Canada- Arrests made after 4 Western students reported sexual violence, London, Ont. Sept. 2021

[dotr]

Sept 13 2021
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/london/western-campus-sexual-violence-reports-1.6173443
''As Western University investigates reports of sexual violence that allegedly happened as orientation week was ending on the weekend, an official at the London, Ont., school said Monday that arrests were made in separate incidents after four students reported being sexually assaulted last week.

Officials said the four cases don't appear to be connected to each other or rumours about alleged sexual assaults at Medway-Sydenham residences on campus. The university launched the current investigation after the rumours began circulating on social media, mainly through the video-sharing app TikTok.''

Western University adds security amid 'sexual violence' probe at residence | London Free Press
''Western University has beefed up security at on-campus residence buildings amid a probe into allegations of what was described as “gender-based and sexual violence” in an official notice obtained by the school’s student newspaper.''

''In emergencies, Western’s Special Constable Service and St. Joseph’s Health Care Regional Sexual Assault Program are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.''

 

[LadyL]

there was also something about 30 women at a party being drugged
and lots of comments on social media about people being drugged at the Tilt bar in London

 

[dotr]

Sept 14 2021
'Serious and disturbing': Police investigate allegations of sex assault at Western
"Officers are going door to door at a Western University student residence as they investigate allegations of mass drugging and sexual assaults during the school's orientation week, the police chief in London, Ont., said Tuesday.

Chief Steve Williams said investigators are trying to gather as much information as they can at Medway-Sydenham Hall after allegations circulated on social media that upwards of 30 women were sexually assaulted at the student residence over the weekend.''

“These are serious and disturbing allegations and they have been taken seriously from the onset,” Williams said at a news conference.''

“Students need a safe space right now,” Trudell said. “They'll be able to come and discuss issues in a group space and our counsellors will be there off to the side in individual private spaces to do more of that sort of clinical counselling.”

''The series of allegations came as the university confirmed that an 18-year-old student died after being assaulted near campus over the weekend.

Police said Gabriel Neil was found seriously injured in the early hours of Saturday morning and died the next day. A 21-year old, Aliyan Ahmed, has been charged with manslaughter. Western said the person charged was not a student.''

 

[dotr]

Sept 15 2021
Western University students eye walkout amid school year's troubling start | London Free Press
''Students at Western University are planning a walkout Friday to demand action against sexual violence on campus amid swirling speculation over assaults at one first-year residence.''

''The campus community is on edge following the slaying of a first-year student and rumours of several alleged sexual assaults at the 613-student Medway-Sydenham Residence, speculation that has caught fire on social media just as the school year begins.''

''Participants are asked to wear a mask and the colour teal, which represents sexual assault awareness month, held in April.''

''WHAT: Western Sexual Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) Walkout

WHEN: Friday at noon

WHERE: In front of University College (UC) Hill at Western University.

INFO: On Instagram at instagram.com/sgbvwalkoutuwo/ or on Twitter @UWOSGBVWalkout.''

 

[dotr]

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/lond...tudent-killed-in-assault-speaks-out-1.6174848
Gabriel Neil, 18, was in his first year of kinesiology studies
Sep 14, 2021 rbbm.

Global News
''The family of Gabriel Neil, the 18-year-old who died after an assault near Western University campus, says the teen made friends wherever he went.''

''London police have charged 21-year-old Aliyan Ahmed with manslaughter. Western says he is not a student at the school.''

''Neil’s death was part of a violent weekend in London. A 30-year-old nurse was killed in a targeted shooting outside a high-end home in the Hyde Park area, and a southeast London shooting prompted officials to put a Catholic elementary school in lockdown Friday.

It was also part of a troubling weekend for Western University’s campus, just as students return to in-person learning for the first time in months. There were wild parties on the notorious Broughdale Avenue Friday night and London police said Monday they were looking into unconfirmed allegations of what one school official has called “sexual and gender-based violence” at Sydenham Hall, a 613-bed residence for first-year students.

Anyone with information about any of the investigations should call London police at 519-661-5670.''

 

[dotr]

Snippets of lengthy article, TRIGGER WARNING. rbbm.
Western students allege sexual assault, drugging amid terrifying Orientation Week | Toronto Sun

“Sometimes I feel like he’s still holding me down,” the student alleging sexual assault says. “How many more guys are like this that we don’t know? And are living next door?”

''One survivor was willing to share her story of sexual assault in an effort to get more survivors to come forward and share their stories on their own terms.''

''Soon after arriving at the residence, the assault took place.
The survivor sat on one of the dorm beds and said she was stunned when the assailant suddenly forced himself on top of her, pushing his hand into her face.
“I couldn’t move, his hand was covering my face really hard,” said the survivor. “It felt like I was punched in the nose.”

The survivor’s roommate was with her in the dorm room, but said she couldn’t see what was happening to the survivor on the other side of the room, as the assailant’s friend was blocking her.
The survivor said her attacker pushed harder on her mouth every time she moved, then began to push her down onto the bed. She said she told him “no” repeatedly, but was scared of making him mad. His hand over her mouth muffled her pleas.
Once the survivor was pinned down, she said her attacker began restraining her legs. As she rolled around the bed trying to stop him, he tried to restrain her arms.''

''When the survivor’s roommate heard her friend from the other side of the room and saw the survivor was restrained, she intervened and freed the survivor.

As the survivor tried to run, the assailant blocked the door, scolded her, then pushed her out of the room, she said.''


As the student made her way toward the parking lot between the Medway and Sydenham buildings, she saw a female student lying on the ground.
“Her stomach was over the curb and her arms were out and it looked like she was sleeping,” she said. “A couple of her girlfriends were surrounding her and then an ambulance came.”

