Some garbage on the street and numerous fond memories were all that remained on Sunday in Kingston following the 2023 Queen’s University Homecoming weekend.
The festivities began early Saturday as students gathered before the clock struck noon, ahead of the Queens versus Ottawa U football game.
Ever present were the Kingston Police, much to the chagrin of some partygoers.
“Where the gatherings were, the cops have just completely just covered over everything,” said homecoming weekend attendee Ajay Mago.
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Police say they aren’t trying to stop students from having fun but just want them to do it safely.
“We just want to make sure that people are partying and celebrating responsibly and that they’re following all the laws that we have here,” said Kingston Police Homecoming Event Commander, Insp. Lillian Murdock.
While the extra police presence may have been a bit of a damper for partygoers, officers say it’s what they need to do, given the history of gatherings of thousands of students in the streets at this event, combined with an uptick in fines this year since move-in weekend.
“We have actually seen quite a bit of unlawful behaviour since the beginning of September, so the move-in weekend, and I do know that we’ve laid just under about 800 charges,” added Murdock.
Queen’s downed the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees 12 to eight in Saturday’s Homecoming game.
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