In light of Trent hosting its March Break Open House on the rainy morning of March 17, 2023, two international students decided to chalk the Faryon bridge. This was done as an activist response to the university’s continual ties to oil and gas money and its ceaseless greenwashing attempts. As Camille Kessler, one of the two students involved, expressed, “we specifically targeted Trent’s Open House because we know that a lot of students think that Trent is green, and there’s a lot of students that consider that when they join.”

At 7 AM, Kessler and Irina Badell started to write slogans like “the only green thing at Trent is the logo” or “Want to hear a joke? Trent is a green university” using washable green chalk to ensure that incoming families and prospective students were aware of the university’s blind eye to years of student pleas for divestment, preferring rather to play a continuous role in the exacerbation of the climate crisis. As Alyssa Scanga once noted, Trent’s image is “if you peel back that window dressing, beneath it all you will find that Trent does not ‘bleed green.’”

As the rain slowly faded the chalk-written slogans, Kessler and Badell decided to go over them once again, this time caught off guard by the Campus security manager Keith Pua, who as he approached, spoke on the phone saying “I found them!” Though polite, the students described an underlying aggressive tone as he demanded their student IDs. Both students refused to provide identification, as they were nervous of the consequences given their international status. The security officer proceeded by telling them that they were not allowed to write on the bridge, despite it being covered with countless other chalk messages, including those of the recently passed TCSA election campaigns. 

Labelling the student’s chalking as ‘graffiti,’ the security guard concluded that it was because they couldn't write “damaging messages to the university” on the bridge because it was the day of an Open House. 

Badell recalls how Mr. Pua told them that “this is a ‘private property, we decide what can and cannot be done.’ And when we decided not to give our IDs he said that because he couldn't confirm that we were students that he would call the police and have [us] arrested for trespassing.” 

Shortly before that, a female security guard joined Mr. Pua, proceeding to take a picture of the students without their consent. The conversation continued for over half an hour, slowly escalating with threats of arrest if they decided to leave without providing any form of identification and were ever seen on campus again. Because of these threats, both students were unable to leave the scene at the time.

Trent’s Trespassing Policy does not make any explicit mention for the requirement of any form of ID provision before asking the individual(s) to leave the premises. Rather, the policy states that “persons trespassing on Trent land or structures may be asked to leave the premises by the responsible Trent authority” only then, if the individual does not comply, “Campus Security may issue a Trespass to Property notice and request that Police enforce the notice.” 

The threat of arrest can be alarming to any student and it remains unclear whether an arrest could actually take place if they did not provide IDs. Unaware of the content of this policy and thus, with little choice, both students decided to hand over their student IDs and prove their student status. 

Shortly after, as a result of the encounter, they were contacted via email by the Student Conduct and Conduct Education Coordinator. The email explained that the main concern was the fact that they initially refused to provide a student ID, and that there are expectations for students to work with security, “for the benefit of shared safety and responsibility on our campus.” Sympathy was also expressed over their efforts regarding greenwashing within Trent, offering a hand to connect to student or community groups for this kind of advocacy. 

As Badell expressed during an interview with Arthur, “we weren’t sure what the consequences would be if we gave them our IDs, and also if we didn't. Because, can we really get arrested for being on a campus that we go to? We don't think so, but we don't know.”

“As international students we can't really take the risk,” Kessler added.

Eventually, Trent cleaning services arrived at the scene. However, the only messages erased from the bridge were those put up by the students. All other messaging was left untouched. 

Mr. Pua and Campus Security were contacted for an interview to learn more about the unfolding of events from their perspective. However, attempts to call Trent security were futile as they recommended only to send an email instead. 

In the end, Trent Communications provided a statement which ultimately disregarded the primary questions and concerns related to campus security. 

In their response, Communications noted that as part of preparing for the Open House on March 17th “Facilities Management undertook additional campus maintenance, which included cleaning the bridge. Shortly after, a Facilities staff member noted people chalking over the freshly cleaned bridge and contacted Campus Safety to ask the individuals to refrain from chalking before the event.” 

The statement proceeded to describe the encounter, claiming that the bridge had been previously cleaned stating that this was the root of the problem, and that the situation only escalated after the students refused to provide their ID. 

“They were approached by Campus Safety and asked not to chalk that day, explaining that the bridge had been cleaned earlier in order to welcome guests to campus. When the individuals refused to comply, Campus Safety requested student identification. Some chose not to provide i.d. and, in accordance with protocol, were informed they could be trespassed from campus if they could not prove they were students.”

The statement ends with Trent claiming that the students were not threatened with arrest. 

However, many students who were made aware of this encounter have expressed concerns regarding censorship and the use of arrest threats as intimidation tactics against students speaking the truth as deliberate methods to silence students' voices on issues that concern their future and that of future generations. 

During a conversation with Arthur, undergraduate student Davis Standfield remarked, “Anyone that’s ever walked across the Faryon Bridge knows it's a virtual right of passage and a favourite pastime of students and the community to chalk the bridge with information on upcoming student campaigns and student action.” He continued on to ask “since when was it a criminal act to write on public property with washable chalk? This is censorship. It’s fucking disgusting.”