Incoming students praise orientation week safety measures at Western

Article content

Ania Szymanski is not afraid to admit it. She’s a little scared.

She is starting her first year of studies at Western University and is aware of the allegations of sexual assault and reports of drugged women at Medway-Sydenham residence during orientation week last year at Western.

The school has implemented reforms including education and support for those in residence that was well received by some students moving in during the Labour Day weekend.

Still, Szymanski will be careful.

“I am a little bit afraid, a little bit nervous to be honest,” she said.

The Londoner has a cellphone for when she is on campus in case she needs to call for support and has organized a “buddy system” where a friend walks her to class in the evening.

“We have similar programs so we will walk together to classes. I did not feel comfortable being alone.”

While Szymanski will not live in residence, others who are in residence gave the new education programs enthusiastic support.

“I am aware of what happened last year and it is good to see the school has taken this very seriously. There has been a lot of change,” said Tania Guti, from Hamilton, who is in first year at King’s University College and living in Alumni Court.

“I feel safe. I met everyone in our res and they are so nice, staff is amazing. They are making sure everyone is safe.”

Chloe Van Barneveld, also from Hamilton, was walking to her dorm room at Alumni Court at King’s Sunday night when a staff person approached her.

“She came over right away; she wanted to make sure I got back to my room,” she said.

Young men on campus also welcomed the education and training they received, calling it common sense, but informative.

“We had to take courses related to sexual assault and it was well done,” said Matthew Fernandez, from London, who also is in Alumni Court.

“It was fairly obvious to me. I had done a lot of this before in high school when I went to St. Thomas Aquinas.”

In September 2021, about 10,000 students walked out of classes to demonstrate following allegations of sexual assault and drugging at the Medway-Sydenham residence at the end of orientation week.

Western committed to a full re-evaluation of its orientation week and released two reviews into the school’s culture in May. The university has set up “care hubs” around campus with mental-health and gender-based violence supports for this year’s orientation week.

Students in residence are required to complete sexual assault training before coming to campus, with more workshops in-person.

Volunteer orientation leaders – upper-year students known as sophs who welcome first year Western students – are receiving two weeks of additional paid training on top of their usual training.

A 2018 survey of more than 160,000 Ontario post-secondary students found nearly one in four reported they had been sexually assaulted since the start of the academic year.

Of those, 40 per cent said the sexual assault took place either just before fall semester began or in the first six weeks of classes, the Council of Ontario Universities’ survey reported.