VIDEO TRANSCRIPT: Locking in Safety on South Campus
Sofia DeStaso: For students living on South Campus, locking the door is no longer enough…
Ali Anderson: It was probably around like 2 in the morning and we just heard all this rattling. The next morning I noticed that the door was unlocked, and then we were leaving and the door wouldn’t lock, which was weird because it has always locked fine. And when we looked at the side of our door, it looked like someone had tried to pry it with a crowbar.
DeStaso: Someone attempted to break into student Ali Anderson’s apartment just months ago… leaving her sense of security shaken…
Anderson: In my head, like in the back of my mind I was always like that’s a possibility wherever you are, but I always was like it would never happen to me.
DeStaso: Students are taking matters into their hands… they are now installing their own Ring doorbell security systems to help prevent break-ins… with concerns growing, they say that protecting their space is not optional…
Saunders: Student: We get emails from D-P-S every week to prevent break-ins, especially car break-ins, and I feel like I shouldn’t have to worry about that as a college student, like I’m here to focus on school.
DeStaso: In those emails, D-P-S urges students to take precautions. They say…
Always lock your vehicle doors and ensure windows are fully closed.
Do not leave keys, key fobs, or valuable items inside your vehicle.
If you see suspicious individuals, do not approach them. Instead, contact DPS immediately.
But for Anderson, even those measures don’t feel like they’re enough…
Anderson: I was thinking back to when I was in my dorm and I always felt so comfortable having my door unlocked because you had to scan into the building and then scan in with the security guard… I got home last night at 2:30 and the gates weren’t even down on South… sometimes they are closed at 9 p.m. and it’s kind of a pain, but it’s also like when they really should be closed, they’re not…
DeStaso: For many students… feeling at home on South Campus now comes with a lock—and a camera. Reporting in Syracuse, Sofia Destaso, NCC News.
Syracuse, N.Y. (NCC News) — In the early hours of the morning, a loud rattling sound startled one Syracuse University student awake—what she later discovered would leave her shaken.
“It was probably around 2 in the morning and we just heard this loud raddling,” said SU student Ali Anderson. “The next morning I noticed that the door was unlocked, and then we were leaving and the door wouldn’t lock. When we tried to lock it, it looked like someone had try to pry it with a crowbar.”
Anderson says someone tried to break into her apartment months ago. While nothing was taken, there was a lot of damage to her door that they had to get fixed.
“In the back of my mind I always knew that was a possiblity wherever you are, but I always was thought it would never happen to me,” said Anderson.
Concerns about safety on South Campus have been growing, with students increasingly aware of break-ins and suspicious activity in the area. For many, simply locking the door no longer feels like enough.
Instead, students are taking additional precautions — instaling their own secrurity systems, including doorbell cameras to monitor activity outside their homes.
“We get emails from DPS every week about break-ins, especially car break-ins. I feel like that’s something I shouldn’t have to worry about as a college student. I’m here to focus on school,” said Marissa Saunders.
The Syracuse Department of Public Safety (DPS) regurlary sends out emails and alerts to students, urging them to take precautions. These include locking vehicle doors, avoiding leaving valuables inside cars and reporting suspicious activity immediately.
Anderson thinks these mesarues don’t go far enough to keep them safe.
“I was thinking back to when I was in my dorm and I always felt so comfortable having my door unlocked because you had to scan into the building and then scan into the secruity guard,” said Anderson.
Living on South Campus feels very different compared to her experience with main campus housing.
“I got home last night at 2:30 a.m. and the gates weren’t even down on South. Sometimes they are closed at 9 p.m. and it is kind of a pain, but its also like when they should be closed they aren’t,” stated Anderson.
As concerns persist, many students say the responsibility for safety feels like it has shifted into their own hands.
For many students living on South Campus, feeling at home now comes with a lock—and a camera.