By Lexy Benedict
When Diana Searles, a student at Ryerson University, first started school, she was ultimately excited. Looking forward to attending a school that was in the heart of Toronto and the overwhelming possibilities that would come with it. Meeting new people and experiencing new things — it all sounded good to her.
However, in her first year she quickly realized that things weren’t as amazing in the city as she thought they were. “I thought that because I was going to school, and a student, I was in this bubble of safety,” said Searles. What she didn’t anticipate was the weird people she saw following her, or the men cat calling on her walk from Union Station to Dundas station. Feeling unsafe became part of her everyday commute.
With Ryerson university being located at the heart of Yonge and Dundas streets, a place filled with all kinds of people, campus safety is something that young women feel is not always at its prime. In light of the problem, Ryerson implemented programs like “Walk Safe”, to encourage safety and decrease the risk of assault and harassment for students travelling to and from campus.
Holli Boucher works at the Crime Prevention and Community Engagement Office at Ryerson University, and said that the WalkSafe program is designed for students; both male and female, to feel safe going to and from anywhere on campus– all the way from College station to Dundas station.
How does it work?
A student can call Ryerson Security at 416-979-5040, or email either security@ryerson.ca or walksafe@ryerson.ca.
Then, in about five minutes, a Ryerson Security Guard (always in uniform), will meet the student at their location and walk them where they need to go.
The WalkSafe Program is available to Ryerson community members and visitors, every single day of the week, 24/7.
What are the boundaries?
While there are boundaries, security guards are able to go beyond them for safety reasons. The main boundaries are Carlton and College St, South of the campus towards Dundas, East of the campus towards Jarvis, and West on Yonge Street.
They also can walk you to surface parking lots and parking garages:
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202 Jarvis Street Lot (Jarvis and Dundas)
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Canada Auto Parks (Church and Shuter)
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Impark (Church and Shuter)
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Target Parking (Victoria and Shuter)
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Unit Park (Bond and Dundas)
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Unit Park (Church and Dundas)
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300 Victoria Street Garage (Victoria and Dundas)
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160 Mutual Street Garage (Mutual and Dundas)
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Atrium on Bay (Bay and Edward)
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Bond Place Hotel (Bond and Dundas)
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Delta Chelsea Hotel (Yonge and Gerrard)
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Eaton Centre (Bay and Dundas)
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Eaton Centre (Yonge and Shuter)
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Ted Rogers School of Management garage (Dundas and Bay)
While safety is an issue for many students on campus, it’s important that students are educated on the services that the school provides that could help make them feel safer. So share this with your friends and classmates; tell first years and anyone else you think could use it.