As thousand of students walk across the stage to collect their hard-earned degrees, the University of Waterloo is stepping up safety precautions this week.
The extra measures were put in place weeks after Occupy UW set up an encampment on campus to protest the war in Gaza. The school’s precautions come almost one year after a triple stabbing in a UW classroom in 2023.
“I definitely think since the accidents that happened this past year and last year, I think the added security acts as another measure to give protection to the ceremony, but also makes people safe,” said one person at Tuesday’s convocation ceremony.
There were mixed feelings amongst some people at attending the convocation. Many noticed the extra security measures, but others wished the day could have happened without the political backdrop.
“We did notice it a little bit, coming in there was a lot of bag checks and a lot of instructions of who goes where but I think judging by …