Alcohol-licensed events temporarily banned at Trinity College

The Provost of Trinity College, Mayo Moran, has suspended events with alcohol licenses across the college, citing “a concern for student safety,” according to a statement released by the student heads of Trinity.

The event ban comes two weeks after Trinity College students passed a vote of no-confidence in the Office of the Dean of Students at the Trinity College Meeting (TCM), Trinity’s direct-democracy student government, and one week after TCM Chair Leila Martin wrote a letter to the Board of Trustees requesting an investigation into allegations made against the Dean’s office.

Trinity College regularly hosts licensed events where alcohol is sold to students who are of age. These events require a Special Occasion Permit, issued by the Liquor Control Board of Ontario, and must be approved by the Dean’s office beforehand. At this time, all licensed events have been banned at the college, but non-licensed events will continue as planned.

On October 13, the Head’s team met with the Provost; Monavari said that they discussed “safety, developing transparency and accountability between student leaders and administrators, and clarifying roles in different echelons of Trinity governance.”

Monavari said that the ban is “a temporary measure” put in place by the Provost “in light of the vote of non-confidence.” It is unclear how long the ban will be in effect. 

Monavari said that “events are integral to the social fabric of” the college and that the two parties are “swiftly working to resolve these issues.”

A meeting is currently being scheduled by the Provost for the student Heads and the Office of the Dean of Students to discuss future steps.

Monavari is at the centre of one of the allegations outlined in Martin’s letter. During a residence party at Trinity on September 23, Monavari was allegedly assaulted by a Campus Police officer when he was pointed out by Assistant Dean of Students for Residence Life Adam Hogan and Assistant Dean of Students for Student Life Christine Cerullo, who allegedly stood idle while Monavari was assaulted. Monavari claims to have been uninvolved with the residence party, and has since issued a formal complaint to Campus Police.

Moran and the Office of the Dean of Students did not respond to The Varsity request for comment as of press time.