SUNY Oswego announced the release of its Annual Security and Fire Safety Report, or Clery Report, on Oct. 7 in an email to the campus community.

“In compliance with the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act, the Higher Education Opportunity Act and the Violence Against Women Act, SUNY Oswego has published its Annual Security and Fire Safety Report,” the email stated. 

 The report details information about campus safety over the past three years, including statistics regarding fire incidents, on-campus crime and suspicious activity. Information about educational programs, resources for survivors and how to report issues is also available in the 44 page report. This year’s contained information from 2019-2021. 

Overall, reported crime at SUNY Oswego has decreased since 2019, including burglary, drug law discipline and stalking. 

Lisa Evaneski, SUNY Oswego’s Title IX Coordinator, partly attributes the lower numbers to COVID-19 because there has been less people on campus over the past two years.

“Certainly because of COVID and less students, we saw less cases than maybe three years ago,” Evaneski said. “We had less students living in the residence halls, but we were also helping students if they were home and had a problem. So those numbers were not reflected in the report, but the ones on campus were.”

Evaneski stressed that the numbers in the report only account for incidents reported on-campus. 

“I don’t think we are getting everything that happens,” Evaneski said. “I know nationally the numbers are … probably higher than we have in our report. But, [the numbers] are accurate for what has been reported on our campus.”

Another reason Evaneski said she thinks certain crime statistics are down is because of the amount of programs the Title IX office offers. Informational and educational training programs are offered consistently online and in-person for students leaders and athletes on campus. 

“I think what we have done over the years is create this culture of reporting,” Evaneski said. “So if someone tells their professor, their coach, their friend, some of those people are coming forward and saying ‘you should report that.’ The presentations, the workshops, the required training that people on campus have to get is helping people to at least report.”

Part of the “culture” Evaneski and her team are building includes the first step of setting up a meeting with the Title IV office or Evaneski herself. She said that she wants students to understand that just because you talk to someone does not necessarily mean you have to file a report with the college. 

“I want people to know that it’s just a meeting,” Evaneski said. “If I reach out to somebody and they come to meet with me it doesn’t mean that they have to file a formal report .. [and] we won’t tell anyone they reported … We are just there to offer resources and supportive measures, things that will help them survive.”

Resources and information for survivors is available online through Title IX and in the Clery Report, both of which can be accessed through SUNY Oswego’s website. 

Questions regarding the report can be directed to University Police at police@oswego.edu or 315-312-2155.

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