''The student was told later the girl she’d seen had been drugged. And this wasn’t an isolated incident, according to the student.

“One of the girls on my floor admitted (to me) that she had been ‘roofied’ ” – slipped a date-rape drug – she said.

According to sources close to the matter who aren’t authorized to speak publicly, multiple students across campus were roofied. Exactly how many has not been verified.''

''Before Newell got to Med-Syd, she ran into a student she knew, who was visibly distraught. The student told Newell she saw girls falling on the ground and described an atmosphere of panic within the residence.
“(The student) was like, ‘Kids are just passing out, they’re all OD’ing’” Newell said.
Later that night, Newell helped another first-year student outside another residence, Delaware Hall. She said the student appeared to have lost control of her body.''

 

[dotr]

Western University walkout draws thousands as students demand change | London Free Press

A crowd estimated at 8,000 gathered during a student walkout at Western University to protest sexual assault and violence on campus. Photo taken Friday Sept. 17, 2021. (Derek Ruttan/The London Free Press)
''Western University students channeled the pain of a troubling first week of class into a demonstration and walkout on campus Friday afternoon amid allegations of sexual assault and violence at the school.''
''The London Free Press and the student-journalists with the Western Gazette detailed specific accounts of what what seen and experienced during a troubling OWeek, particularly on Friday night, Sept. 10.

First-year students and sophs, the upper-year students who act as mentors to newcomers, shared witness accounts, including one allegation of sexual assault and harrowing reports of trying to aid girls drugged on campus during the orientation week celebrations.''

 

[dotr]

Also...
Sept 18 2021
Police investigate reports of spiked drinks at University of Guelph
''GUELPH, Ont. - Police are investigating reports that several students at the University of Guelph may have had their drinks spiked with an unknown substance.

Police in Guelph, Ont., say the university passed the information on to them.

They say two complaints are related to a recent house party in the city's south end, and two are related to a small on-campus gathering last month.

Police say no assaults or physical injuries have been reported.''

 

[dotr]

Sept 24 2021
London, Ont. officials warn Western students to avoid mass street party held during homecoming
''LONDON, Ont. - A southwestern Ontario city is warning post-secondary students to avoid a large street party that’s typically held this weekend.

Western University is holding its 72nd homecoming event this weekend, which is usually marked by a large unsanctioned street party.

The City of London says with COVID-19 and a recent slew of sexual assault allegations at Western, students should avoid the party that’s typically held on Broughdale Avenue on the Saturday of homecoming weekend.

The Middlesex-London Health Unit says it has issued orders this week that limit social gatherings to 25 people indoors and 100 people outdoors.

London police say they will have a strong visible presence and will enforce regulations that have been put in place.''

 

[dotr]

rbbm.
No formal reports related to online allegations of sex assaults at Western: London, Ont. police
''The force says it has not been able to substantiate the online allegations given the lack of formal complaints.

But police say they understand there is no universal response to sexual violence and those who experience it are not obligated to participate in an investigation.

“Likewise, we know that, for a variety of well-documented reasons, incidents of sexual violence are generally underreported, and that victims and survivors who were initially reluctant to report may decide to come forward with their disclosure at a later date,” the force said in a statement.


“With this in mind, our investigation into allegations of incidents of sexual violence at Medway-Sydenham Hall remains open.”

Police have said they received four complaints of on-campus sexual assaults at Western before the online allegations emerged.

The university has said it removed students from residence and was “facilitating arrest” in connection with those four incidents.

 

[dotr]

Has the pandemic made new university students wilder than usual?
Unrelated, but relatable... imo, speculation.
Oct 3 2021
'Reckless and destructive' : McMaster University responds to gathering of nearly 5,000 students
'Reckless and destructive' : McMaster University responds to gathering of nearly 5,000 students

Photos of McMaster students participating in 'fake homecoming' (@ward1wilson/Twitter)

 

[dotr]

Second suspect arrested in relation to Western University student's death | CBC News
''London Police have arrested a second suspect in relation to the death of Western University student Gabriel Neil.

Police say 19-year-old Haroun Raselma turned himself in on Tuesday morning after an outstanding Canada-wide warrant was issued in September''

 

[dotr]

April 27 2022
Zeta Psi under investigation for alleged drugging at January frat party in London, Ont. | CBC News
''Investigations are underway into a January frat party in London, Ont., where several women allege they were drugged and had to be taken to hospital, CBC News has learned.

The house party at Zeta Psi house, located at 116 Mill Street in downtown London, featured an open bar. It was held to celebrate which men would be let into the fraternity, with only Zeta Psi men allowed to attend. Sorority women and their friends were also invited.

One woman told CBC she attended the party and had four or five drinks.

The woman, who didn't want her name used for fear of retaliation, said friends eventually called an ambulance to take her to hospital because she was incoherent, something she said she has never experienced before when drinking. She also said she has no memory of much of the night, but believes a drug was slipped into her drink. ''

"This has to be taken seriously," said the woman. "The only way to deter this kind of behaviour and stop it is for the school to clamp down hard on these people because if they're allowed to get away with it, if they don't see any consequences, they could potentially perpetrate this again."

''While at the hospital, the woman said, she was told by a doctor and nurses there were other women from the same party, and she has talked to at least one other who believes she was drugged as well.

According to the woman, doctors at University Hospital, part of the London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC), refused to do a drug test that night to help her figure out what, if anything, may have been slipped into her drink. They refused again two days later when she went in to get a doctor's note for her professors, she said.

The woman eventually called Western student health services. She said a doctor told her to come in right away, and tested her urine. The results showed the presence of an opioid that she said she did not take. CBC News has seen the results of the drug test.''