Although local businesses and the Red Cross have been working diligently to find homes and give aid to all of the 140 victims of last week’s fire at the Riviera Ridge apartment complex, the University is responding exclusively to the needs of current students, leaving some recent alumni feeling literally left out in the cold.

William Yu, an alumnus who graduated from Binghamton University less than two months ago, and his girlfriend Wen Juan, were among the victims of the fire. Yu said that the University failed the non-student residents who lost their homes in the fire by offering assistance only to students.

“As community leaders, I expected more from SUNY-Binghamton. Moreover, I should say I expected something from the University,” Yu wrote in a letter to University President Lois B. DeFleur. “While I understand that the Red Cross is there to assist, they can only do so much for a family that loses everything they owned.”

Yu said that he appealed to the Alumni and Parent Relations office to aid in organizing a food or clothing drive for the families who were left homeless by the fire, but after holding an emergency meeting, which he reffered to as merely “damage control,” the informed him that the University funds are restricted to student use, he said.

“My concern was not so much for myself but for the families who were affected,” Yu said. “I had enough friends and family that supported me.”

Yu, who lost all of his possessions with the exception of a few articles of clothing, has been staying with a friend in Vestal, N.Y. He said that he gave the food and clothing vouchers he recieved from the Red Cross to another victim of the fire who more “desperately needed them.” He, however, has recieved no assistance from the University.

“Right after I stopped paying tuition, the University didn’t know me anymore,” he said.

Yu will be meeting with Rodger Summers, vice president for Student Affairs, next week to discuss the University’s response to the fire and the possibility of future action to help the victims of the fire.

“They are always concerned about their public relations and their relationship with the community. This would have been the perfect time to do this,” he said. “There is something morally wrong that they didn’t extend a hand.”

An appeal was made via Dateline, BU’s staff listserv, for donations to the 34 current BU students who were permanently displaced by the fire, but these funds are also restricted to current students.

According to University spokesperson Gail Glover, the non-student victims of the fire are being aided by the Red Cross.

“At this time we are working with the Red Cross who are working with the alumni, and the Red Cross has been tremendously supportive of all of the displaced residents,” she said.

The University has been aiding students by providing both temporary and permanent housing to those who have requested it. According to Glover, a total of 11 students who asked for housing on campus have been situated temporarily in the dorms.

Glover said that Off Campus College is working with local landlords to find vacancies for students who are in need of housing. Additionally, the Red Cross is helping those who registered for service within the first 72 hours after the fire to find housing, as well as providing food and clothing assistance.

“There’s been a real campus-wide effort to ensure that the students’ needs are met,” Glover said.

The Binghamton Fund is also providing loans to students in the amount of $200 for undergraduate students and $500 for graduate students. These loans must be paid back by the last day of the semester. Additionally, Sodexho, the on-campus dining services contractor, has contributed meal cards to displaced students and Barnes and Noble is working with the University to provide delayed payment plans to students to replace textbooks and school supplies.

Some of the hardships that Yu and others encountered as a result of the fire might have been alleviated if they’d had renter’s insurance, an option recommended to renters by many local landlords. However, some say that students are unlikely to heed this suggestion.

“We recommend in our lease that they get renter’s insurance but we don’t require it, ” said Shirley Woodruff, who owns a number of properties in Binghamton. “I would say that if five percent had insurance I’d be surprised.”

Beth Horner, a representative for University Plaza Apartments on the Vestal Parkway, said that her company also encourages their renters to get insurance.

“It’s a great thing to have,” she said. “It’s a very cost-effective way to protect your property.”