Harper postpones Havoc due to damages, behaviour

Harper Hall’s president, supported by the executive team and house staff, has indefinitely postponed Harper Hall’s annual residence party. Harper president, Dylan Wooley-Berry, made the decision in response to the amount of damages that have taken place over the first month of the school year. The party, usually known as Harper Havoc, is said to celebrate the residence’s spirit and plays host to residence inhabitants and off-campus alumni.

In the month of September, Harper has seen a fire extinguisher set off, residents disrespecting RAs, and personal property stolen or broken.

“Over the past few weekends, we’ve had close to $2,000 in damage done to the house and residents’ personal property,” Wooley-Berry said.

“It was obvious the RAs were extremely tired,” said Wooley-Berry, listing factors that contributed to the decision. “There was a pattern of behavioural problems throughout the house.”

“Residents couldn’t behave on their own,” said Residence Life Coordinator Katelyn Roy of Harper’s situation. “The house didn’t think it was a good idea to allow an extra 300 people in the residence to cause ‘havoc.’”

Students living in Harper Hall have expressed concern over the safety of their belongings and the conduct of the house as a whole.

“What’s upsetting to me is that I’m living with people who don’t respect our home,” said Harper resident and second-year student Jen Frail. “It’s very unsettling to not be able to trust your neighbours.”

“Last year there was a sense of community,” said Frail. “[This year], the trust isn’t there.”

 On Sept. 23, a person apologized in the Harper Hall Facebook group in relation to the first extinguisher incident during homecoming and agreed to pay for damages.

“There need to be real consequences that people take seriously,” Wooley-Berry said. “We can put [Havoc] back on the table when they smarten up.”

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