Last week’s higher-than-average total of students charged with alcohol-related offences shows that students are being held accountable for their illegal actions, and rightly so. Students who live in the Ghetto or on campus residences are Kingston residents, and live under the same laws that every other permanent resident does.

If someone on the streets of Kingston is caught carrying open liquor or violating noise by-laws or is judged to be drunk to the point where they’re endangering themselves or others, they should be charged.

Since the double cohort, the number of students under the legal drinking age living away from home in residences has increased. It also comes as no surprise that as a result, the number of charges for underaged drinking among students has also risen. Students who choose to drink before they turn 19 are aware of the risk they’re running by engaging in illegal activity and shouldn’t be surprised if they’re caught by the police and charged.

That said, students should not be held to a higher standard of the law than permanent residents. Just as visible minorities shouldn’t be targeted by police by virtue of their skin colour, neither should students by virtue of their age, where they live or simply because they are students. Students are not above the law, but the fact that less than 100 out of 15,000 Queen’s students behaved badly last week shouldn’t mean that all students can be painted with the same brush.

The increased police presence in the Ghetto is a welcome change. While the Kingston Police may intend to have a greater presence during Homecoming and Orientation Weeks to come, let’s hope their presence remains constant throughout the year. A police presence would be particularly beneficial during times such as the winter break and Reading Week when fewer people are in the Ghetto and robberies of Ghetto houses increase. The law applies year-round, to everyone.