Neighbours call for public meeting in wake of rowdy street party near Dalhousie campus

Residents of a south-end Halifax neighbourhood near Dalhousie University are calling for action after hundreds of students gathered in the area for a large street party on Sunday.

The unsanctioned party, dubbed "FOCO" by some students, as in fake homecoming, took place from around 11 a.m. AT Sunday until it was broken up by police around suppertime.

An official homecoming event planned by the university is scheduled for next weekend, but because many will be away for Thanksgiving, some students organized their own unsanctioned street parties Sunday.

Since 2017, they've become an annual occurrence in the student-heavy residential area around Larch, Jennings and Preston streets, a short walk away from the university's campus, even as neighbours, school officials, local police and the city have worked to prevent them.

"We know that students are going to have parties, and certainly they're entitled to do that, it's really just when it's out of control and starts to really impact other people that it's a problem," said Caitlin Lees, who lives in the neighbourhood with her family and two children.

Lees is part of a group of 14 households that issued an open letter Monday asking for a public meeting with Halifax's mayor, the interim police chief and Dalhousie's president.

"Despite assurances from your institutions of 'zero tolerance' this year, and in your knowing the date and location of the party well in advance, your institutions again failed our community," the letter stated. 

Lees said this year's party was less intense than last year, where thousands were in attendance, one person was stabbed, and the event continued well into the evening, but still problematic.

There were hundreds of people milling about the residential area, with many carrying alcohol, some of whom were visibly intoxicated. Lees said the music nearby was so loud her house was shaking and that she witnessed some students urinating on her home.

"The response that we got yesterday was very much inconsistent with what has been planned for the entire prior year," said Lees. "I think we want to understand what happened and how we move forward and make sure that this doesn't happen again."

One particular concern, Lees added, was the number of city resources, including many police officers and emergency vehicles, required to keep the party under control.

"I think that it's one thing for me to stand here and say that this was a bad day for me in my neighborhood, but everybody in this province who might have needed emergency medical care or police assistance yesterday would have had delays in accessing that, and that's a problem."

Dalhousie condemns event

Harry McInroy is a third year exchange student from England studying music at Dalhousie.

He hosted a party with his roommates, but said they tried to keep things under control by warning their neighbours in advance, and having people go inside their house and around to the backyard, instead of loitering in the street.

"With the police, the main problem was people drinking on the street, which obviously, wasn't allowed there," he said.

McInroy said most students he witnessed Sunday were being respectful, but with the number of people present, it was inevitable some would take things too far.

In a statement, the university condemned the street party, maintaining that "majority of our students are bright, committed and caring individuals who make significant contributions to our university and Halifax communities."

"Dalhousie does not condone any kind of illegal street party," the university said. "We appreciate the efforts of our emergency first response partners and will continue to work collaboratively to debrief events that unfolded this past weekend and adjust our strategies moving forward."

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