Amid the return of official on-campus homecoming, unsanctioned street gatherings continued but saw improvements with smaller crowds and fewer arrests
On Oct 5., unsanctioned homecoming gatherings this year near McMaster University were smaller in size than previous years, according to statistics released by the Hamilton Police Services this year and last.
This coincides with this year's return of an on-campus and university-sanctioned homecoming, a key campaign promise of McMaster Student Union President Jovan Popovic's election platform for his current term. This was in an effort to both curb the disruptive nature of large street parties by drawing students away from these and to improve student life on campus.
Despite the on-campus homecoming events, over 6,000 people gathered in the Westdale and Ainslie Woods neighbourhoods, continuing the long-standing history of unsanctioned street celebrations.
Despite the on-campus homecoming events, over 6,000 people gathered in the Westdale and Ainslie Woods neighbourhoods.
In 2023, the Hamilton police reported that the unsanctioned gatherings drew 8,000 to 9,000 people, resulting in 49 calls to the police. The event resulted in five arrests under the implemented Nuisance Party Bylaw and the issuing of 10 provincial offence notices. Additionally, two individuals were hospitalized for intoxication.
This year's reports showed that attendance dropped slightly, with an estimated 6,000 to 7,000 people participating. Calls to police also decreased to 43 and three charges were laid under the Nuisance Party Bylaw. However, there was an increase in medical incidents, with paramedics responding to 21 calls and transporting 13 people to the hospital for intoxication.
While the official event provided a structured and legal homecoming alternative, it did not entirely eliminate the appeal of unsanctioned street parties.
The superintendent of the Hamilton Police Service, Robin Abbott, publicly stated that the enhanced coordination between Hamilton Police, McMaster Security, and emergency services helped improve controlling the unsanctioned gathering. There was no mention of the bylaw's efficacy.
Despite the persistence of off-campus gatherings, the MSU deemed the on-campus events a success and in an Instagram post implied its commitment to continuing the initiative in future years.
With fake homecoming readily approaching, the city needs to consider the consequences of implementing the nuisance party bylaw
Last year, the city of Hamilton implemented the nuisance party bylaw in response to the rather infamous and disastrous fake homecoming party that took place in 2021.
The bylaw, which makes it illegal to promote, host, attend, permit or refuse to leave a nuisance party, leaves students facing penalties upwards of a whopping $25,000 if charged with an offence.
Despite McMaster University’s efforts to dissuade students from attending nuisance parties and the new regulations put in place to deter gatherings, thousands gathered in the streets of Westdale and Ainslie Woods last year for yet another FOCO. Though calmer in comparison to the events of 2021, last year’s unsanctioned homecoming party resulted in nine arrests and 16 bylaw charges issued to people involved in the gathering.
Heavy police presence and enforcement of the bylaw didn’t seem to make a significant difference in the outcome of FOCO. Instead, countless taxpayer dollars were spent policing an event that still resulted in property damage, unhappy Hamilton residents and repercussions for McMaster students.
As potential FOCO parties approach, Hamilton and McMaster should consider the effectiveness and implications of the nuisance party bylaw.
While the city of Hamilton has outlined several key limitations of the bylaw — this includes the hefty costs associated with policing, challenges with determining an individual’s involvement with promoting or causing a nuisance party and identifying property owners who are victims of trespassing — there are other factors that need to be taken to account.
Other cities such as Waterloo, London, Guelph, Brampton and Kingston have also implemented similar bylaws, providing precedence to Hamilton’s circumstances. Members of these communities, however, have indicated that the bylaws are largely ineffective in preventing large gatherings from occurring and tend to compromise student safety in the process of prioritizing the needs of other residents.
But students are also vital members of Hamilton’s diverse community. Their safety and well-being matter, bringing into question the effectiveness and benefits of the bylaw for all stakeholders involved.
With the bylaw in effect, Hamilton’s resources continue to be thrown away for the sake of preventing gatherings that, regardless, continue to happen and wreak havoc. For students, there is fear on the streets during FOCO as incidents of wrongful ticketing and police involvement in breaking up parties put student safety at risk.
Not to mention, a great deal of people who attended and caused property damages during previous FOCO parties weren’t McMaster students. Yet, the university and its students bear the brunt of others’ actions with the bylaw in effect.
For the university, the events of 2021, covered by several media outlets across the country, have already stained the institution’s reputation and the bylaw only continues to stigmatize the McMaster’s community.
It is also worthwhile to mention that because the FOCO events following the years of the pandemic were unsanctioned, they occurred in uncontrolled environments that allowed reckless behaviour and welcomed students from outside of the McMaster community.
Students have voiced the need for sanctioned homecoming parties and events led by the university, like those hosted prior to the pandemic, to ensure McMaster students can attend and enjoy these memorable gatherings in safe and controlled spaces.
While both the city and Hamilton seem to be following the same protocols from last year, it’s time they weighed the pros and cons.
Hamilton’s nuisance party bylaw is simply unhelpful. Hamilton and McMaster need to look to more effective solutions that seek student and wider community input before further community resources – that could be better spent elsewhere – are squandered over their impractical approaches.
