In the past Queen’s University students have been known to push the envelope when it comes to their Halloween costume selection.
“There’s always issues like every single year. Someone dressed up in a horrible costume and did blackface a couple of years ago for absolutely no reason,” Queen’s student, Anna Foreman-Willms said.
This time around, it’s costumes worn by three students at a Halloween party over the weekend that are drawing attention for all the wrong reasons.
Kingston police say they were called to a costume party after receiving a complaint that students dressed as Hamas fighters had made threats to members of the Jewish community, and one of them was carrying a knife.
While police say they didn’t find evidence of threats or a knife, the incident has left a bad taste in the mouths of students on campus.
“That’s disgusting. I don’t understand why Queen’s students would ever do that,” Foreman-Willms added.
Police said in a release that while ‘fears about personal safety are heightened’ due to the conflict in the Middle East, the ‘situation has not caused a public or personal safety concern.’
Meanwhile, Hillel Queen’s, a group which calls itself ‘the centre for Jewish life on campus’ does have concerns. They released a statement encouraging people to come forward with any information about the incident, and said: “We stand against all forms of violence and hate speech and are steadfast in our commitment to fostering a safe and inclusive environment for all students.”
Queen’s University is taking steps towards possible discipline, referring the issue to a non-academic misconduct office for investigation.
They said in a statement that: “A formal complaint has been received by the university alleging some deeply concerning behaviours at an off-campus private party.”
“There is no room for violence or hate of any kind within the campus community,” the statement continued.
Whether the students involved ‘meant’ to make a statement or were simply showing poor judgement, the institution of higher learning hopes that there will be a lesson learned for all about just how seriously this kind of behaviour will be taken.