An annual booze-fuelled Homecoming gathering on Broughdale Avenue is a “disaster just waiting to happen” — and Western University hopes to shut it down by moving Homecoming to late October when poor weather and mid-term exams might discourage out-of-control street parties.

Last year, 10,000 party-goers jammed the street and rooftops.

“We were flirting with unspeakable disaster just waiting to happen,” Janice Deakin, provost and vice-president (academic) said Tuesday. “Something terrible is going to happen if we don’t bring this to some kind of an end.”

The past four years, increasingly large crowds have gathered on Broughdale, a one-block street just east of the university.

Last year there were 16 ambulance calls to the street and six of the 11 subsequent hospital admissions were serious medical issues, said London deputy police chief Steve Williams.

One party-goer was impaled on a fence, another fell off a roof and one had a severe allergic reaction and needed CPR. But even getting emergency aid to someone in that large a crowd is a challenge.

“We’re one thrown beer bottle away from a riot,” Williams said. If it’s not curtailed, it’s “a virtual certainty” that something will happen. “We’ve been lucky, and we can’t keep relying on luck to prevent tragedy.”

Many in the throng have been university students, but others were high-schoolers and out-of-town revellers. Some even rented buses to party here, including one group who bused in from Barrie.

Officials noted the parties are off-campus and not sanctioned by the university.

Because some alumni have booked hotels and flights based on previously announced scheduling, Sept. 30 has been rebranded as Reunion Weekend and will still include anniversary dinners, alumni events and a Mustang football game, said Jana Luker, associate vice-president (student experience).

But Homecoming itself, with a football game and family-friendly on-campus activities, will take place Oct. 22.

That will be preceded by an intensive campaign to let students know their rights and responsibilities and options for safe celebrations.

Officials believe by then students will have settled in to the school routine, will be more concerned about studying for impending mid-term exams and will be less eager to party in cooler weather.

Big street parties aren’t unique to Western or even to London that gained notoriety for a street riot near Fanshawe College in 2009.

Deakin was an administrator at Queen’s University when Homecoming was suspended in 2009 and for four years afterwards because of parties that turned dangerous on a nearby street.

Less drastic strategies have been tried near Western, including last year having a concert on campus and giving students tickets to the football game. That only delayed the start of the party.

Last year, one person on the street, which has mostly student rentals, posted a party invitation on Facebook and 20,000 people confirmed they were going to attend, said Trista Walker, head of alumni relations.

Deakin said someone is going to suffer a catastrophic injury unless this is brought to heel. “It’s a safety-first issue... Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different outcome is just stupid.”

Asked if the two events might just give students a reason to party twice, campus police chief John Carson said he hopes it will instead reduce the size of the drunken crowd.

“We’re not trying to take the fun out of university but we’re trying to make this a safer environment for students who would otherwise be caught up in this Broughdale event.”

The decision was made by administrators with input from the university police, city police, city officials, alumni leaders, paramedics, hospital staff and student leaders.

Eddy Avila, incoming president of the University Students’ Council, said he has been to more than one Broughdale party and “the sheer number of it is a risk.”

Student leadership is supportive of the move so that all students can have a “good and enjoyable and safe time,” he said

Safety is the main aim, coupled with “ensuring we provide good programming” that gives students fun options, he said.

Some social media commenters, though, suggested Tuesday it may take more than a date change and the possibility of foul weather to keep them from partying outside.