There were nine reported assaults on campus this September, compared to six during the same time period last year, according to the department of university safety.
Alcohol was a common factor in all but two of the incidents, said Allan Burns, Carleton’s safety director. “We’re starting to look at how we might address that . . . and get the message out that this type of behaviour is not acceptable,” he said.
The assaults weren’t just between students, he said.
“We’ve had a couple of our officers involved in situations where they’ve been assaulted and again, it all comes back to . . . excessive drinking so we’re really concerned,” Burns said. “Luckily no one’s been injured too severely.”
He said the assaults were “minor” and nobody had been sent to the hospital as a result of the assaults and that none were sexual in nature.
Two of the assaults have resulted in charges, Burns said, and a third is currently under investigation.
“We pride ourselves as being a very safe campus for people to live on,” Burns said. “We want to just let people know that this behaviour is not something the university is going to tolerate.”
– With files from Jane Gerster