Hi, I am still considering SUNY Binghamton as a transfer in the fall, and I really want to know what the culture is like at Binghamton, what the student life is like, and what living in the city of Binghamton is like in general.
The culture-Most binghamton students come in knowing a lot of people from High school. The environment can be described as cliquey. The school is diverse but people generally stick to people from their own background. Almost all the students are from downstate new york with a very large number coming from Nassau county as well as large numbers from the 5 boroughs and rockland along with suffolk and westchester to a much lesser degree. If you go to binghamton without knowing anyone, you will have a much harder time socially.
Unlike other schools, athletics are not big at binghamton. There is no football team and the other teams are mediocre at best and no one cares about them. Greek life is very limited at binghamton. It caters to a very limited crowd and only a small percentage of students join it.
Most students live on campus in the dorms for a year or 2 and then move off campus with their friends. The social life centers around some bars on state street. The town of binghamton has seen better days. There are some things to do but if you come from a larger city you may feel very limited. As far as safety goes it is not some place people are regularly shot in the street but you should be smart about your surroundings.
I definitely agree that the city of Binghamton has seen better days. Although the campus is quite nice. Unfortunately safety in the town is at a Crossroads. In the 2017-2018 Academic Year at least two students were murdered one on campus one off campus.
FYI from what I read, the two murders had nothing to do with the safety of campus or the town. One student’s boyfriend killed her off campus and another student killed another student on campus.
That’s comforting.
Thanks for the info @sprinkles12
https://www.binghamton.edu/services/transportation-and-parking/buses-and-shuttles/index.html
Can someone share experiences or knowledge with the public transit options at Bing (univ buses and city buses)?
Thanks!
Buses are pretty easy to navigate/use, and bring you anywhere you’d need to go around Binghamton/Vestal for the msot part. I live downtown without a car, and have never had issues. There is a stop right outside of my frat house. Buses depart for the Union on campus, and there is always someone at the desk to explain the schedules.
holychild, at this point it appears that the two perpetrators and two murderers were all Binghamton University students. But students are targeted by gangs in downtown Binghamton. (the following are
examples-conduct a search)
https://www.bupipedream.com/news/41581/in-wake-of-downtoan-attacks-university-explores-options-to-increase-student-safety/
https://www.bupipedream.com/news/84526/bu-student-assaulted-downtown/
Assault charge filed in BU student’s stabbing at Rathskeller bar: https://www.pressconnects.com/story/news/public-safety/2017/09/06/assault-charge-filed-bu-students-stabbing-rathskeller-bar/637521001/
Binghamton Student Attack Victims Raise Awareness On Downtown Safety: https://www.theodysseyonline.com/lisoski-lebowitz-and-salmon-raise-awareness-on-downtown-safety
Three students assaulted off-campus on Saturday night: https://www.bupipedream.com/news/64551/student-attack/
Students robbed in Smith Hall; gun possibly involved - Pipe Dream
https://www.bupipedream.com/…/students-robbed-in-smith-hall-gun-possibly-involve…
Woman Assaulted, Robbed Near BU Downtown Center
Update: One Arrested for Robbery on Binghamton University’s Camp …
www.wicz.com/story/37031716/b-alert-activated-after-reported-robbery-on-bus-campus
One of the links is incorrect in the article above:
https://www.bupipedream.com/news/89743/students-robbed-in-smith-hall-gun-possibly-involved/
www.wnbf.com/woman-assaulted-robbed-near-bu-downtown-center/
http://www.wicz.com/story/37031716/b-alert-activated-after-reported-robbery-on-bus-campus
In the second murder, the perpetrator was a transfer student to Binghamton. He murdered his ex-girlfriend’s new boyfriend (both Binghampton students) in a grisly, premeditated knife attack. He was recently sentenced to 20 years to life in prison. Pretty scary that a psycho like that could get into Binghamton.
My opinion: "Psycho"s can be admitted to any college. They often have not committed offenses that rise to the level that gets them barred from colleges until they do something like murder. They may have engaged in relationship violence but often none has been reported to authorities until they do physical damage that they can’t hide.
But at Binghamton there have been numerous grisly horrid situations that, in my opinion, have been handled poorly.
Students were not warned after one of the murders that there was possibly a murderer in their midst until much later-at which point that person could have killed many others-it was just luck that nobody else was killed during the period after the murder was discovered and before the campus was notified. The campus should have been in lock down. It was not. A long time ago a faculty member was stabbed to death by a student. Warning signs had been ignored. There is now mounting evidence that the university under-estimates the danger posed by dangerous individuals even after they threaten others. They view many situations as not posing credible threats even when threats are explicit and when the perpetrator appears to have a history of assaults. They’ve been wrong in the past.
There have been other questionable deaths. A student was killed, supposedly by a hit and run. The driver was identified but many students (and apparently the young woman’s mother) feel (and there appears to be supporting evidence) that there was more to the story than the woman, a highly ranked tennis player, was simply hit by the car.
A student was killed falling off a balcony during a party. Some students apparently blame the university-rightly or wrongly-because the administration apparently scheduled a very brief oddly scheduled break to coincide with a very popular downtown event called the Binghamton pub crawl. Somewhat in retaliation, students apparently held their own “pub crawl” on a date that the school was in session. But because it did not coincide with the city’s “pub crawl” there was lack of the oversight that there is when the parties involve the city. I don’t believe there were any deaths caused by the pub crawl itself. A better approach would be for the university to acknowledge that the event is probably many students’ favorite event of the year and to try to make it safer for students rather than to try to work a (bizarre) schedule around the event.
A better administration would help a lot.
To get around the University area, there is the OCCT bus
Off Campus College Transport (OCCT) is the student run transportation service for Binghamton University students, faculty and staff. OCCT offers safe, reliable, convenient, consistent and courteous transportation around the Binghamton University community.
Simply show your Binghamton University ID card and ride. OCCT routes go to the University Downtown Center (UDC), Innovative Technology Center (ITC), Walmart, Wegmans, Target, Oakdale Mall, Downtown Binghamton, NYSEG Stadium and many more destinations. OCCT also has campus shuttles that transport students, faculty and staff around campus. The campus shuttles are green and run on a continuous loop of campus Monday - Friday. On weekends, the campus shuttle is performed by a blue bus and runs on a set schedule.
https://www.binghamton.edu/services/transportation-and-parking/buses-and-shuttles/occt/
My SIL went there many years ago. Downtown was not so hot then either. But it still had the same very good academic reputation.
Yes the academics are fine. Everyone has to decide for themselves if the risk is worth taking. Parents and perspective students should search for information about the risks. And, students who attend should plan for avoiding them.
Wife attended. She said her off campus apartment of many years ago later became a crack den.
blevine, sorry to hear it but that is the reality about Binghamton these days. The school has tried to hide the truth for decades. And I’ve been punished for trying to convey the truth. As far as I’m concerned, some of the recent deaths could have been prevented if the administration had considered the perspective of the students in relationship to the reality of the Binghamton crime and taken action. Nope.