MEDIA RELEASE: 18 March 2017 – R00058
Brock University takes pride in being a community partner in St. Catharines and, as such, it is disappointed by the actions of a small portion of its student population Friday.
A large group of people, including Brock students, gathered on a residential street near the Pen Centre on St. Patrick’s Day. The gathering was shut down by the Niagara Regional Police later in the day.
The University is aware of the situation and is fully co-operating with the investigation by the NRPS. In addition, a group of student and staff volunteers went to the area Saturday morning to assist in cleaning up garbage left on the street from the unfortunate actions of some students.
Brock University officials are also committed to meeting with the City of St. Catharines and the NRPS in the coming weeks to discuss how this type of incident can be prevented in the future.
“These deplorable actions do not reflect Brock University’s culture or values and this group, both from Brock and elsewhere, do not represent our student population of almost 19,000,” said Interim President Tom Traves.
Leading up to St. Patrick’s Day, Brock University staff canvased numerous high-density student residential areas to give a reminder about the importance of being responsible citizens, and to hand out garbage bags and tags, responsible drinking guides, taxi numbers and other information.
Brock also worked with the NRPS to have extra officers on hand both on campus and in these neighbourhoods.
“On behalf of the Brock University Students’ Union, we would like to apologize for what took place Friday,” said Curtis Gadula, Director of Student Life and Communications for BUSU. “We pride ourselves on the many students who give so much back to our community, and we find it embarrassing that students were involved in this incident.”
For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:
* Dan Dakin, Media Relations Officer, Brock University ddakin@brocku.ca, 905-688-5550 x5353 or 905-347-1970
Brock University Marketing and Communications has a full-service studio where we can provide high definition video and broadcast-quality audio.
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