Although the AMS plays a large role in Queen’s policies, many people don’t realize that Kingston City Council has a substantial influence over when we party and when we don’t.
Sydenham Ward City Councilor Bill Glover sheds some light on City Council’s role in Queen’s affairs.
“The relationship between Queen’s and Kingston is like a brother-sister relationship,” Glover said. “Which pair of siblings doesn’t disagree sometimes?”
Glover, who began his undergraduate studies at Queen’s in 1969, said he re that student life was completely centered around Queen’s campus, so he understands where students are coming from.
“This is a time of tremendous learning, both socially and academically,” he said. “It is important to be with people at the same stage which is why it is not desperately realistic to expect students to interact with the city.”
Since his time here as a student, Queen’s population has experienced dramatic increases relative to Kingston’s population. The student housing area has also expanded.
“This growth is realistic, given that students expect to live within walking distance of campus,” Glover said.
In previous years, the Frosh Week concert was held on campus but the AMS’ request an annual noise-bylaw exemption was denied. An area resident group, including Don Rogers, argued that the request was “unreasonable.” This year, a majority of council voted against granting the exemption which led to the concert being moved to Fort Henry.
AMS President Talia Radcliffe approached City Council earlier this year with help from the University istration and Kingston Police to close Aberdeen Street for Homecoming. To do so, Radcliffe needed to get a motion on the agenda, which is controlled by the staff who sit on the board.
“The best way for Queen’s to get on the agenda would be to the Chief istrative Officer,” Glover said, adding that it usally isn’t a difficult process.
He went on to explain that the request to close Aberdeen Street during Homecoming is a regular occurrence as it keeps the police from being obligated to ensure the street is clear for vehicular traffic.
This may be a way of preventing conflict between students who choose to spend Homecoming on Aberdeen Street and the police. For the past few years, Glover said City Council has moved to close Aberdeen Street “with misgivings.” Glover said that, at least since 2005, there have always been groups dealing with Homecoming.
He said the most challenging part of living in a city with a world-renowned university is that the relationship is constantly changing.
“Since Queen’s has changed as an institution in the last 40 years, its relationship with Kingston has also changed,” Glover said. “What the issue always comes down to is the context of the situation and the process Queen’s and Kingston goes through to resolve it.”
Despite tensions, Queen’s contributions to Kingston are undeniable, Glover said.
“Queen’s adds value to Kingston beyond shipping and military,” Glover said, alluding to Kingston’s past. “Queen’s also brings with it spending power that adds to the market for more restaurants and retail shops.”
The University also contributes less tangibly to the city Glover said, recalling his days as a student volunteer.
“I wasn’t the first and certainly wasn’t the last, either,” Glover said. “[There is] tremendous interaction at the individual level between Queen’s students, faculty and staff with the city of Kingston. Without Queen’s, Kingston would just be a Brockville or a Belleville.”
Glover said that he thinks that relations between Kingston and Queen’s are changing.
“I do not think, until very recently, that Queen’s recognized its relationship with Kingston had changed [as the population grew],” he said. “But I don’t think the municipality had either.” But Glover seems optimistic about the future.
If Glover’s optimism is any indication, these two feuding siblings might just be at the start of a whole new relationship.
—With files from Madison Bettle
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