Gun violence is not a concern to many Ryerson students

Story by: Vanessa Rogers

Nearly half of Ryerson students are not concerned or are on the fence about the level of gun violence in Toronto, a new poll suggests.

From the 1,082 students surveyed at Ryerson University, 45 per cent of students have said they are neutral or unconcerned about gun violence in Toronto.

Toronto Police Service records show that gun violence has increased six per cent in relation to the number of shootings this time last year.

However, even with the increase, 53 per cent of males surveyed and 38 per cent of females are not concerned.

Mateo Lopez, a second-year hospitality and tourism management student said that he feels completely safe in Toronto, as long as he doesn’t go into “areas you shouldn’t be.”

“I feel like (gun violence) doesn’t really have an affect because it’s out of sight, out of mind,” Lopez said. “If you’re not around guns, you’re not going to have an issue.”

Although 62 per cent of females said that they were either fairly concerned or extremely concerned about the levels of gun violence in Toronto, less than half of males agreed.

Maryam Basil, a second-year hospitality and tourism management student said that gun violence is not the first thing that comes to her mind when she thinks about her safety in Toronto.

“Gun violence hasn’t effected me personally nor do I know anyone who has gone through it,” Basil said. “It’s more about harassment and assault for me.”

Despite the increase, most people were neutral or had very little concern about gun violence in Toronto.

Second-year business technology student, Victor Ho, said it is because people are not educated on the issue and city council is not bringing enough attention to it.

“Whenever I’m in Toronto I don’t feel safe at all, I feel anxious and uneasy when I’m here,” Ho, who’s from Vaughan, Ont., said. “There’s so many people you never know who might be carrying a gun or who might do something to you.”

Ho is part of the minority of males who are worried about the increasing levels of gun violence in Toronto.

Ryerson School of Journalism students conducted in-person surveys about Toronto election issues with 1,081 undergraduate and graduate Ryerson students in October prior to the municipal election. The results are considered accurate to within plus or minus three percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

Video by: Mariam Baher

 

Story Map by: Ammar Karam

Shootings in Toronto in 2018

Infographic by: Ammar Karam

Social media producer/website layout by: Sara Farzaneh