A female graduate student was hospitalized over the weekend after she was attacked near South Campus, police said Tuesday.
The student was pushed from behind Saturday while walking on the 600 block of Clark Street, said Sgt. Steven Stoeckl of University Police. The student, who wished to remain anonymous, told The Daily her front teeth were knocked out and she had to get stitches on her upper lip and chin. She also had bruises on her hands and knees.
The student said she checked her wallet and her identification and credit cards were still there. She does not know if the men who attacked her stole any money.
The attack was one of two near campus this weekend, UP reported.
The student was walking alone past Burger King, 1740 Orrington Ave., at about 2:15 a.m. when a group of three or four young men started “harassing” her, she said.
“They asked, ‘Can I take you home?’ and ‘Can I come home with you?'” she said. “I ignored them and told them I had a boyfriend and I was going to his house.”
The student walked further down the block and was pushed to the ground, she said. She blacked out, and when she woke up on the street, no one was around. Feeling “dizzy and out of it,” the student said she walked a few blocks to her apartment and was shocked to see her reflection.
“I looked at myself in the mirror,” she said, “and my face was covered in blood.”
The student said she didn’t think her injuries were serious and tried to go to sleep. She called 911 when the bleeding didn’t stop, she said. She called a cab to take her to the hospital and was released about 8 a.m.
The student said she has to wait for her facial wounds to heal before dentists can fix her teeth.
“I was told I’d be completely recovered by Thanksgiving,” she said. “I’ll have my teeth.”
After the attack the student’s roommate sent an e-mail to close friends, telling them about the incident and warning them not to walk by themselves. The e-mail was forwarded to sorority listservs and even made it to Mary Desler, associate vice president for student affairs.
“Everyone checked with me — the dean of my school, my professors and even Mary Desler,” the victim said.
Also over the weekend, a male student was attacked and robbed on the 600 block of Foster Street about 2:15 a.m. Sunday. The student was thrown to the ground and suffered minor injuries.
Earlier this quarter a male student told police he was attacked near the corner of Sherman Avenue and Noyes Street, and a female student reported having her purse snatched as she walked with a friend through the Sorority Quads.
Stoeckl said the recent attacks might be linked.
“The circumstances to the incident are similar to other incidents that have occurred on campus during the past month,” he said. “The Northwestern police department advises all community members to be alert when traveling on campus or off campus at night.”
Stoeckl said UP is working with Evanston Police Department to investigate the battery and is heavily patrolling the areas of the recent attacks. UP got specific information about the incident Tuesday, after the female student filed an initial report with EPD.
David Kieley, co-director of Women’s Coalition, said the university administration needs to pay more attention and spend more money on student safety. Women’s Co will continue to address safety concerns such as better lighting on campus, he said.
Women’s Co plans to find ways to educate residents about safety problems on and off campus, perhaps by going door to door in Evanston, Kieley said. They are also calling for more officers to be added to UP’s force.
“Our campus is not safe,” he said. “For the amount of money the school has, our safety situation is an embarrassment.”
Kieley said students should tell administrators, parents and alumni about their concerns, because they “have more clout.”
Other student groups have also taken note of safety concerns around campus. The Safety Subcommittee will submit a report in response to the recent attacks at the Associated Student Government meeting tonight, said John Hughes, a Weinberg junior and Rainbow Alliance senator who is one of the lead authors of the report. The report encourages the university to “make combatting violent crime UP’s No. 1 priority” and lists recommendations to improve student safety.
“ASG has had a lot of conversations with the administration, city councilmen, police officials and people involved in the shuttle service to find ways to make students more safe,” said Hughes, a former Daily Forum editor and current board member for the Students Publishing Co., which oversees The Daily. “Hopefully in the coming weeks, we will have some kind of bill or resolution.”
Though the student who was attacked said she is doing “1 million times better” since the attack, she wants to tell people to be careful when they are walking down the street in Evanston.
“Don’t walk by yourself at night,” she said, “no matter where you live and how close it is.”
Name misspelled (October 30, 2003)
An article in Wednesday’s Daily misspelled the name of Mary Desler, associate vice president for student affairs. The Daily regrets the error.
