Guelph’s mayor says he’s disappointed with the antics that took place during homecoming weekend after receiving several complaints of vandalism, littering and property damage.
Cam Guthrie posted a four-minute video to his Twitter account Sunday and expressed his frustration with the way some people behaved.
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“Disappointed is probably the best way I would define how I’m feeling the last couple of days,” Guthrie told CJOY morning show host Dave Hannah Monday. “Very disappointed in the actions taken by those people.”
The mayor said he didn’t want to paint all University of Guelph students with the same brush and was told by Guelph police chief, Jeff DeRuyter, that a lot the “troublemakers” were from out of town.
“There was over 5,000 people at one party on Chancellors Way,” Guthrie described. “The police actually had to shut down the whole street because it was overrun with people.”
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Guelph police said one incident on Chancellors Way Saturday night involved a man who shattered a second-storey window after punching it. Tomasz Knapczyk, 22, from Mississauga, was charged with public intoxication and mischief.
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Guthrie also said he received an email from an elderly widow after someone threw a brick through her window and stole a chair from her porch.
“(She) was fearful for her life,” Guthrie said. “This is somehow funny to some of these people that are doing this. It’s unacceptable, I don’t accept it and the police do not accept it — the chief, neither does the university.”
Guthrie promised to do a debrief to figure out what went on and what can be done to prevent a similar incident from happening in the future.
“I’m to a breaking point myself where this needs to be addressed in a very, very quick manner,” Guthrie said.
In a statement, University of Guelph president Franco Vaccarino apologized to residents who were affected negatively.
“The University takes unruly student behaviour seriously, and we will be following up on complaints and concerns,” Vaccarino said. “Let me also express my thanks and appreciation to those who took part in neighbourhood cleanup efforts.”
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