Syracuse University has begun work on several initiatives that students demanded during a Monday night forum focused on the assault of three students along Ackerman Avenue earlier this month and the subsequent police response to what many campus groups, including Student Association, have called a racially-charged attack.

The university is taking immediate action in seven areas, SU officials said in a campus-wide email Tuesday afternoon. Those initiatives include working with the Syracuse Police Department to “facilitate” a meeting with students about safety and the consideration of an investment to help install additional security cameras in the university neighborhood, according to the email.

SU also plans to evaluate late-night transportation options for students, seek feedback on university policy of excluding race from crime reports and provide a map of DPS’ jurisdiction to clarify if campus or city police will respond to noise complaints, per the email.

Department of Public Safety Chief Bobby Maldonado, Dean of Students Rob Hradsky and interim Chief Diversity Officer Keith Alford sent the email. All three officials answered questions from students, faculty and staff at Monday’s forum.

 

At Monday’s forum Syracuse University students spoke about the Feb. 9 assault of three students on Ackerman Avenue. Wasim Ahmad | Staff Photographer

Students at the forum criticized the communication from SU and DPS about the Feb. 9 assault of three students of color on Ackerman Avenue. Jair Walker, who was attacked, and witnesses of the assault, said at the forum that one of the attackers called Walker a “n*gger.”

Students and faculty asked why DPS didn’t identify the race of the attackers in crime alerts and why the department hasn’t called the assault a hate crime. Maldonado said it is DPS’ policy to omit the race of the suspects or victims of a crime.

The Tuesday email reiterated this explanation but said the assault involved “clearly racist language.”

When Maldonado arrived on campus in 2015, the existing DPS policy was to exclude the race of suspects in campus alerts, he said at the forum. DPS created the current policy after students of color raised concerns about possible racial profiling, he added.

Maldonado said he wants community input about whether the policy of omitting race should be changed. SU will continue to seek input on the policy, the Tuesday email said.

 

Syracuse University Chancellor Kent Syverud was in attendance Monday night, but did not address the audience during the two and a half-hour forum. Wasim Ahmad | Staff Photographer

SPD is investigating the assault because DPS does not have jurisdiction to investigate off-campus incidents, Maldonado said during the forum, and it would be “unprofessional” for him to conclude that the assault was a hate crime, he added.

SPD said the attack was not racially motivated, a conclusion many students at the forum said they disagreed with.

“I can only respect the words of the Syracuse Police Department,” Maldonado said on Monday. “The Department of Public Safety cannot comment about specifically whether this was a hate crime or not because it is not our investigation.”

SPD officials denied Maldonado’s invitation to attend the forum due to the open investigation of the assault, he said at the forum. Students asked if Maldonado would work to set up a meeting with SPD officials so students could address their concerns. Maldonado promised to follow up with SPD when the investigation is over.

Students also expressed frustration with what they said is a lack of security cameras in the University Hill neighborhood. The nearest surveillance camera to the assault, on Euclid Avenue, did not show the assault taking place, Maldonado said at the forum. He said installing additional cameras would be difficult because off-campus housing is privately owned.

SU will work with the city to see if installing more cameras would be possible, according to the Tuesday email.

Department of Public Safety Chief Bobby Maldonado answered students’ questions about DPS’ jurisdiction and the Ackerman Avenue assault at Monday’s forum. Wasim Ahmad | Staff Photographer

After several students of color at the forum said they don’t feel welcome or safe on campus, Alford suggested creating a new advisory committee made up of students of color. The university is working to create a committee like that to work closely with DPS, per the email.

Maldonado said at the forum DPS can only shut down parties at properties owned, operated or managed by SU. Students in the audience said DPS shuts down parties hosted by students of color more frequently than parties hosted by white students.

DPS only shuts down parties in response to noise complaints, Maldonado said. He also said white students represent a higher number of noise complaint referrals than students of color.

A student in the audience said it made sense that white students get referred more often than students of color because SU is a predominantly white institution. The student noted the number of referrals for students of color could be disproportionately higher than that of white students.

SU is planning to gather data from students who live off campus to understand their concerns and experiences with safety and transportation, according to the Tuesday email.

Students at the forum also called on DPS to review its bias training and how officers treat students of color. Maldonado said he would have no objection to DPS being reviewed and that having a review would promote accountability and transparency in the department.

The email did not specify whether DPS would begin a review of its policies and training.

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Published on February 19, 2019 at 10:40 pm

Contact Casey: [email protected] | @caseydarnell_