Guelph organizations work in concert to bring rock show to students
This year, you can expect some changes to homecoming at U of G — namely, the rock band The Glorious Sons will be playing a live concert after the homecoming game. The Central Student Association (CSA) has been working with UC programming, Off-Campus Living (OCL), Alumni Affairs, and Gryphon Athletics to bring various events, such as a free pancake breakfast, pre-game brunch at The Brass Taps, a half-time concert featuring The Reklaws and of course, The Glorious Sons. The concert will be held in the U of G Athletics Centre, with a capacity of 2,000 people.
The homecoming concert is part of the increased efforts of many organizations in Guelph to encourage students to centre their homecoming day in a manageable location, such as campus. The goal of the concert on campus is to appeal to more students and bring them to campus. Kayla Weiler, CSA VP External, told The Ontarion that the purpose of the concert was “to create a better connection between the alumni, the football game, and the current students because there is a big disconnect.”
You can expect an increased presence of Guelph police this year, in cooperation with Off-Campus Living, patrolling neighborhoods that are known to host raucous parties and there will be more cruisers driving around in the community. They will be doing community calls, coming by to check in and drop off water, to help ensure the safety of everyone who’s participating in homecoming. CSA President Jack Fisher will also be joining in on these housecalls during homecoming, so if anyone is hosting a party, you might see his face around.
This year, Chancellors Way, a popular student housing neighbourhood, will be hiring extra security in preparation, in order to prevent something like last year’s massive homecoming party. Security will be ensuring that people who try to enter Chancellors are tenants there.
A major issue that arose last year was the amount of trash that was left behind after all the partying was over. On campus, there are more garbage cans, washroom facilities, and access to water, which prevents some of those problems.
What if you want to host a party, but don’t want to get calls by the police? Students can always register their parties with OCL. Fisher told The Ontarion: “Over the past five years, 97.5 per cent of registered parties have not been fined.”
By registering your party, not only does it inform the police and your neighbours about it, but it also puts less strain on the police as their resources can be directed elsewhere, instead of responding to a call about a party. And when you register your party with OCL, remember to go to both of the meetings, Weiler said. “Sometimes you’re denied registration because you don’t go to that secondary meeting,” she added. But even if you are denied registration, as long as the proper by-laws (such as acceptable noise levels) are followed, there should be no reason for anyone to call the police.
Article by Mars Chester Chow.
Feature photo by Alora Griffiths/The Ontarion.