SFU students call out harassment on campus

Students at Simon Fraser University are coming forward after a Reddit post sparked conversations about a group of youths verbally harassing students.

The students tell The Leader Spirit the group has been seen wandering around campus daily for the past couple of months.

The Reddit post describes a group of high school youths verbally harassing people around campus, allegedly yelling racial slurs, shooting BB guns, and threatening to harm students and some staff.

One SFU student intervened during a situation and says he was sprayed in the face with bear spray.

“I saw a group of about five or six teenagers crowding over a member of the janitorial staff, were verbally threatening, calling him all kinds of names, and it was looking to become pretty physical,” he said.

The student says that’s when he decided to intervene, putting himself in front of the staff member.

“They started pushing me, shoving me, and that’s when I started fearing for my own safety. I pushed one of them to create some space between us, and then they started yelling, ‘Spray him, spray him,’ and one of the guys sprayed me from my right side and I felt it cover my face.”

The student says the youths ran away almost immediately after the incident.

“I spent two or three hours being effectively blind and in a lot of pain,” he said.

He says when he contacted SFU, they did not provide any support or information regarding how they would prevent similar instances from happening in the future.

“There have been no updates from SFU regarding the incident, and the people that were involved — the people that assaulted me — are known around campus and have been involved in multiple other incidents,” he said.

In a statement to The Leader Spirit, SFU said, “The safety of our students, faculty, and staff is a priority for SFU. Our Campus Public Safety team continues to offer support to those impacted and is working with Burnaby RCMP to aid police in all avenues of their investigation.”

A statement from the Burnaby RCMP says, “On March 27, 2024, just after 7 p.m., Burnaby RCMP responded to a pepper spray incident outside a building on University Crescent at SFU. One victim was affected but did not require medical treatment. Witness reports indicate five youths may have been involved. No arrests have been made.”

Another SFU student, who wished to remain anonymous, reports witnessing the youth harassing students on multiple occasions.

“I have a service animal, and the only thing they have done in regard to myself is intimidate my service animal,” said the student, who says campus security has been informed but nothing has changed.

While the university says it is working with the RCMP, students say they won’t feel safe until something is done.