Department of Public Safety Chief Bobby Maldonado defended Chancellor Kent Syverud’s response to the string of recent racist and anti-Semitic incidents reported at or near Syracuse University on Tuesday. His statement came minutes after Gov. Andrew Cuomo criticized Syverud’s handling of the situation.

“The chancellor has been working very hard. I’ve talked to chancellor almost every day for the last 13 days,” said Maldonado, head of the Department of Public Safety.

In a statement released at about 1 p.m., Cuomo said the chancellor has not “handled this matter in a way that instills confidence.”

Maldonado fielded questions about Cuomo’s comments at about 2:20 p.m. during a press conference at the Public Safety Building in downtown Syracuse.

“There are so many issues, it’s just so complex. But I can tell you that the chancellor works so hard. I firmly disagree with the assessment,” Maldonado said.

The DPS chief was the only SU official to participate in the press conference. He said he was involved because the media event was geared toward police-related questions.

Syracuse Police Department Chief Ken Buckner also commented on the statement.

“I’m well aware of what has been said,” Buckner told reporters. “I can tell you that, from my view, from where I sit here on the ground in Syracuse, the chancellor could not have done more to try to respond to the issues that are going on on campus.”

The city official said that it’s “easy to be on the outside looking in.”

Last week, Cuomo directed the New York State Hate Crimes Task Force to investigate racist graffiti found at Day Hall. He condemned the vandalism at the time.

Since Nov. 7, at least 11 hate crimes or bias-related incidents have been reported on or near SU’s campus to DPS. Early Tuesday morning, a white supremacist manifesto was allegedly AirDropped to several students’ cellphones in Bird Library.

Cuomo issued his latest remarks about nine hours after DPS sent its first campus-wide email about the manifesto.

“The hateful activities at Syracuse University are most disturbing, not only to the Syracuse University community, but to the greater community of New York,” Cuomo said. “They have not been handled in a manner that reflects the state’s aggressive opposition to such odious, reckless, reprehensible behavior.”

The governor has called on SU’s Board of Trustees to appoint an “experienced monitor” to “effectively” help investigate the cases.

— Asst. News Editor Gabe Stern contributed reporting to this article.

Published on November 19, 2019 at 4:03 pm

Contact Sam: sfogozal@syr.edu | @SamOgozalek