It was 2:04 AM on Saturday, September 3, 2009. David Moore
was walking home from a house party on Livingtson Avenue with his roommates.
Suddenly, without warning, a 2005 Jeep rolled down Euclid. The
Jeep slowed just as it reached Moore and his friends and from inside the
vehicle came a single word: “FRESHMEN!” Following the laughter from inside the
Jeep, the driver sped off, leaving Moore and company to mull over what had just
happened.
Moore’s friends, Robert Simmons and Jacob Ferguson, shrugged
as if nothing had happened, continuing their walk down Euclid to the bus stop.
For Moore, though, the tongue-lashing upperclassmen had gotten inside his head.
“At first, I didn’t think anything of it,” says Moore, still
shaken up from the verbal onslaught. “But after I took a few steps, I just kept
thinking, “I’m not a freshman. I’m a sophomore. Why would they be so mean?’ And
the next thing I knew, the tears were flowing.”
Simmons and Ferguson heard the sniffles of Moore, who
trailed behind, and wrote it off to allergies or a cold. But after the sniffles
continued for several minutes, the duo turned around to see tears streaming
down Moore’s face.
“I don’t know what the fuck happened,” said Simmons, “but
Dave lost it, man. I don’t get why he was so upset. Guys yell shit all the
time, and it’s never bothered him before. Weird shit, man.”
Weird shit indeed.
Moore never recovered from the assault. He currently resides
in Hutchings Psychiatric Center, being treated daily for post-traumatic stress.
His assailants were never unmasked, and it is rumored that they still roam the
streets of Syracuse, shouting, “Freshmen!” at freshmen, sophomores, and juniors
alike.
“I just hope someone catches them,” says Moore. “I don’t
want anyone to”¦to go through what I’ve been through. Being called a freshman
when you’re a sophomore is”¦it’s fucked up.”
It has been reported by a reputable source that a retaliation by the freshmen has surfaced.
