WHEN DRUGS AND VIOLENCE GO WITH THE TERRITORY

Homicides unfortunately a routine business lately There have been 14
homicides in Toronto to date, and due to an unfortunate coincidence,
the last two have been connected to Ryerson.

I'm not keen on rehashing the details of two cases that have figured
(or continue to figure) prominently in the campus press for three
weeks running, but the consecutive murders of former Ryerson student
Alexander Christoff and current student Will Kim are really
registering with our student body.

While Christoff was only a peripheral member of our school's community
(he left Ryerson in May 2004), Kim was a current student. His close
proximity to Ryerson, even in terms of where his violent death took
place, bring both questions and answers.

One aspect common in both cases that hasn't gone overlooked is the
role the drug trade has played in the deaths. Christoff was branded a
drug dealer in newspaper reports following his death, and homicide
detective Ken Taylor pretty much confirmed as much in Kim's case when
he told me his death arose as a result of "his own private
enterprise."

Lawrence Robinson, manager of campus security, said on Monday that the
drug trade has a history with Ryerson.

"We have had (a problem) in the past," he said. "The drug trade
picture right now is not like anything that it was in the late 90s.
It's not to say that drug dealing isn't happening (on campus) now, but
we're not the same scope or the volume of traffic on campus that was
done back then."

While students are justified in their concerns over the safety of the
campus and residences close by, security and police's downplaying of
the most recent murders should not be seen as obtuse. Taylor is
correct in deflecting blame from Ryerson, as is Robinson in saying
these are the realities of downtown living.

The official message, in these cases, is clear. Illegal activity in
the drug trade is synonymous with violent crime.

That this lesson has instilled fear in the Ryerson community twice in
one month is another aspect of this tragedy.