Recently, a person was assaulted by multiple others near Marshall street. Videos circulating on social media show three people violently drag and kick a person, who witnesses said is a person of color, in front of Huntington Hall right off of Marshall Street. 

There is no place for this type of violence in the SU community and there should be a legitimate investigation into this horrific incident. This entire situation is massively disappointing.

There should be no room for hate or violence in this community. To attack a person, especially as violently as this person was attacked, is unacceptable. It should not happen or be tolerated.

Additionally, the actions — or inaction — of those present is disappointing at best. Videos taken after the assault show Syracuse police officers responding to the scene. Brian Cohen, a freshman who witnessed the assault said that the responding officers would not take any statements from witnesses.

In a statement given to The Daily Orange, a spokesperson for the Syracuse Police Department said, “There was a fight call on Friday night, the victim was uncooperative.”  

To show up to the scene of an assault and refuse to take statements from witnesses is extremely disheartening.

SPD’s mission statement is “to prevent crime, enforce the laws, and understand the needs of the community, while providing professional service with ethical treatment for everyone.” Their behavior on Friday seems unfitting to their alleged goals. 

In an email from SU Sunday evening, Bobby Maldonado, chief of Syracuse University’s Department of Public Safety, and Allen Groves, senior vice president for the student experience, said that they have not yet identified the people involved and therefore cannot confirm if they are SU students. If they are, the email said, they could face interim suspension as well as referral to SPD and the Office of Community Standards .

The people shown in the video attacking the man, if they are SU students, should be expelled as quickly as possible. SPD needs to investigate the incident and identify the people in this video, and it must do a better job responding to the scene of an assault. 

This incident should make everyone in the SU community think about the type of behavior they are willing to let occur. We cannot let people get away with brutal assaults like this. 

Evan Butow is a sophomore magazine, news, and digital journalism major. His column appears biweekly. He can be reached at enbutow@syr.edu.

Published on October 17, 2021 at 11:52 pm