By Brian Daly
Police have laid charges after an Edge doorman was punched in the face in one of two separate altercations at the RAC awards pub last Wednesday.
The incidents were sparked when two Edge patrons exchanged heated words around 1 a.m. A scuffle ensued, and when Edge staff intervened, a doorman was struck in the face. Ryerson security and Metro Police were called, and the offending student was charged with assault.
Security was kept busy throughout the night as another scuffle broke out near the intersection of Victoria and Gerrard minutes later between two of the people involved in the first scuffle. Police charged them with disturbing the peace. Edge manager Andrew Boudreau commends his staff’s performance.
“The incident was handled very well,” he said. “(The staff) diffused the situation and called security.” Boudreau did not reveal the names of the staff and patrons involved, in order to “protect their right to privacy.”
RSU Operations Manager Liz Devine said that alcohol “may have” played a factor in the assault against the doorman, and the case has been referred to Student Services, who will decide whether to take disciplinary action against the students. Boudreau has made his own feelings very clear.
“They should be banned (from The Edge) for a year. Anytime you have that level of disrespect towards our customers and staff, it deserves sanctions.”
Devine and Boudreau attribute last Wednesday’s altercation to frayed pre-exam nerves, rather than alcohol.
“If there are violent incidents (on campus), this is when they tend to happen,” Devine said. “Around this time last year at The Edge, a female student spilled her cup of coffee on another female student’s lecture notes, and the two of them went at each other with pool cues. People are stressed, and they’re looking for an outlet.”
Boudreau says Ryerson is not the only university that has to deal with later semester tensions.
“This is a general trend for campus bar managers across Ontario,” he said.
Devine has words of advice for students who may be tempted to hit the booze in order to forget the myriad essays and exams looming on the horizon.
“If you’re drinking to relieve stress, alcohol is a depressant, so you’ll end up feeling worse. It’s a temporary form of release. Physical activity is a better stress reliever. Better to go to the gym than to beat someone up.”
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