SUNY Morrisville Officials Push Back on Recent Claims Campus is Unsafe

The campus of SUNY Morrisville is located in the rural Town of Morrisville in Madison County. Recently parents, students and other individuals have been taking to social media and other sources to cry out loud that the campus of SUNY Morrisville is not a safe place.

In fact WIBX recently did a story on the Top 5 Most Dangerous Colleges of 2024 and SUNY Morrisville topped that list. The findings for this story were according to a website called Niche.com and the data they collected. There was also a story recently reported on regarding a fight that happened in a campus dining hall where a large fight broke out. A new student to the campus also reached out to WIBX to tell her story about criminal activity she allegedly experienced and her complaints with the university's handling of them. Now officials with the university are responding.

Theresa Kevorkian is the Vice President for Institutional Advancement for SUNY Morrisville and she was very distraught to learn of these things being said and reported on regarding her beloved workplace. Kevorkian says, "SUNY Morrisville and our University Police take campus safety extremely seriously." She went on to say that any complaint, call or concern made by a parent, student or member of the public is always taken seriously and intensely investigated.

Massive Brawl at Seneca Dining Hall

In regards to the incident in questions regarding the brawl at the campus dining hall Kevorkian released the following statement.

Regarding the incident in Seneca Dining Hall which you referenced in your last story, the University Police were called and responded immediately to a call about people throwing chairs and food in the dining hall. The individuals involved were detained and questioned. Those involved that were Morrisville students were referred to the campus conduct process and are going through the required steps in that process. Those that were not students gave their identification information for further follow up. This is an ongoing investigation. The mother you spoke with said that she called the college multiple times looking for answers about this incident.

In response to the unfortunate incident at the dining hall, university officials and University Police have established an increase presence there especially during high volume times. Turnstiles are also being installed to make sure anyone who is going there to eat belongs there and is checked in. Security features such as cameras have been added and swipe systems have been improved.

Responsiveness By College Officials

Kevorkian went on to state that while it's very possible the mother of the concerned student who worked at the dining hall may have called the campus, "I have conferred with more than a dozen offices on campus who she might have called and none have heard from her. When we do receive emails or calls from parents, they are referred to the most appropriate person on campus to address their question and every effort is made to respond quickly and accurately especially if a safety concern is involved."

She also referenced the student in question who reached out to WIBX regarding criminal activity she experienced on campus. Kevorkian says, the young lady who emailed WIBX has made over 30 FOIL requests over various issues. She also says,

Regarding the email, personnel across campus have been working with this student since she arrived at the college; to my knowledge she has found each response unsatisfactory. The accident she refers to did not involve speeding and a motor vehicle report was filed by University Police. This case was attended to promptly, was investigated, and was closed. The most recent incident she reported is being investigated but there is no evidence that it is in any way related to the earlier accident.

Do incidents happen at public universities sometimes? Yes. Are rural schools like Morrisville immune to societal issues? No. The best thing a college or university can do is provide all the resources possible as far as safety and attentiveness as possible. Nothing is ever perfect and the world can be a weird place, especially lately. The people in charge at SUNY Morrisville assure us they have nothing but the best intentions for the students who are living and attending classes there.