Get the latest Syracuse news delivered right to your inbox.
Subscribe to our newsletter here.

Department of Public Safety Chief Craig Stone addressed the uptick in burglaries in the area surrounding Syracuse University at a Student Association meeting Monday night.

Stone said 75 burglaries in the city of Syracuse, 38 of which being in the area surrounding SU and LeMoyne College, have been reported since the end of August. He said 11 were reported on Sept. 11 alone.

Stone said most burglars have utilized open windows and unlocked doors. He urged students to utilize the Orange Safe app and report any suspicious activity.

Stone said his priority of campus safety is “non-negotiable.”

“(Students) are why we exist,” Stone said of DPS. “If you fall down, we’re here to help you get back up on your feet. I’ve shared with my officers … the expectations. The expectation is we will have a positive interaction, service interaction and cultural interactions for our students.”

He also addressed harassment and bias incident reports in Day Hall and the Sheraton Hotel, an additional place of housing for students. According to SU’s bias information webpage, DPS is actively investigating a report from a student who said they heard someone use a racial slur on one of the student housing floors of the Sheraton.

DPS also reported a bias incident which alleged that a group of boys in Day Hall were making animal sounds and behaving in a “rowdy manner.” The anonymous reporter felt targeted by their actions, according to the report.

Stone also gave updates on DPS’s community police academy, an initiative he said he plans to bring to SU in the next month. The four-week program will be an interactive learning experience that will focus on community policing aspects like traffic stops, fingerprinting, building searches and use of force practices for students, faculty and staff, Stone said. He said out of 44 applications, the academy accepted a group of 32. Stone said he plans to hold the program in the fall and spring semesters.

DPS will also launch a youth leadership camp for rising ninth graders in the Syracuse area in the summer of 2023, he said.

SA plans to host a Mental Health Week from Oct. 3 to Oct. 7, SA President David Bruen and Vice President Adia Santos announced. They said each day tables will be set up with information regarding mental health and activities including meditation and pet therapy.

Following the SA’s No Problem Too Small tabling event to address student concerns on Monday, SA Speaker William Treloar said students frequently cited transportation from South Campus and the university’s food service as areas of concern.

He said SA aims to improve surveying efforts, but that No Problem Too Small will help guide their work going forward.

Other business:

A representative for the New York Public Interest Research Group shared that the group is looking to register 1,000 students to vote by Oct. 6.

Following a Sep. 20 town hall collecting student concerns to present to the Board of Trustees, the SA plans to host another with the intention of reaching more students and including more concerns. The board is scheduled to meet in November.

Hendricks Chapel is set to host a Stop the Stigma event at 6:00 p.m. on Oct. 6., Bruen and Santos said.

CORRECTION: In a previous version of this post, DPS Chief Craig Stone was misquoted. A statement by SA Speaker William Treloar was also misattributed to SA President David Bruen. The Daily Orange apologizes for these errors.

Published on September 27, 2022 at 1:50 am

Contact Kaitlin: kcampb14@syr.edu