Syracuse University will implement several measures during Thanksgiving break to improve student safety and well-being, Chancellor Kent Syverud announced Monday.

At least 16 hate crimes and bias-related incidents occurred on or near campus before the fall break, including racial slurs shouted at students, a swastika etched in snow, and racist graffiti written in several residence halls. Some students left campus before the official start of the fall break due to safety concerns.

Here are the safety, well-being and community engagement efforts that will be in place when students return to campus:

Safety

The Department of Public Safety will deploy 19 new residential community safety officers in several dorm buildings, including those affected by the November hate crimes and bias incidents, Syverud said in the campus-wide email.

The officers will be placed in Day Hall, Flint Hall and the Brewster/Boland/Brockway Complex, among other buildings. Racist graffiti targeting black and Asian students was found on four floors of Day Hall beginning Nov. 7. Derogatory language directed toward indigenous people was found on a Post-It note in Flint Hall.

DPS will also add security cameras in strategic areas around campus, including stairwells, elevators and common spaces. A swastika was found drawn in a stairwell of Haven Hall, and racist graffiti toward Asian people was found in another stairwell. In a list of six demands presented to the chancellor, Jewish students expressed a need for improved security camera surveillance on campus.

The presence of DPS officers on campus will double, and officers will work longer shifts while classes are being held.

The Syracuse Police Department, New York State Police and FBI have assisted DPS in its investigations. State and city police patrolled campus, and DPS doubled the scale of its patrols.

Student well-being

The number of health, wellness and counseling professionals available for drop-in appointments at the Barnes Center at The Arch has doubled, Syverud said. #NotAgainSU, a movement led by black students, occupied the Barnes Center for eight days. One of its critiques was the mental health services offered at the facility.

Staff from SU’s Office of Health Promotion will host de-stressing activities in Bird Library and several other campus locations during the two weeks before winter break. Schools and colleges at SU will also partner with the School of Social Work, the Department of Psychology and the Hendricks Chapel chaplaincies to offer increased support for students.

Campus engagement

DPS will introduce a new website by Sunday to consolidate public safety updates onto one platform, Syverud said. The website will be fully accessible and continuously updated, with hate and bias-incidents added to the website within 48 hours. It is unclear whether campus-wide public safety emails will be sent in addition to the website’s services.

SU also launched a “Campus Commitment” tab on the university’s website, detailing the progress of demands presented to the chancellor by black, Jewish, and international students. The webpage also includes all campus-wide emails sent by SU administration in response to the hate crimes, bias related-incidents and student demands.

The chancellor, along with faculty and staff, have continued to meet with student groups during the fall break. Syverud agreed to 16 of the 19 demands presented by #NotAgainSU and international students. Immediate implementation of some of the demands has begun, Syverud said.

SU must inform students of hate crimes and bias-related incidents with timeliness and transparency, Syverud said. The fear spread around campus amid the incidents was spread by misinformation and unverified reports, he said. A white supremacist manifesto of the Christchurch mosque shooter was allegedly sent to students’ cellphones in Bird Library, an event Syverud called a “hoax.” SPD has not yet found any devices that received the manifesto.

Published on November 25, 2019 at 6:59 pm

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