SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) —The safety of Aspen Syracuse apartments has aroused concerns for many students from Syracuse University.
On Monday, a man used a handgun to threaten a student who entered the stair of the parking garage at Aspen, and the Department of Public Safety at SU then sent a campus-wide email.
JiaXuan Tang, the student who is a junior at SU, said the man followed him and showed his gun to demand money. He said he was just a little nervous, but he felt more fear afterward. He couldn’t imagine what would happen if he pulled the trigger.
“The only thing I think was just give him money and save my life, that’s it, because he had a gun,” Tang said.
However, this is not the first time such a safety problem has occurred. Many residents’ cars were smashed in different parking lots at Aspen. Han Mo, who was one of the students calling DPS after the robbery happened, said many security risks haven’t been solved by the apartment office.
“The manager told me ‘you know, one thing you can do to prevent this, is you don’t lock your car. So they said the people who want to smash the window is because they can’t get into your car,” Mo said.
Mo said the fences outside building three are very low and unstable, so many outsiders could cross them easily. Also, the gate for the apartment seems like an “open-door area” that cannot be protective. After many residents’ parcels were lost, the apartment only put up a notice to ask everyone to put packages inside.
“At this time, we feel like our life, safety, and property really at risks, so I think we really need to have voice,” Mo said. “…Before this robbery happened, the office has guaranteed like we really improve the security level. But it still happens.”
Because many victims are Chinese students, Mo said some of them reached out to the international students’ office. She also said, Aspen is always one of the popular choices for Chinese students, but currently they feel unsafe, so they are consulting lawyers for moving out legally without penalty.
DPS has been involved and cooperated with the Aspen office. Also, students will have a group meeting with lawyers for further plans in next following days.
