The return of in-person classes at Simon Fraser University on Burnaby Mountain has been hailed by many people – from students to business owners to those who rent out units in the UniverCity development.
But not everyone is so happy.
I live in UniverCity and there are a lot of students who live in our building. I sat down with a few of them recently while I was on vacation to discuss what campus life has been like since the return to in-person classes.
“I thought it would be great, but male students have basically ruined it,” said one third-year student. “Online wasn’t great, but being on campus, as a woman, has been – I don’t know the word – icky? There are some male students that all of a sudden think it’s open season on female students. They follow us, hit on us at inappropriate times, and say awful things. It’s like they’ve been lonely for so long during the pandemic that they have to make up that time.”
Another woman I spoke with echoed much of that, especially about the following.
“There are creeps stalking us everyone on campus,” she said. “They watch you and follow you and then try and talk to you. If I’m in a group it’s fine, but when you’re walking alone on campus at certain times, it’s really unsettling.”
Yikes. I mean, it's not really surprising, right? We hear about this disgusting behaviour all of the time.
Both women didn’t blame the school because they say it’s hard to police such behaviour. And proving that someone is following you with ill intentions is difficult to prove, they said.
There are programs at the school to protect students.
The Safe Walk program provides SFU community members with a Campus Security escort to support safe travel on campus 24/7. At SFU’s Burnaby campus, you can request a Safe Walk to anywhere on campus.
To request a Safe Walk escort, you can call the Campus Security non-emergency line, 778-782-7991.
In the meantime, try not being a creepy dude.
Follow Chris Campbell on Twitter @shinebox44.
