Syracuse manifesto: Students fear mass-shooting links after white supremacist threat at SU
David Robinson
SYRACUSE - A spate of racist graffiti, racial slurs and white supremacist threats on Syracuse University’s campus has some students fearing the hateful displays could turn violent.
Safety concerns at the private upstate New York college peaked Tuesday after a white supremacist manifesto was posted on a campus forum. Security was quickly tightened across the university as authorities raced to end the threats.
The appearance of the manifesto was the latest in a series of almost daily racist episodes that have sparked days of protests at the 22,000-student university.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday called on Syracuse University leaders to allow an outside monitor to oversee the situation, prompting the college’s administration to defend its response to the rapidly escalating and racially charged menace.
Some students on Tuesday spoke about being afraid of a mass shooter lurking in their midst. Others talked of terrified classmates refusing to leave dorm rooms. Many described a long-simmering tension over a culture of racism on campus that has finally boiled over.
“The place of fear is coming from the unknown of whether or not this person really is going to harm other students,” said Tanisha Steverson, a 25-year-old SU graduate student from Detroit.
“Is there going to be a school shooting? Are we safe? Should we come to campus or should we stay home?” she asked.
Karli Powidzki, a 19-year-old from Pennsylvania attending SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, which is part of the SU campus, expanded on the prospect of violence looming over campus.
“Being a minority, it’s scary because I know there was graffiti about racial slurs against Asians and it terrifies me,” she said.
“It’s 2019, I never thought I would be put in that position where I’m sacred to go out and walk around the Syracuse campus, but it’s kind of come to that,” she added.
The Syracuse manifesto
Cuomo on Tuesday blasted SU Chancellor Kent Syverud's handling of the issue, and the university responded later in the day with an 11-page chart detailing how its administration has responded to each incident.
"The hateful activities at Syracuse University are most disturbing, not only to the Syracuse University community, but to the greater community of New York," Cuomo said. "They have not been handled in a manner that reflects this state's aggressive opposition to such odious, reckless, reprehensible behavior."
In a statement, Syverud said the university is revising its policies, meeting with diverse student groups and providing additional safety resources.
The Department of Public Safety – campus police – said it was working with Syracuse police, New York State Police and the FBI to determine the origin of the manifesto.
The incident happened at about 1 a.m. Tuesday, and the department then issued a campuswide email urging anyone "traveling on campus at this time (to) please call for a safety escort."
The school newspaper, the Daily Orange, said the manifesto was a 74-page document written by the perpetrator of the deadly mosque shootings in New Zealand earlier this year.
What students say about SU manifesto
Caleb McDonald, a 20-year-old SU junior from Teaneck, New Jersey, addressed how the racist imagery and hate speech was largely downplayed on campus until the manifesto evoked thoughts of the massacre at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand.
“That’s really what’s making a lot of us scared right now, is that’s its shooter related as opposed to just a hateful racist writing,” he said.
“Now I’m definitely fearful just being on campus in general. Before it was just going to class or seeing something, but now even in class I just can’t not think about what’s going on,” he added.
J.P. Phillippe, a 21-year-old SU junior from Indianapolis, Indiana, spoke to the history of racial animus on campus, including a high-profile case last year involving a fraternity video.
“What you’re seeing now is a continued uncovering and escalation of tension and issues that have existed at the university as long as I’ve been here,” he said.
Phillippe noted faculty and students’ response to the series of racist incidents this year has shown improvement from prior incidents, though more work is needed to make SU a safer place.
“This doesn’t even begin to address the bigger problem that Syracuse has, which is communities of hate that just exist in and throughout it that are kind of silent, but always known,” he said.
Nicole Steinback, a 17-year-old from New Paltz attending SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, said some of her classmates have refused to leave their dorm rooms since the manifesto surfaced.
“It’s very anxiety inducing, and today I’ve felt very on edge walking around campus,” she said.
“As a student in the 21st century, it’s pretty sad to see that these are the incidents that are happening round campus,” she added.
Some of the students, including Steverson, also spoke to the criticism of the university's handling of the situation.
"We live in a society with a history of this behavior, and we don’t have a solution nationally, so it’s hard to put it all on the university," she said.
"But it’s frustrating for students because it’s about wanting to be heard and wanting to be safe."
David Robinson is the New York state health care reporter for the USA TODAY Network. He can be reached at drobinson@gannett.com or followed on Twitter: @DrobinsonLoHud