On Friday, Nov. 8, a campus safety advisory email was sent to the Stony Brook University community stating that the University had been made aware of several social media posts and comments referencing a sexual assault reported outside of a residence hall earlier that week. This email came as a result of a post made on Reddit, detailing the events of a rape that took place on campus.
“As part of our continuing efforts to keep the campus community informed about matters of safety, we are notifying you that the Division of Enterprise Risk Management and University Police Department are aware of several social media posts and associated comments referencing a sexual assault that was reported outside of a residence hall earlier this week,” Lawrence M. Zacarese, the vice president for Enterprise Risk Management and chief security officer at Stony Brook, said.
The victim had passed out due to a medical condition, and the perpetrator was unknown to the victim. This came just two months after another reported sexual assault occurred at a residence hall on campus.
One in five women and one in 16 men are sexually assaulted while attending college. Sexual assault is not a new issue on Stony Brook’s campus. According to the 2024 Annual Security and Fire Safety Report, there were 11 reported rapes in 2023, down from 13 in 2022. However, fondling was up from seven to 10 instances.
Several commenters on the initial Reddit post expressed their worries about being on campus during this time. One commenter claimed that the University needs to address the issue of poorly lit areas on campus, specifically the areas surrounding the Life Sciences Building and the Student Activity Center.
There are several safety measures put in place on Stony Brook’s campus, such as the Residential Safety Program, a professional and student-managed organization directed by Campus Residences that promotes safety on campus. They have implemented the Walk Service Program to escort students around the campus at night by dialing 2-WALK (9255) from a campus phone or 631-632-9255 from a cell phone.
“We are patrolling 24/7, with uniformed police officers all around campus, on both the East and West side, along with thousands of cameras on campus,” Neil Farrell, the associate vice president for law enforcement, investigations and accreditation, and deputy chief security officer, said about safety measures on campus. “We also have a detective division within the police department to investigate these crimes. We have television cameras all over campus on the sides of buildings.”
University police also closely work with other departments on campus to ensure students’ safety.
“In addition to that, community relations is extremely important. We work with the Center for Prevention and Outreach and the Counseling and Psychological Services on campus as well,” Zachary Lee, the assistant chief of police and executive director for emergency management, said.
Another important resource on Stony Brook’s campus is SB Guardian, an app powered by Rave Guardian, which has two main safety functions: a panic call mode and a safety timer mode.
The first function allows students to program the Guardian phone number into a designated speed dial, allowing a one-touch call that will automatically notify the University Police. In the second function, students can set a time that coincides with the time they expect to travel from one location on campus to another. If the user does not reach their destination or is otherwise detained, the timer will automatically trigger a panic call to the University Police who will then be able to respond.
To better address rising concerns in high-risk areas, the University Police will adapt their strategy by focusing patrols where they are most needed.
“We also adjust our patrol area based on the crimes that we see, so we are monitoring certain areas more specifically based on reports and trends. We also may have plainclothes officers in certain locations,” Farrell said. “We’re very confident in our security approach.”
