Guelph mayor upset after destructive homecoming weekend

The Mayor of Guelph is out with a strong message after a destructive homecoming weekend at the University of Guelph.

Massive parties took over several streets around the university and with those parties came calls for police, destruction and garbage.

Cam Guthrie says the city received numerous calls and emails about the partying and mess left behind.

In response, Mayor Guthrie shot a four minute video to call on the students who were involved to do better.

“If you’ve woken up today and you look outside your window, especially if you are renting outside of residence in some of our neighbourhoods where families live, maybe just take the time clean up your area.” Guthrie said in the video.

“Go and knock on your neighbours doors, say hello, introduce yourself to them, and if you were part of the problem say you’re sorry and you won’t do it again.”

Mayor Guthrie is clear to state he is not accusing all students of creating this problem, just a small minority of students, and others who came in from out of city to party.

Guthrie says he has spoken with the leadership at the University of Guelph and Guelph’s Chief of Police Jeff DeRuyter about how they can prevent this activity in the future.

Guelph Police say they were very busy over the weekend and experienced a much higher than normal call volume.

A detailed breakdown of charges is expected to be released at some point this week.

University of Guelph President Franco Vaccarino also taking to social media to express his concern, posting this video to social media on Monday just before 5 p.m.