Recent events raise concerns of safety and transparency
Several incidents that disrupted Vic activities this January have left students worried about safety and emergency management.
Kicking off the string of disasters was a fire in the basement of Old Vic on Wednesday, January 14th, described in the University of Toronto Alerts as one of several “small paper fires.” Witnesses saw multiple firetrucks on the scene. A student in the vicinity shared that “firefighters seemed confused as to where the fire actually was, but it was thankfully resolved.” Toronto Police determined the cause as arson, and identified the suspect as 42-year-old Yuriy Khraplyvyy. Parts of St. Mike’s and Burwash residence were also vandalised.
Among those impacted were volunteers and customers at Caffiends, Vic’s student-run cafe. Volunteers on shift recounted their experience evacuating and waiting on the quad. Having left their keys and jackets in the cafe, they were unable to go home but struggled to find information about re-entry from security. A student also attempted to call the Margaret Addison Front Desk, who were completely unaware of the fire. Caffiends Co-Manager Maria Aroca-Ouellette added, “we were really glad that the Principal’s Office people were hanging around because they were able to advocate for us.”
Aroca-Ouellette described the entire process as “stressful,” as volunteers were not fully sure of the protocol to follow. “I questioned, should I lock the door? Valuables versus the firefighters being able to enter.” She believes student leaders “could benefit from fire training, especially as people who are regularly in the building.”
“It was upsetting to find out it was arson, I think that was honestly worse than the fire itself,” Aroca-Ouellette shared. Isha Mathur, a volunteer, added that it is “distressing that they haven’t talked about it yet…in terms of student safety.” Details about the fire have still not been shared with the majority of students. Interviews revealed that many students are completely unaware of the vandalism at Burwash residence.
Concerns about communication also arose in response to water outages in several Vic buildings resulting from “complications with overnight work on the City of Toronto water main,” and another (accidental) fire that occurred in the laundry room of Rowell Jackman Hall on Wednesday, January 21st.
A VUSAC Councillor who is also employed by Victoria College, who has chosen to remain anonymous, told The Strand he received emails about water outages, but “only got these updates as a Vic staff…nobody else knew of this problem.” He recalled students “coming in to [the VUSAC] office that day asking, why is there no water in this building.” He relayed the information to other Council members, one of whom posted it on the VUSAC Instagram story. He emphasised that while VUSAC can support communications, they are not primarily responsible and should not be relied upon to spread this information.
Similarly, students living in Rowell Jackman disclosed to The Strand that they received minimal communication about a dryer fire that shut down the laundry room for a week. One resident expressed frustration that dons were not able to provide clarity about the timeline of the closure, despite them being “the chain of command in terms of information” for students. The cause of the fire has also not been confirmed. An email sent to residents reminded them of the necessity of cleaning lint filters; as of now, students interviewed believe lint buildup was the cause of the fire. However, a source told The Strand that the real issue was an oversight in putting up a sign and informing residents about a damaged dryer, which a student subsequently used.
Overall, Vic students are dissatisfied with the college’s level of transparency. Mathur, who is VUSAC’s Vice President External, feels “there is a lack of clear communication in terms of what students can expect…we are the last to know.” She believes “there was a slight improvement from Fall Caucus” when students brought up accessibility concerns due to facilities interruptions. In the future, she suggests that exec members of student groups be informed about emergencies and maintenance so the information can be published through their channels. She added that “MargAd front desk should be updated so they know what to tell students.”
In the weeks following the arson, Vic published a Quick Guide to Campus Emergencies. President McEwen also shared plans for a new emergency alert system in the Inside Victoria newsletter, which may help mitigate some communication issues. One student leader said these steps are “encouraging,” but emphasised that student leader training should also be updated to incorporate emergency preparedness, to ensure people are confident dealing with crises that may arise in the future.