Concordia cultural nights are once again raising concerns about student drinking and behaviour in residence, after the first culturally-themed student union event of the year led to complaints about excessive noise.
Cultural nights have been held at the Hive on the Loyola campus since 2009 and are organized by the Concordia Student Union, often in conjunction with different cultural associations at the university. The most recent event, on Nov. 16, was hosted by the Latin American Student Association.
The fact that the events are held on weekdays and end at 11 p.m. pose a problem. D’Arcy Ryan, director of residence life at Concordia, feels that cultural nights are “problematic,” calling them a “free for all drink-fest.”
Ryan said that some students returning from the early-ending event are loud and disrespectful of others.
“When they come stumbling in, are they loud? Yes. Does it wake up students who are trying to sleep? Yes.”
Ryan said he usually expects a couple of incident reports directly related to cultural nights to come in the day after. There have been around 20 incident reports filed at Grey Nuns residence this semester. Rich SwamiNathan, the manager of residence life at Loyola, was unavailable for comment as he is away from campus until Dec. 12.
Residence assistants will investigate and issue warnings to individuals. While possible fines range from $25 to $250, Ryan admitted they aren’t overly strict.
Ryan understands that students want to enjoy themselves, but when they get so drunk that they need to be carried back to residence by an R.A. is not acceptable. “I think cultural nights are a great idea, but not the way they are being run now,” he said.
CSU councillor and Jesuit Residence R.A. Anaii Lee-Ender brought up concerns about cultural nights at a council meeting last month.
She feels that “the events are not reaching their full potential,” and that “we were concerned about encouraging a culture of excessive drinking.” Her comments were well received at council, and she hopes that it will lead to a more positive environment for everyone involved once policies are reviewed.
Ella Boucaud, a Concordia business student, said that as much as she enjoys cultural nights, they can get a little too rowdy. “I think it’s a really good idea to show off other cultures, but with the open bar, some people go a little crazy,” she said.
Normally she wouldn’t be out on a Wednesday night, and suggested that perhaps there would be less trouble if the event was held a different day. “I think more people would be able to go if it was on a Friday, plus it wouldn’t disturb other people in residence as much.”
Tanya Babiuk-Henry is an R.A. in Hingston Hall who thinks the problem originates from everyone coming back at the same time.
“They drink as much as they can before 11 p.m. and then don’t have to worry about being sober enough to make it home,” she pointed out.
Babiuk-Henry is also an organizer for the upcoming Ukrainian cultural night, and said that she is pleased to see more club involvement in the planning this year.
Cultural nights have been held at the Hive on the Loyola campus since 2009 and are organized by the Concordia Student Union, often in conjunction with different cultural associations at the university. The most recent event, on Nov. 16, was hosted by the Latin American Student Association.
The fact that the events are held on weekdays and end at 11 p.m. pose a problem. D’Arcy Ryan, director of residence life at Concordia, feels that cultural nights are “problematic,” calling them a “free for all drink-fest.”
Ryan said that some students returning from the early-ending event are loud and disrespectful of others.
“When they come stumbling in, are they loud? Yes. Does it wake up students who are trying to sleep? Yes.”
Ryan said he usually expects a couple of incident reports directly related to cultural nights to come in the day after. There have been around 20 incident reports filed at Grey Nuns residence this semester. Rich SwamiNathan, the manager of residence life at Loyola, was unavailable for comment as he is away from campus until Dec. 12.
Residence assistants will investigate and issue warnings to individuals. While possible fines range from $25 to $250, Ryan admitted they aren’t overly strict.
Ryan understands that students want to enjoy themselves, but when they get so drunk that they need to be carried back to residence by an R.A. is not acceptable. “I think cultural nights are a great idea, but not the way they are being run now,” he said.
CSU councillor and Jesuit Residence R.A. Anaii Lee-Ender brought up concerns about cultural nights at a council meeting last month.
She feels that “the events are not reaching their full potential,” and that “we were concerned about encouraging a culture of excessive drinking.” Her comments were well received at council, and she hopes that it will lead to a more positive environment for everyone involved once policies are reviewed.
Ella Boucaud, a Concordia business student, said that as much as she enjoys cultural nights, they can get a little too rowdy. “I think it’s a really good idea to show off other cultures, but with the open bar, some people go a little crazy,” she said.
Normally she wouldn’t be out on a Wednesday night, and suggested that perhaps there would be less trouble if the event was held a different day. “I think more people would be able to go if it was on a Friday, plus it wouldn’t disturb other people in residence as much.”
Tanya Babiuk-Henry is an R.A. in Hingston Hall who thinks the problem originates from everyone coming back at the same time.
“They drink as much as they can before 11 p.m. and then don’t have to worry about being sober enough to make it home,” she pointed out.
Babiuk-Henry is also an organizer for the upcoming Ukrainian cultural night, and said that she is pleased to see more club involvement in the planning this year.
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