You Won’t Believe Which Upstate New York College Is America’s Most Dangerous

Four colleges in New York have been named the "most dangerous" in the entire country and one of them has been ranked second-worst of all.

*UPDATE JUN 04, Hobart and William Smith Colleges issued a public statement regarding the study: 

"Hobart and William Smith vehemently disagrees with the flawed conclusions of this personal injury attorney who has misled readers with an incomplete and inaccurate review of campus life. Deceptive “research” like this does a disservice to higher education and to families and students by showing no understanding of how Clery reporting works. For whatever publicity gain they seek, the law firm has ill served students and families already burdened by a complicated college admissions process."

*UPDATE Jun 02: Phillip J. Wajda, Director of Media and Public Relations of Union College, issued this statement to WIBX:

"Under the federal Clery Act, Union, like other colleges and universities across the country, is required to report campus crimes. For the time period cited in this irresponsible survey, the College reported zero arrests. And the majority of incidents at Union were for alcohol or drug violations, not violent crime. All of our Clery information is publicly available on the College’s website."

Additionally, Tom Missel, Chief Communications Officer at St. Bonaventure University, issued this statement to WIBX:

“The overwhelming majority of incidents cited in this poorly researched survey were disciplinary incidents adjudicated internally related to alcohol and drug violations of the student code of conduct, not violent or dangerous crimes that resulted in arrest. In our most recent campus climate surveys, 97% of SBU students said they felt safe at St. Bonaventure. We are diligent about reporting every violation that the Clery Act mandates us to report. Our Clery information is publicly available on our website.”

***Original Story Below***

Move over, SUNY Morrisville, there's a new college that has claimed the title for being the most dangerous in the Empire State.

Read More: These Are New York's 5 Most Dangerous Colleges for 2024

While the above ranking of unsavory college campuses depended on reviews made on the website Niche, personal injury attorneys from the Parrish Law Firm decided to make a survey of its own that relied on more concrete data.

The study pulled crime statistics -such as hate crimes, stalking, and other criminal offenses - college campuses reported between the years 2018 and 2022. Those who statistically had the highest number of reported incidents per 1,000 students topped the list and, unfortunately, several unexpected institutions from New York made the top 10.

Please note Townsquare Media isn't deeming these college campuses dangerous. We are reporting what Parrish Law Firm has found, which has never been affiliated with Townsquare. All comments and criticisms should be directed toward them.

St. John's University in Manhattan and St. Bonaventure University came in seventh and eighth place, respectively.

St. Bonaventure records roughly 670 "incidents" per 1,000 students while St. John's reports 723 issues per 1,000 students.  St. John's reported 53 criminal offenses between 2018 and 2022, with leading crimes being aggravated assault, theft, and arson.

Union College, which is in Schenectady, shocked with a sixth place finish on the list after the study found it suffers 740 "incidents" per 1,000 students.  The school enacted nearly 1,400 cases of disciplinary actions and reported 75 arrests between 2018 and 2022.

One more New York institution made the list and landed in second place. That was Hobart and William Smith College in Geneva. That school averaged 820 "incidents" per 1,000 students.

The most prevalent crime at this school were violations of the Violence Against Women Act. Criminal acts included stalking and domestic violence. The school also reported a high instance of disciplinary action.

The most shocking thing of all is none of these colleges managed to make Niche's roundup of the state's most crime-ridden campuses.

As for the school that topped the roundup from Parrish Law Firm, that was Gallaudet University in Washington, which reported a whopping 1,110 incidents per 1,000 students.

Here's the top 10 most dangerous college campuses in America.

1. Gallaudet University, Washington
2. Hobart and William Smith Colleges, New York
3. Chowan University, North Carolina
4. Keene State College, New Hampshire
5. Wofford College, South Carolina
6. Union College, New York
7. St. John's University, New York
8. St. Bonaventure University, New York
9. Colorado College, Colorado
10. Central College, Iowa

Are you surprised by this list? Let us know by shouting us out using the chat feature on the station app.

Get our free mobile app