Our shared community
At Dalhousie, we are committed to educating and enhancing opportunities for our students to be responsible and engaged citizens in our shared community. Throughout their time at Dalhousie, they have a multitude of ways to have a positive impact, whether it be big or small, formal or informal.
As Dalhousie students move through their educational path at the university, the opportunities for engagement with community evolves and grows. Students in their early years of study navigate a multitude of new experiences, with Dal Student Affairs providing important lessons on safety and respect, diversity and inclusion, alcohol and substance use, and living in the Halifax and Nova Scotia community.
During their post-secondary and graduate journey, students are able to connect with their surrounding communities through:
- volunteering
- employment
- co-op programs
- athletics
- or participating in one of the over 250 club and societies that are ratified with the DSU each year.
You can find more information about the positive impact Dalhousie students have on their communities in the university’s annual Community Report, which will be published in March 2024.
Connect with us
Are you a student or community member with questions about issues, responsibilities in our community surrounding Dalhousie? Please see our list of frequently asked questions below. If you have more questions, you can contact us at community.engagement@dal.ca.
For immediate issues or emergencies at or near Dalhousie, calls should be directed to:
- 902-490-5020 – Halifax Regional Police non-emergency line
- 311 – HRM municipal services contact centre
- 911 – emergencies only
- 902-494-6400 – Dalhousie Security (on-campus issues only)
Frequently Asked Questions
To reach Dalhousie students who are looking for work, check out the resources available here at Hire Dal.
You can also find information for employers and students about Dalhousie Work‑Integrated Learning & Co‑operative Education opportunities here.
Dalhousie hosts many events that are open to the public: athletic events, arts performances, lectures, and more. You can find these events in our Events Calendar and select the audience filter “Open to the public”.
The Dalhousie Off-Campus Living website has resources about finding an apartment, understanding your rights as a tenant, and many other useful topics.
It is important for students and our community members to understand their responsibilities as residents of HRM. Information about Halifax Regional Municipality by-laws including noise, garbage, construction, property concerns, and alcohol can be found on HRM’s by-law website.
Dalhousie recognizes students living off-campus as independent adult citizens subject to the laws and by-laws of Nova Scotia and the Halifax Regional Municipality. Enforcement related to illegal behaviour in the greater Halifax community lies with the Halifax Regional Police. Dal proactively communicates and encourages respectful behaviour to students living both on and off-campus.
The Dalhousie Code of Student Conduct was revised this fall and applies to non-academic misconduct by a student or group of students that takes place off University property, including online activities, in circumstances where:
- a student is participating in a sanctioned University activity, regardless of where that activity takes place;
- Student represents, claims to represent or would reasonably be perceived to be representing, the University;
or in the context of an academic program, including conduct that occurs when a student is participating in:
- any class activity, including a lecture, tutorial, lab, classroom discussion forum or the like, on or off University property or online; and,
- any organized academic activity, such as a clinical placement, exchange, field placement, field trip, internship, research activities that occur virtually or off University property.
In most common situations off campus, complaints involve violation of municipal, provincial, or federal laws and the code will only apply if there has been a material negative impact to the university community.
When a complaint is made under the Code of Student Conduct, each complaint is reviewed to assess whether it falls under the code or another more appropriate policy or process.
For the full Dalhousie Code of Student Conduct, please visit our Student Conduct site.
Large unsanctioned street parties are a complex and growing problem across North American university campuses that pose a high-risk for alcohol-related and safety incidents on campuses and nearby neighbourhoods. Often referred to as “HOCO” or “fake homecoming,” they require extensive efforts from universities and community partners to mitigate as they are organized and influenced by social media.
In 2022, Dalhousie and partners embarked on a multi-stakeholder collaborative framework to address unsanctioned street parties in our shared neighbourhood. This process highlighted the strengths and potential roles of various stakeholders involved in addressing this issue, themes for actions, as well as some suggestions on how a collaborative network can be organized in a more coordinated, and effective manner.
You can find more information about the framework, reports and initiatives that are underway here.
Enforcement of noise-related complaints rests with the Halifax Regional Police and Halifax Regional Municipality.
HRM by-law officers can address these complaints, or follow up on an existing complaint, during work hours.
For issues in the evenings or weekends, please contact HRP at their non-emergency line 902-490-5020).
The Halifax municipal overnight winter parking ban is in effect every year from Dec. 15 to March 31. It is enforced only during declared weather events and ongoing clearing operations. When enforced, the parking ban is in effect from 1 a.m. until 6 a.m. throughout the Regional Centre of the municipality.
For updates on the status of the parking ban, you can visit halifax.ca, follow @hfxgov on Twitter, or call 311. You can sign up to receive winter parking ban notifications.