UBC beefs up security for last day of school block party

Around 10,000 students are expected to show up for the University of British Columbia's last day of school block party and organizers say there will be a heavy security presence.

"We have over a 100 security guards on top of all the staff," saidJennaOmassi Friday, vice-president ofacademic and university affairs withtheAlma Mater Society.

• Sexual assault reported at UBC may be related to campus prowler, police say
• UBC sex assault: University criticized for not acting fast enough
• UBC alumna files human rights complaint over sex assault response

There have been increasing safety concerns asnine sexual assault cases on campus are still under investigation, with the latest incident occurringon March 25, 2016.

Omassi says the university's SafeWalk program and willalso be onhand to helpstudents tonight.The institution's sexual assault support centres are also on alert.

Football team gears up

The UBC football team will also be gearing up to help patrol the campus.

About 30 football players are going to actas'Stay Safe Ambassadors' by walking in pairs to create a presence on the streets.

"By going out Ithink we can help the university population relax a bit,"said BlakeNill, head coach of the UBC Thunderbirds football team.

"We are not going to be able to go out and change the attitude of perpetrators who want to engage in this kind of activity," said Nill, but he hopes the football team can make a positive contribution by volunteering time.

With files from the CBC's The Early Edition and Catherine Rolfsen.

To hear the full story listen to the audio labelled:UBC AMS block party taking extra precautions