of violence.
On September 7, 2023, the University of Toronto Faculty of Law announced that classroom locations would be removed from publicly accessible websites. Formerly, timetables including course names, instructors, and room locations were posted online and could be viewed by anyone. Now, only times and instructor names are available, with more complete timetables moved to E.Legal, the Faculty’s internal website accessible only to faculty and students. The University of Toronto as a whole had previously announced that it was doing the same on August 30, 2023, joining the ranks of Ontario universities that have taken the same measure.
Universities are removing course information as a safety response to a stabbing earlier this year at the University of Waterloo. On June 28, 2023, a University of Waterloo (UW) student entered a gender studies class, where he attacked and injured three people, including the professor. Police later said that this was a planned, targeted, and hate-motivated attack. UW later removed class locations and instructor names from its websites, acknowledging the potential risk of this information being publicly accessible.
The incident has raised concerns over UW’s response to the attack, prompting a safety review. Although authorities responded to the situation promptly, UW’s internal emergency alert system did not function as intended, and only sent out an emergency alert to students over an hour after the incident had occurred. The attack has also prompted wider discussions about campus safety across the country, with student groups advocating for stronger safety measures. Advocates have called for increased funding for university safety programs, mandated safety audits, better security training, and the creation of a gender-based violence prevention framework. It remains to be seen whether universities and governments will implement these recommendations.
The University of Toronto has multiple safety resources that are available for students. Students can contact Campus Safety at 416-978-2222 or through their Safety App to report incidents. Students may also register for the TravelSafer or Work Alone programs. All students are automatically enrolled in the UTAlert system through their school emails and may register to receive alert texts as well.
