By Shedeiky Hamilton

The days are getting shorter. The nights are getting longer. The paths are getter lonelier. At only 5 p.m., it look as if it is 9 p.m.

And some students have reported that they have seen suspicious figures on the aqueduct.

The aqueduct is a short path to Mercy College which extends all the way to Ardsley. It is connected from Main Street in Dobbs Ferry and is an eight minute walk to Mercy College. To walk around the road on Broadway takes up to twenty minutes, so students and residents living around Dobbs Ferry use this easy accessible path for walking, running, and even for an afternoon or early morning stroll.

However, over the last week a number of people have seen three men, two around 5’10” and the other around 5’7″, standing around in the aqueduct.

“I was walking to school when I saw that three guys were standing at the end of the aqueduct. It was fairly dark, but I have never heard of anything dangerous happening in Dobbs Ferry so I decided to walk there,” said Carolina Abreu a current Mercy student.

“I saw one of the guys walking towards me, and so I turned around and walked back to the entrance to walk around on Broadway. I prefer to be late for class than to be attacked,” she added.

Other students walking through the Aqueduct have seen these men and are now worried about the safety of young girls walking from school alone.

“I was walking with my dog when I saw the three guys. It was getting dark and one of them didn’t have any shirt on, and it was freezing. I figured that they must be on drugs or just came to the aqueduct to smoke,” said a resident of Dobbs Ferry.

This middle aged woman has seen these men on two different days but felt that she was being protected by her dog.

“I have been walking through the aqueduct for a while now. This is where I go when I need to walk my dog. I know karate and I can take down all three of those guys,” she added.

Kirk Miller, a security guard at Mercy College is aware of the aqueduct and explained that the security at Mercy isn’t responsible for the aqueduct.

“We don’t cover the aqueduct. A park ranger who is hired by the states and the Dobbs Ferry Police is the ones responsible. We cover only the perimeters of the college and the security bar is as far as we go,” he responded.

Although students use the aqueduct as a pathway to get the bus or a short-cut home, it isn’t a secure place to be walking during the night.

One female Mercy athlete wrote to the Impact about an experience she had: I have been walking on the aqueduct for two and a half years every morning and I have never seen a cop or a ranger patrolling the aqueduct during the afternoon or evening hours.

I was on my way to a game at Mercy College when I saw the three guys. I remember what my teammate had told me, and so I was already aware of them. I took my phone out and dialed a friend’s number but she didn’t respond. So I dialed my brother’s number and nervously listened to every ringtone. One of the guys stepped out and was walking towards me, and when he was only a small distance away my brother answered. Feeling relieved, I answered so loud and happy and he stepped back and I walked past him.

The Dobbs Ferry Police is not sure of the arrangement that the rangers and the state has placed in effect for the commuters.

“The New York State Park is responsible for checking the aqueduct; we are not. If we get a call about an incident that took place there, we will respond,” added Dispatcher Farrell of the Dobbs Ferry police station.

Farrell added, “Students need to report to the police if they see anything strange going on in the aqueduct so that we can be aware of it.”

EDITOR’S NOTE: Although the aqueduct is an easy path for commuters, we all need to be careful when we walk through it. Always ensure that when it gets dark you are with someone if you plan to take that route. This aqueduct might be a path that attracts idlers. All students interviewed surprisingly did not report anything to police. Please file a report if you notice anything suspicious.