Parent News

As many of you may know, the SUNY Delhi family is dealing with a tragic incident that occurred on campus. A fight outside Russell Hall, a campus residence hall, early in the morning of April 27, turned violent and one of our students was stabbed. Tyshawn Bierria, died four days later from his injuries. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family.

The loss of a life is extremely difficult for students to deal with. For many, this is the first time they have experienced the death of a close friend or family member. The college has responded by taking special measures to communicate with students and to provide support. Frequent updates, including one the morning of the incident, were sent to students via campus email. Campus-wide voice mails to students were also routinely done last week and are continuing. We communicated to parents through messages on the Parents Helpline, through follow up calls to parents who left messages on the Helpline, and through a posting on the Parent website May 2.

The investigation led to the arrest of three non-students and one Delhi student. On May 5, a Delaware County grand jury failed to indict these four individuals but did hand down a sealed indictment for a fifth suspect who has been arrested. The arrested student remains suspended, pending a hearing through the campus judiciary system. All of the non-students have been declared persona non grata and are banned from campus.

Since the investigation is ongoing, we are limited in what we can share. As is typical in a small community, several questions have arisen. The most prevalent is why we did not use the NY Alert system to initially notify students. After consulting with law enforcement officials on the scene, we were confident the incident did not present an imminent danger to students, the criterion used to implement NY Alert. A persistent rumor was that University Police and Emergency Services personnel were slow in responding to the incident. That was not the case.

This is a safe campus and the safety of our students is our highest priority. We have never experienced an assault of this nature in college history. What began as a fight that could have happened anywhere, turned violent and fatal. It is a sobering reminder that our college is not immune to the problems that plague society.

I am sharing this letter with you to set the record straight and help you provide your student with the best possible guidance. I am also sending this to students via campus email to keep them informed and to provide a frame of reference for them to talk with you.

I want to assure you that we have, and will continue to review, our procedures and actions to provide the best possible environment for our students. The college is reaching out to support students, particularly those who live in Russell Hall. We are providing transportation to Tyshawn’s funeral to help the healing process.

Sincerely,

Candace S. Vancko, Ph.D.
President