SA President Ghufran Salih says DPS should address transparency concerns at forum
Lauren Miller | Asst. Video Editor
Department of Public Safety Chief Bobby Maldonado, Dean of Students Rob Hradsky and Interim Chief Diversity Officer Keith Alford will attend the Monday forum.
Syracuse University’s Student Association and the Student African-American Society will host a forum at 6:30 p.m. Monday in Hendricks Chapel to address concerns about the assault of three students along Ackerman Avenue on Feb. 9.
A statement that began circulating among students on social media this weekend accuses SU’s Department of the Public Safety and the Syracuse Police Department of mishandling the assault. The statement, signed by “students, faculty and allies of those affected,” demanded the university issue a written apology to students and that Chancellor Kent Syverud attend the Monday forum.
An earlier statement that circulated on social media last week also accused SPD and DPS of mishandling the assault.
The authors of the second statement demanded that SU provide a written statement apologizing for “consistent negligence” toward students of color and recognize that the assault was a hate crime. The authors also demanded that SU state a “clear, transparent, and honest plan” to address discrimination of marginalized students on campus.
SA President Ghufran Salih, in an interview with The Daily Orange, said the students’ demands are “doable” and the university should address the concerns about transparency.
“These students don’t feel safe on this campus anymore,” she said. “There has been no proper reassurance not only to these students, but to students of color in general on campus.”
Salih said SA has invited Syverud to attend the forum, but the chancellor had not responded as of Sunday evening. DPS Chief Bobby Maldonado, Dean of Student Affairs Rob Hradsky and Interim Chief Diversity Officer Keith Alford will be at the forum, Salih said.
The second statement, which spread this weekend, details the assault in a chronological order. The assault occurred at the end of a birthday gathering at about 12:40 a.m. on Feb. 9, according to the statement. Ten students remained on the downstairs floor of the house when they heard loud noises on the porch, per the statement.
Caleb Obiagwu, a junior in the College of Engineering and Computer Science, was one of the three students attacked at the party, he said in an interview with The Daily Orange last week. Obiagwu said four white people approached the porch of the house and his friend Jair Walker went outside to see what was happening.
When Walker was on the porch a white man yelled, “What’s up n*gger” at him, Obiagwu said. A fight broke out between Walker and two of the four white people, Obiagwu said. Obiagwu and Walker are both black.
A third victim was struck with a pistol as he walked out of the house, according to the statement. The three “victims ran away in their vehicle,” per the statement. Obiagwu previously said that he and Walker ran into the house after the woman threatened to shoot Obiagwu.
Tyler Smith, an SU student who lives at the house where the attack occurred, in an interview with The D.O. said the gun was a BB gun that looked like a real pistol.
The latest student statement’s description of two attackers — one white woman and one white man — matched a previous statement from SPD that said one white woman and one white man attacked three men.
The statement said SPD and DPS were “lackluster in their energy to investigate the crime.” But Maldonado said at Wednesday’s University Senate meeting that SPD has jurisdiction over the case.
MORE COVERAGE:
- Students circulate statement criticizing DPS, SPD handling of Ackerman Avenue assault
- SA condemns DPS response to Ackerman Avenue assault
- Woman with handgun assaults SU students, DPS says
- SA President Ghufran Salih says meets with DPS officials to discuss transparency in crime emails
Salih said she believes the assault was a hate crime. When asked if SU should refer to the assault as a hate crime, Salih said the university isn’t investigating the incident, but the investigating parties should call it a hate crime.
She added that there are inconsistencies in the statements released by DPS, SPD and the two statements from students. The communication from DPS has been “unsatisfactory,” Salih said.
SA initially wanted to set up meetings between Maldonado, DPS commanders and students affected by assault, Salih said. But SA instead decided to host community forum to address student concerns, she said.
Salih said the university and DPS should clarify the jurisdictions of campus and city police. Maldonado told Salih in a meeting that DPS officers can patrol the Euclid neighborhood only as private citizens, she said.
“That’s something that should be changed and talked about a lot more,” Salih said.
The SA president said students on campus have been concerned about the relationship between students of color and law enforcement. Students of color have said for years that their parties get shut down more often than parties hosted by white students, she said.
“I hope that from this forum there can be productive, actionable steps we can take to start addressing these prevalent problems,” Salih said.
Published on February 17, 2019 at 9:57 pm
Contact Casey: casey@dailyorange.com | @caseydarnell_
