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Living on South Campus has changed Caroline Bergan’s semester at Syracuse for the better.

SU’s South Campus apartments, which span several acres south of East Colvin Street, house an upward of 2,000 students in a given year. While the apartments are a bus ride away from Main Campus, they typically afford students more space and independence than the university’s on-campus dorms.

But a Board of Trustees special committee proposed moving all student residences to Main Campus in a year-long report, published March 4, that details 10 recommendations to improve the campus climate. The recommendation was based on the report’s findings that students of color disproportionately relocate to South Campus during their sophomore years.

Students who live in South Campus apartments disagree with the board’s recommendation to relocate all student residences to Main Campus, which would effectively eliminate South Campus housing. South Campus residents who spoke with The Daily Orange said the apartments provide students with a beneficial alternative to dorms.

“It’s important to have it here for students as an option,” said Bergan, a sophomore music education major.

The board’s recommendation is similar to another proposal made in a September 2019 student survey, in which university officials floated the idea of a three-year housing requirement combined with the movement of all student residences to Main Campus. Students are currently required to live on campus for two years.

In its reasoning, the Board of Trustees committee said that students of color living on South Campus feel they are more heavily policed by SU’s Department of Public Safety than white students living in Greek life chapter houses on Comstock or Walnut avenues.

The report never states that such a disparity in policing exists, referring only to students’ “perceived” marginalization. It goes on to attribute differences in policing to Greek life houses falling under the Syracuse Police Department’s jurisdiction, where “there is seldom enforcement of underage drinking, open alcohol containers and noise violations.”

The report concludes that relocating all South Campus housing to Main Campus would help address any policing disparities, “better integrate” SU’s student population and improve the quality of students’ residential experiences.

Some students have noticed a heavy presence of Department of Public Safety officers on South Campus, though none believed that presence warrants eliminating the apartments as a housing option.

“I do see police on South a lot compared to Main,” said Jacinda Pinnock, a junior policy studies major. “But I think South should remain an option for students.”

Angali Ramnarayan, a senior public health major, said she’s noticed a stronger DPS presence on South Campus.

“When you drive past (Main) campus, walk past campus, you see the students outside. Everyone is partying with no issue,” Ramnarayan said. “But usually on South Campus, you’ll see DPS posted in different spots.”

It remains unclear whether SU will follow through on the board’s recommendation, as well as what the relocation of all student housing to Main Campus would look like. A spokesperson for SU said the university has not yet decided on its future plans for student housing, though more information may arrive in the coming weeks.

To accommodate the displaced student population while maintaining a two-year housing requirement, SU would likely have to construct ample dorm space and decide what to do with several acres of vacant apartments and the infrastructure that supports them.

Even if the university does go through with the plan, it may not be well received.

Residents said they valued the independence that living on South Campus offers them. Several said they felt the apartments give students the ability to complete SU’s two-year housing requirement without living in a dorm for the entire period.

“This is a place where people can go and not live in dorms and still fulfill the two years living on campus requirement,” said Casey Mariano, a sophomore in the Bandier program.

Residents also said the wider availability of South Campus housing made it easier for them to live closer to their friends. Students in the tight-knit Bandier program often coordinate to live in the same area on South Campus, fostering a sense of community, Mariano said.

During the pandemic, the additional outdoor space on South Campus has proven beneficial, Bergan said.

“South Campus was close to my friends, the social life that was going on before COVID,” said Jaylynn Santiago, a senior psychology major. Santiago, a transfer student, chose to remain on South Campus after spending her first semester in SU’s Skyhall dorms.

Students did cite some downsides to living on South Campus, such as the distance from Main Campus and the need to take a bus to classes. Others said that the apartments were outdated and in need of renovations, but they would rather see the buildings improved than demolished.

But South Campus residents said they appreciated the area’s sense of independence and community overall.

Even if the university does decide to move all student residences closer to Main Campus, Santiago would like to see the university keep the separate apartments and large outdoor spaces similar to South Campus.

“A lot of people actually really like it here, and a lot would be angry if they took (South Campus) away,” said Thomas Mitchell, a sophomore television, radio and film major. “Especially because the university does have that two-year housing requirement, South is kind of a nice bridge between living in a dorm and living off campus.”

Published on March 28, 2021 at 11:51 pm

Contact Chris: cjhippen@syr.edu