By Sean Fitz-Gerald
Ryerson’s student council president is considering a sign-in system at the Ram in the Rye after two students were allegedly threatened and sexually harassed in two separate incidents in the same evening.
“It’s non-Ryerson students who are the problem, not our students,” said RyeSAC’s president David Steele. “Regulating the non-students is what we could do if the problem persists.”
The most recent incidents occurred two weeks ago when campus security were called to the pub twice in the same night. In the first incident, security questioned three non-Ryerson students who allegedly threatened a student with a knife inside the pub.
Security held the suspects until police arrived, but when the three suspects were searched, a knife wasn’t found.
“Basically, the cops told them to go home and smarten up,” said Terry Ladouceur, campus security and safety manager.
Later that night, Ladouceur says a waiter and a student were sexually harassed by a non-student. The man allegedly slapped a male waiter’s butt and then verbally harassed a male student.
“At that point, the student informed him that his sexual preference is not the same of this person,” Steele said. “Then the other guy made some comments back and the student basically flattened [punched] him.”
Steele says if the problems persist, a sign-in system like the one used in Pitman Hall where students assume responsibility for the actions of their guests could be implemented at the Ram in the Rye.
Security at the pub has been beefed up. RyeSAC increased the price of draft beer 25 cents, from $2.50 to $2.75. The additional money has been used to hire more staff, including an extra bouncer. There are now four bouncers in the pub on busy nights.
But Steele says it isn’t in reaction to the recent incidents.
“It’s related to prevention [of fights],” he said. “We’ve actually had less fights than we did last year.”
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