Binghamton Residents Angry Over Student Behavior

Following the death of a Binghamton University freshman, many Binghamton residents are complaining about the behavior of students on "New Parade Day."

Some people who were downtown and on the city's West Side described chaotic situations with intoxicated young people walking and stumbling into traffic.

City police detectives said Conor Donnelly died after he plunged from a fourth-floor balcony while attending a party at a Front Street frat house. Investigators concluding Donnelly's drinking was a contributing factor in his death.

Police had responded to reports of disturbances and injuries linked to inebriated New Parade Day celebrants.

A woman who posted to WNBF's Facebook page said "it was crazy" when she took her 11-year-old daughter to Boscov's around 11 a.m. She wrote: "There were guys with yellow safety vests (I don't think they were police officers) stopping traffic against the lights to let groups of students cross roads!"

Another woman described the situation as "insane." She wrote that people were "falling all over themselves drunk."

Binghamton University's student newspaper Pipe Dream reported that the school's director of Greek life had discouraged participation in New Parade Day.

According to the newspaper, Greek life organizations on campus asked members not to speak with reporters about the incident that resulted in Donnelly's death.

Speaking on WNBF Radio's Binghamton Now program the day before New Parade Day, Mayor Richard David indicated he did not anticipate any problems with the event.

The mayor said the city was handling New Parade Day the way it would treat "many of the other types of pub crawls or events."

David said the city was "prepared with regards to our police presence." He said "we just want to make sure that everyone's safe."

The mayor said "this is just really an event between the businesses, the establishments and the students." He said "we just want to make sure things don't get out of hand."

David said "it's possible" there would be a need for police overtime to handle New Parade Day. He said more officers would be assigned to the main routes for the event "just to make sure that everything goes smoothly."

For breaking news and updates on developing stories, follow @BinghamtonNow on Twitter.