Rowdy homecoming prompts 944 calls to Guelph police

Parts of the city of Guelph are recovering from a hangover of sorts Monday after a challenging homecoming weekend that had police responding to nearly 1,000 calls. 

Not all of the 944 calls received by police were complaints about homecoming but there were enough to prompt Guelph Mayor Cam Guthrie to release a video on social media.

He explained in the video, recorded in his car, how he reached out to the chief of police and the vice-president of student affairs to discuss his concerns about the mess partying students left behind.

"We need to get together and debrief with other agencies and groups to try to figure out how we cannot let what happened ... happen again," said Guthrie.

"I'm not trying to paint a broad brush across all University of Guelph students," said Gutherie. "I know full well from the chief of police that some of the troublemakers were not U of G students they were not even from Guelph, they came from outside of our city ... and caused some issues."

He also urged students who live in residential neighbourhoods to clean up the area they live in, apologize to their neighbours and tell them "we won't do it again." He also urged students to talk to each other about respecting their neighbours, friends and the city as a whole.

Guthrie also reassured people who called to complain that he has heard their concerns and if their properties were affected, to email the city's bylaw office.

A Guelph Police spokesperson said they couldn't yet confirm if any arrests were made, but would comment further once investigators were able to review the situation in greater detail.

The University of Waterloo and Wilfrid Laurier University celebrate their homecoming this weekend.