Students at Simon Fraser University are alleging that the university didn’t do enough after a male student became violent at its Burnaby campus last week.
In a social media post, SFU professor Orion Kidder described an alleged incident which started with “screaming from down the hall” as he was teaching a class at 5 p.m. on Oct. 3.
After going to investigate, Kidder said he saw a class being “terrorized by a young man” who he assumed was a student “walking in circles, yelling and menacing the room.”
Kidder alleged he saw the man lift his arm and “hammer a female student in the face” before ripping a phone from a wall and walking towards Kidder.
Kidder wrote that the man told him he was “suicidal and bipolar” and “wasn’t going to hurt anyone.”
Still concerned about the man, Kidder said he tried to get him out of the building but that the man “forced” himself through the door.
| Part of a statement issued by SFU professor Orion Kidder after an alleged violent incident at SFU’s Burnaby campus. (Twitter) |
In a post to Facebook, student Ashley Lee describes how a man came into Kidder’s class as she was sitting in it.
“Because there were no locks this student entered our classroom, threw a table, and then began throwing chairs at students,” Lee wrote.
Lee said that Orion told his students to run but that a girl was hit by a chair was “stuck in the room” until police showed up and escorted the man away.
“No one rounded up the students afterwards to make sure everyone was okay,” Lee said.
“The girl with the concussion had to take the bus home bloody and concussed.”
Lee wrote that although Kidder had asked for a counsellor to come in, the psychologist brought in by SFU “was damage control,” and “made us feel small and insignificant.”
In a statement, an SFU spokesperson said that campus security arrived of the incident within three minutes of it being reported and that Mounties escorted the alleged aggressor away.
The statement said that two students suffered “minor injuries” and were helped by emergency first aid responses.
SFU said that students are receiving support from the university’s health and counselling services.
The student in question is no longer on campus.
Nothing is more important than the safety of our students. We are actively monitoring the situation and supporting students who were involved to ensure they have access to any supports they may need.
Burnaby RCMP did not return a request for comment.
