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dailyorange.com
CONFLICTING ACCOUNTS Police, student statements on Ackerman assault show discrepancies By Casey Darnell, India Miraglia, Jordan Muller, Gabe Stern and Kennedy Rose the daily orange
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statement that has circulated on social media among Syracuse University students since Sunday is accusing campus and city police of mishandling a violent assault reported Saturday morning along Ackerman Avenue. The statement spurred Student Association on Monday to publicly condemn the Department of Public Safety for a “lack of transparency� over what SA has called a racially-charged crime. SA President Ghufran Salih told The Daily Orange on Monday afternoon she had seen the statement, signed by “Your Fellow Students,� and was trying to put Department of Public Safety Chief Bobby Maldonado in contact with victims of the assault. At an SA meeting Monday night, Salih added that she wanted to organize a meeting between the students, Maldonado and DPS Patrol Commander
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see assault page 4
1. dps statement 2. sa statement 3. student statement 4. spd statement photo illustration by bridget slomian presentation director
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ackerman avenue assault
Students describe Saturday assault at Ackerman party By Casey Darnell, Emma Folts and Gabe Stern the daily orange
Several students who attended the Friday night Ackerman Avenue party that ended in a violent assault early Saturday spoke with The Daily Orange about the incident in a series of interviews Monday and Tuesday. The students’ accounts differ from statements released by the Syracuse Police Department and Syracuse University’s Department of Public Safety. A statement signed as “Your Fellow Students� circulated on social media Sunday and Monday criticizing the two police departments’ handling of the assault case. Stu-
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Student Association President Ghufran Salih spoke with Department of Public Safety officials Tuesday about alerts sent to campus about the Ackerman assault. Page 3
dent Association on Monday night condemned DPS’ response to the situation and called the assault a racially-charged crime. Three students were attacked in the assault, which was reported at about 12:40 a.m. Saturday, DPS has previously said. Caleb Obiagwu, a junior in the College of Engineering and Computer Science, was one of the three students attacked at the party, he said. Obiagwu said four white people approached the porch of the house, and his friend Jair Walker went outside to see what was happening. When Walker was on the porch, a white man yelled, “What’s up n*gger� at him, Obiagwu said. A fight broke out between Walker and two of the
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Liberal and conservative columnists Lauren Spiezia and Harrison Garfinkle comment on the multiple statements and confusion regarding the Ackerman assault. Page 5
four white people, Obiagwu said. Obiagwu and Walker are both black. Obiagwu said he ran outside to the porch after he heard people shouting Walker was in a fight. One white man and a white woman were hitting Walker, and Obiagwu jumped into the fight, he said. He said the woman then struck him in the back of the head with what appeared to be a gun. When he turned around, she pointed the gun at his face and said, “I’ll shoot you,� according to Obiagwu. He and Walker ran away from the house after the woman threatened to shoot them, Obiagwu said. Obiagwu later went to Crouse Hospital, where he was diagnosed see students page 4
The assault was reported at about 12:40 a.m. Saturday, DPS previously said. josh shub-seltzer staff photographer
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Syracuse University’s Black Reign Step Team builds a sense of camaraderie beyond the stage through practices in preparation for upcoming peformances. Page 7
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Katie Kolinski served as Syracuse’s student manager for four years. Now, she’s living her dream as Buffalo’s director of basketball operations. Page 12