As Humber students returned to campus this fall, few could have predicted the rocky start that would test their patience and resilience in the first few weeks of the semester.
The first day back to school, Sept. 2, there was an active attacker alert across campus.
There was no information provided regarding what was happening, where the attacker was located or even how credible the information was.
There was panic among teachers and students because an unprecedented alert of the sort meant there was an active attacker on campus.
With instructions being given to students through a pre-recorded announcement, the students and faculty, while in hiding, were trying to get more information by trying to get in contact with others.
Someone had called a partner agency, which informed Humber of a threat, saying there might be a potential shooting.
Humber’s Head of Department of Public Safety, Rob Kilfoyle, believed it was best to put both campuses on lockdown to ensure the safety of all students.
It was later said that the threat turned out to be bogus.
The next day, on Sept. 8, the Department of Public Safety at the Lakeshore campus received a report of indecent exposure.
The incident occurred off-campus during the morning, and the suspect was said to be a 5’9” middle-aged white male with a “beer belly.”
On Sept. 9, Humber reached out to students informing them of a potential Ontario Public Services Employees Union (OPSEU) support staff strike that could disrupt normal functions.
The union could not strike a deal with the employers and went on strike starting at 12:01 a.m. on Sept. 11.
The support staff to date continue to be on strike as of today, with no word from the employer after having left them at the bargaining table.
The students are particularly affected, with no full-time support staff present.
From missing out on full academic growth with certain courses that, for example, need a support staff to work the equipment, or not having a full team to work offices across campus, including the Accessibility Centre, International Student Services, Career Services, and many more.
Humber students have been abandoned and left to work their way through coursework, with the faculty struggling to hold the classroom together.
The strike is the reason why many of the classes being offered at Humber have switched to remote learning, with students missing out on full academic offerings.
The hallways are not bustling anymore as the support staff continue to guard the picket lines.
And all this as Humber’s IT department struggles to fix the issue with their Avro app, which prevents students from entering classrooms.
The doors are not opening for the entire student body, as this improperly functioning campus does not let them use all the facilities that they have essentially paid for in tuition.
