Safety of the Ryerson Campus AreaEssay title: Safety of the Ryerson Campus AreaWhat conditions must apply before an area can be considered safe? A safe area according to the definition from the Encarta is summed up as an area where one can find refuge and safety, while living in security, (Encarta. 2007). Would you consider the Ryerson Campus area to be safe? This depends on a certain individual’s bias which is based on the gender and age of that individual. Another factor that comes in to play is the time of day you are viewing the area, different opinions may be generated on an area if it were daytime as opposed to night time. Personally I’m an 18 year old male and from my exploration I generally found the Ryerson area to be unsafe, especially during the night time. Many factors came in to play for me to generate such an opinion such as lack of light in certain areas, narrow alley ways and construction that can be dangerous to anyone walking within the area.
The general opinion on safety during daytime from Ryerson students is that it’s not a big concern because you’re in broad daylight and there are always people around. A first year Electrical Engineering student, Obaid Ansari responded, “So far I found Ryerson to be very safe during the daytime, in fact I found it safer than my high school because there are always lots and lots of people around!”, when asked how he felt about the safety of the Ryerson area during daytime. Although daytime seems pretty safe, there are still major concerns with safety around the Ryerson campus. A major safety concern particularly at this time includes the construction at Point 1 in the daytime map. The construction that is happening on Yonge and Dundas is dangerous for citizens regularly passing by the place in order to get to their destination. The construction that is being built in this area is dangerous because anyone is in danger of being hit by an object from above. Since they are constructing a building from the top, anything can fall from above and hit a citizen, which can lead to serious injuries. Personally I have to pass by this area every time when I get off the Dundas Subway, and I’m in constant fear as I walk by the area and so are my peers as we walk by really quickly to avoid any injuries. Another safety concern with the Yonge and Dundas area which is denoted as Point 2 on the map is that it’s overly crowded. Many issues develop from crowded areas, but the main issue is the fear of being robbed or pick-pocketed. The downtown core has a variety of locals which range from the rich class to the poor class. This opens up possibilities of people from the poor class stealing from the rich class, especially in crowded situations where it’s easier because everyone is in a rush and no one will know who the robber is when they noticed that they have been robbed. Especially at times when crossing the street or getting out the subway station, it makes it very easy for the robber who just has to be quick while stealing and later try to blend in with the crowd. The last major safety concern at Ryerson during the daytime is the traffic problems along Gould Street ranging from Yonge all the way down to Church which is denoted as Point 3. For many students who have classes in buildings on the opposite sides of Gould Street, it’s difficult for them to quickly cross between the road in order to get to the opposite side because of the traffic and lack of traffic lights. The fact that the road is packed almost every time in the day and the traffic lights are only on Yonge or Church Street along Gould Street, students almost every time have to cross by themselves with nothing to stop traffic. Especially when students are in a constant hurry to get to class, sometimes they might not look when crossing the street and become in danger of being hit by a vehicle. “A lot times when I’m crossing Gould Street I run cuz I’m scared of getting hit by a car or even a bike”, says Sajjid Malgi a 4th year Graphics Communication Management student at Ryerson.
There are many safety issues when it comes down to night time around the Ryerson Campus area. This fact is due to the lack of light, loneliness of not having much people around and this leads to a different perspective on certain areas when observed at night. Such as the Quad denoted as Point 4 on the night time map, which seems like a perfectly normal place in daytime, but can transform to become a really unsafe area at night. During the night the Quad doesn’t have sufficient lighting and when observed seems like a very dim place and it’s an open area surrounded by buildings which is alone enough to place fear within people. On top of that it has many corners and walls which act like hideouts where subjects can hide in order to rob, harass or even rape the victim. Another area similar to the Quad is Point 5 which is a circular area behind the Rogers Communication Building. Small leading
s to an elevator to the fifth floor have been placed on the top of the building and a small lead is pushed to the building by passersby. There are also numerous other hazards.
Several safety issues when it comes to Ryerson campus are still present. These have started to come into focus, especially at night time. This is due to the lack of night eye as mentioned at the Ryerson Campus Safety report, which has several safety issues. The following is a list of the safety problems that a number of organizations (social, environmental, civil, etc.) has noticed as a result of Ryerson’s recent decision. The following is an average of the three major safety issues that have been found and addressed by:
There are many safety issues when it comes to Ryerson campus. This fact is due to the lack of night eye as mentioned at the Ryerson Campus Safety report, which has multiple safety issues. The following is a list of the safety issues that have been found and addressed by:
The buildings in and around the Quad den, which you’ve mentioned in your earlier guide (point 3) are all set up to protect the community, and they are designed so that the building is safe as opposed to a lot of buildings looking pretty much like cars and buildings that just look like vehicles. All of these buildings are covered in graffiti, paint, signs and posters, and also provide a place where many residents may think they will be disturbed.
The buildings with graffiti on them are always covered with trash that most residents assume will be clean because it seems to be filled with people thinking they will be assaulted.
The buildings on the ground level have several signs with very dangerous information such as their name, number of victims who are present, and their location at the time.
You also have the same type of signs along the street that you see on the street. They often have lots of people looking at them so you can make out several people sitting across the street from one another.
The buildings with broken glass have been covered in plastic bags or a piece of cardboard with a small lead in the center surrounded by a large circle to the right of the circle. This would appear like a large number of cardboard bags or other broken glass.
The buildings with torn furniture have been covered with trash that’s really covered with human remains. This may sound like the trash from a movie but is actually feces. It was placed in garbage cans and thrown on the ground in order to make it look like a garbage truck.
Several objects were set up to make sure the residents get a good view of these sites. Once this happens people are left with no way to get to these sites, especially since there is no safe way to cross the street. This was caused by the large amounts of trash that would appear in the crowd which is why people were left alone for this purpose.
In order to protect the residents the residents have built various types of signs along the street. Here are some of the many:
These are where people walk around and watch a number of activities happening outside the building but they never get much information.
These are not just for people who get around. For people who stay home alone, they also make it very difficult to get a look at the buildings. The majority of these places are used only as a