How the Students’ Union is prioritizing student safety within the Brantford campus community
Laurier Brantford has recently faced a number of incidents in the area surrounding campus, and the Students’ Union (SU) is taking all necessary steps to ensure the safety of the students is the top priority.
A large topic of conversation surrounding the Brantford campus is the safety of students. The campus is known for being rooted in the downtown core and surrounded by local residency.
The Brantford campus has a poor reputation when it comes to campus safety. Students have reported a number of incidents involving the homeless community that is often seen around campus and some feel that they are not as safe in this area compared to other universities that have more private campuses.
The Students’ Union Leadership team has consistently come together over the years to reflect on student safety and explore options on how to help students feel safer.
Sayak Sneddon-Ghosal, vice-president of government and stakeholder relations within the Students’ Union, explained that the team is always looking for ideas and ways to help assist students in feeling safe on the Brantford campus. “We’re aware that there’s no kind of one-size-fits-all solution and that folks have different concerns when it comes to safety and that safety doesn’t look the same for everyone,” Sneddon-Ghosal said.
A common concern from students, as explained by the SU representatives, was the homeless community downtown. This doesn’t come as a surprise to much of the student body. According to a report by Mary Musson, commissioner of community services and social development, as of Monday June 30, 2025, 602 people were unhoused in Brantford.
Sachpreet Karda, vice-president of programming and services on the Brantford campus, noted that while the Students’ Union understand the concern and doesn’t want to diminish any student experiences, they try to remind students that the homeless community in Brantford is comprised of human beings and the stereotypes of homeless communities are not a reflection of all homeless individuals.
“We absolutely hear those concerns and take them seriously, but we do also offer our compassion to folks in the community, and we do try to remind students that not all people on the streets are,” Karda said.
The Students’ Union has also recently taken a step back from their turnkey-type programming, as explained by Karda, with local bar Brando’s Beach House. Recent news has taken over the local community of a recent shooting around Brando’s in early November. Community members discussed in the comment section of a post in a local Facebook group What’s Happening, Brantford?, about whether the shooting was at the bar itself, or a nearby apartment. There has not been an official statement of the situation from local authorities at this time.
Karda explained that the team at the Students’ Union is constantly discussing these types of programs and putting the conversation of student safety at the forefront of those conversations.
“Knowing that we are running a program and promoting student safety there, we want to make sure that we’re doing it in the best way possible. And so, a lot of that I think will look like just a little bit of a step back from now and gauging what is the safety concern there,” Karda said.
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