WINNIPEG, MB – The University of Winnipeg continues to work closely with the Winnipeg Police Service to investigate a message left on a washroom wall that was reported by a student on Sept. 19, 2007. Classes and business at The University of Winnipeg continue as scheduled with enhanced security measures in place.
The University of Winnipeg is committed to being an open and accessible institution in downtown Winnipeg while making every effort to ensure it remains a safe and secure environment to learn, to study and to work. The following is an update on recent campus security information:
- Bag searches at main entry points will continue throughout the weekend and on Monday, Oct. 1, 2007. Measures for the remainder of next week are now being assessed. Regular updates will be posted at www.uwinnipeg.ca as they become available.
- Entry to the University will continue to be limited to the following five main entry points:
- Front (south) door to Centennial Hall
- Spence Street(west) door to Riddell Hall
- Front (south) door to the Duckworth Centre
- Front (south) door to Wesley Hall for Collegiate Staff & Students
- Ellice Avenue(north) doors to Lockhart Hall
- Bag searches may continue at the main entry points on a periodic basis in the future. Additional staff will be present at these entrances to help alleviate delays and lineups.
- Video message screens will continue to be positioned at main entry points throughout the campus as a way to communicate security messages as well as university announcements and campus events. Please forward requests for announcements to events@uwinnipeg.ca.
- New methods for emergency communications – such as pop-up messages on all computers logged into the campus network and instant voicemail messages – have now been introduced.
- The University is also moving forward on previously-announced measures to improve campus security including establishing its own in-house security force, adding more video surveillance cameras and introducing a text-messaging service for emergency communications.
- All students, faculty and staff are reminded to report any unusual or suspicious behaviour to the Security Office at 786-9235, or to the Tip line at 258-2930 or tips@uwinnipeg.ca.
- NOTE – this will be the last security update to the media unless circumstances require further information updates.
The University sincerely thanks its entire community of students, faculty, staff and neighbours for the cooperation, patience and understanding demonstrated during this time. Your resolve and determination is what makes our campus strong and united. The University would also like to express its deep appreciation to the Winnipeg Police Service for its operational support, and to the University of Winnipeg Students’ Association (UWSA) for its continuing assistance and encouragement of students. The University is also grateful to The University of Winnipeg Community Ambassadors, the Downtown & West End BIZ Community Ambassadors, and the University of Manitoba and Red River College security personnel for their assistance. As we move forward we hope to continue to work with these partners to provide a safe and secure community, as well as provide deterrents against future similar actions to ensure a level of safety and confidence for our community members.
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Located in the heart of downtown, The University of Winnipeg is a compact, diverse, multi-cultural academic community committed to access and excellence. Home to more than 9,200 full- and part-time students, UWinnipeg has been ranked by our graduates in the Top-10 of all Canadian universities when asked about their “Entire Educational Experience” (MacLean’s Graduate Survey, June 2006). The Globe & Mail Report Card 2006 gives the University of Winnipeg an overall “A” grade in the areas of quality of education, teaching quality, class sizes, faculty-student interaction and the availability of faculty outside of classroom hours. Find out why. Visit www.uwinnipeg.ca.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Ilana Simon, Communications Officer, University of Winnipeg
P: 204.786.9930, C: 204.782.3279, E: i.simon@uwinnipeg.ca
