York University students are being urged to take extra precautions following a sexual assault in the stairwell of the Founders College Residence at the Keele Campus.
The assault on a female student, which was reported to police Tuesday, occurred between 8 and 8:30 p.m. the previous Friday.
York spokesman Alex Bilyk said the university brought in paid-duty police officers as a result of the incident and issued a campus-wide alert urging people to be vigilant and report suspicious behaviour.
The university hired 22 residence watch officers in December, and they began work on Sunday.
Bilyk said the university is also enhancing its closed-circuit television system. “That’s scheduled for completion at the end of February,” he said.
This is the third reported sex assault on campus this school year.
On Sept. 7, two women were assaulted at the Vanier College Residence. Two 25-year-old men were arrested and charged.
Gilary Massa of the York Federation of Students said an “external organization” should conduct a safety audit that looks at safety and security in a more “holistic” way. “That’s something that we’ve been pushing for, and we were hoping that by now that would have gained some legs and been on its way. But unfortunately, we’ve been hit with a lot of bureaucratic hurdles,” she said. “It’s more than just putting up some light fixtures in a particular area that might not be well lit. It’s more than increasing the amount of security guards or the amount of surveillance cameras. It’s about looking at the policies and the structures.”
Bilyk said the student group has been working with the university on security matters and that safety audits are “ongoing items that occur on campus.” He said the university is considering the idea of having an outside organization conduct the audits.
More than 50,000 students attend York’s Keele Campus, which is located at the southwest corner of Steeles Avenue and Keele Street.