Sunday, January 30, at 3:00 a.m., three Binghamton University students were attacked on Hawley Street in Downtown Binghamton. Rebecca Lisoski, Alyssa Lebowitz, and Richard Salmon were walking to Lisoski and Lebowitz's home when they were assaulted by two women and one man who jumped out of a vehicle passing by.
As the three were crossing the street, the assailants exited the car, grabbed both girls by the hair, and continued to physically harm them. Lisoski, a senior majoring in Business Administration, was dragged across the concrete and repeatedly punched in the face. Lebowitz, a senior majoring in Psychology, managed to escape the grasp of the girl and run inside for help while Salmon continued to help Lisoski fend off the muggers.
As a friend and sorority sister of both Becca and Alyssa, the story has been pretty much all I've heard anyone talk about for the past week. I have heard different versions of the story, countless questions, and a lot of fears about living downtown. I feel especially lucky to be so close to the victims because instead of developing a fear of downtown Binghamton like many have, I have developed a newfound awareness.
Since the day of the attack, the victims have taken it upon themselves to use this as a way to not only spread awareness on the importance of downtown safety but to share their story with as many people as possible since the university has been reluctant to.
"It's only been four days since the attack and I think I've heard the word 'no' over a thousand times," said Lisoski. "We're not going to give up, we've contacted everyone in this city. Last night we met with Milton Chester, Doris Cheung from Dean of Students, and Christopher Governanti, City of Binghamton Police Liaison to Binghamton University."
Lisoski, Lebowitz, and Salmon have decided that if Binghamton University will not take it upon themselves to make a change, they, as victims, would have to do it themselves. The three have been making efforts to start a club featuring various programs to promote downtown safety including a safe ride program and self-defense classes.
"We were thinking one Greek organization could volunteer per weekend and through SA funding, we would collect gas money and hopefully the campus could provide a vehicle for designated drivers certified through the OCCT program," Salmon informed me. "Campus feedback was not positive but we want to make them aware that even though we are not on the campus itself, we are still a part of the student body."
According to Lisoski, it has been hard to get people involved in their cause because people don't usually have the interest in an issue unless it hits close to home. However, countless Binghamton students go downtown, at least, two nights a week to go out and approximately 7,000 students live off campus.
Whether it's hitting up a few bars on State Street or visiting friends at a frat, you're always within a few blocks of where the incident occurred. This does hit close to home for all of us. This could have happened to any Binghamton student on any Binghamton street. We all need to understand the importance of off-campus safety.
"It's imperative that everyone walks in groups and is aware of their surroundings," said Lebowitz. "Just because you think it can't happen to you doesn't mean it won't."
College students think they are untouchable. We drink an obscene amount of alcohol every weekend, go out in sketchy areas of downtown Binghamton, and participate in various other questionable activities that we would never tell our parents about. We aren't untouchable, this can happen to any of us, and we need to all make efforts like those of Lisoski, Lebowitz, and Salmon to ensure that it won't happen again.
