SU grad raises $94k to install security cameras for off-campus housing
His goal is to reduce high crimes that occur off campus and to help students feel safer
Alex Lynch dedicated his Capstone project to crime that occurs right off of SU’s campus, where many students live – and tons of crimes occur. The 2016 Maxwell School graduate lived off campus for three years and admitted to never feeling safe in the neighborhoods.
“As a student, I felt that not enough was being done to protect the 10,000 + students living off campus. Too many of my peers and friends were being victimized, so I decided to use my capstone as a proactive approach to reduce crime” he said. He witnessed crimes not just happen to his own friends, but also crimes right where he lived. He said “my friend’s roommate was robbed in broad daylight in front of my house, the apartment below me was broken into while my friends were sleeping, and my next-door neighbors had their car windows smashed in and belongings stolen.”
Therefore, it was not a hard task for him to convince people about how important it is to have these cameras. Lynch then reached out to landlords and students, and even showed them maps that showed where crime was highest. When adding all the numbers up, landlords contributed $40,000, while student groups from both SU and SUNY-ESF contributed the remaining $54,000. If installed, these cameras will be placed around Euclid Avenue between Comstock and Westcott Street and on the corner of Euclid and Westcott.
