On Saturday afternoon, a student was physically assaulted while walking down William Street with a fellow student. Two male students were walking together when two unidentified males approached the students and assaulted one of them.
This is the first assault to happen this school year, but it is the fourth incident in a string of assaults that began last fall, according to Maryann Wiggin, Director of Public Safety. In each case the suspect has been thought to come from outside the University community.
In November 2003, a student was assaulted on High Street on a weekend night. According to Wiggin, the suspect had been admitted to a Wesleyan party earlier in the evening, but was eventually asked to leave.
A similar incident occurred in January 2004, when Chris Santiago ’05 was assaulted in the vicinity of North College by a person of high school age. The suspects had earlier attempted to gain entry to a party on High Street.
According to Santiago, he and his friend Andrew Kutscher ’05 ran into a group of about six to eight high school aged persons while walking along a footpath by North College.
“I turned around and said ‘sorry,’ and one of them punched me,” Santiago said. “Then I fell down, and they ran away laughing. My tooth got chipped.”
Last April, six students were assaulted by a group of high school aged people who robbed several of the students involved. The assault began on William Street, but the assailants followed the students to LoRise. As in the other cases, the suspects had previously been at a Wesleyan party.
According to Wiggin, since last November when the assaults began Public Safety has worked to inform the Wesleyan community of all assaults that occur and to inform students of what measures to take in dangerous situations.
Many students agree that the increase in assaults is not due to any failing on the part of Public Safety.
“The real question isn’t why Public Safety’s not preventing these assaults, but why Wesleyan students are pissing off Middletown residents more than ever,” said Alden Blair ’05.
Santiago also commented on the problem of interactions between the University and Middletown.
“I feel like its way outside of Public Safety’s realm of influence,” Santiago said. “This is a social problem.”
According to Wiggin, she and David Meyer, Associate Director of Public Safety, conduct host training sessions for students hosting registered parties, at which they educate students on how to deal with non-University people who attempt to gain access to parties. It is important for students to report to Public Safety if they encounter non-University persons at or leaving a party, and to report where the persons are headed, Wiggin said.
Saturday’s incident was different than other assaults because it happened in the middle of the day and the suspects had not been at any Wesleyan parties.
“When you have two male students walking in broad daylight you can’t prevent [an assault],” Wiggin said.
According to Wiggin, the first steps Public Safety takes after a reported assault is to determine if the victim wants to involve the Police in the investigation. Public Safety then talks with the victim to figure out exactly what went on, and may try contacting any students who hosted registered parties at the time of the assault in order to gain additional information.
According to Wiggin, students should continue to report suspicious activity and people to Public Safety, at x2345, or at x3333 for an emergency.
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