The newly announced safety audit, which will be carried out by AMS’s Municipal Affairs Commission (MAC) in the coming month, is a positive, constructive initiative that should become a regular practice for the AMS.

The audit will examine the student housing area for a variety of safety hazards that may affect students, such as shady spots, overgrown bushes, and burnt out street lights — all of which should be reviewed regularly for the sake of student safety.

It seems like a no-brainer that the MAC would take on such an initiative — after all, they should be keeping constant tabs on the safety of the student community.

It’s shocking that the last safety audit organized by the AMS was carried out by the MAC in 1997.

In a time when payphones were a large safety concern, security in the area looked dramatically different.

This initiative is absolutely a necessity and should be carried out every year by the AMS.

The MAC should also be sure that the audit spans not only the main parts of the housing area. Currently, the audit only goes up to Mack Street — in future years, it should include areas North of Princess as well.

If the audit is going to assess the safety of the student living area off-campus, it should ensure it does so thoroughly.

This audit will hopefully also raise important student concerns to members of the larger Kingston community, like having Kingston Police place a larger focus on student safety on weekends instead of focusing much of their energy on patrolling house parties and handing out drinking tickets and violations.

This is a positive step for the MAC — student safety both on and off campus should be a priority, and this initiative shows that the Commission takes this issue seriously.

— Journal Editorial Board