It’s 11:30 on a frigid Tuesday night.

The library’s first floor still is filled with students who will soon walk home when the main part of the library closes at 11:45 p.m.

A few blocks away, just off University Place near the South Mid-Quads, Weinberg senior Erin Sahlsteen walks to her nearby dorm.

“I’m just coming from the library,” she said, bundled in a coat and hat.

When she walked back from campus, Sahlsteen said she did not feel alone. She said she saw people taping fliers to the ground and usually sees patrol carts go by almost every 10 minutes around campus.

But off campus, “That’s really sketchy,” Sahlsteen said. “White Hen — no good! The guy on the bike — watch out!”

Arriving on campus almost three weeks ago, students might have thought the cold winter weather and recent arrests in connection with a Nov. 23 assault on a Northwestern student would prevent more attacks.

But two recent on-campus assaults — one on an NU student and one on a Loyola University Chicago student — continue to show some, including university officials, that the issue of increased safety will not fade away.

“(Safety) has been a priority and it will continue to be a priority for the Division of Student Affairs and for this institution,” said William Banis, vice president for student affairs, in an interview before the recent assaults. “We will continue to address the complex set of issues that involves basic safety on and off campus, and protect against threats to that safety.”

Banis could not be reached for comment about this week’s attacks.

The latest incident occurred early Monday, near the Rebecca Crown Center, when four men hit a Loyola student on the head and took his wallet. The student was visiting friends here. An hour earlier an NU student was knocked off her bicycle by one man with three others on the 2100 block of Sheridan Road.

Officials said they don’t know whether these attacks are related to those from Fall Quarter.

But one thing is clear — they occurred on a campus where officials increased lighting and patrols both last quarter and over Winter Break.

The most visible recent changes on campus include 16 new lights installed along the east side of Sheridan from The Arch to the Jacobs Center, said Ron Nayler, associate vice president for facilities management. Officials are also looking to improve lighting by North Campus, specifically near 584 Lincoln.

Nayler said fixtures were also re-lamped with brighter bulbs in the sculpture garden near the Theatre and Interpretation Center and on the path from Jacobs Center to Deering Library.

“We’re always doing the night tours with representatives from Student Affairs, (Associated Student Government) and University Police,” Nayler said. “And we try to continue and identify the way we can provide additional lighting and emergency phones.” He added that student input is important so campus administrators know where improvements should be made.

Officials did not release the cost of the changes.

NU’s Senior Vice President for Business and Finance, Eugene Sunshine, sent an e-mail to students Wednesday detailing the measures.

In the e-mail Sunshine warned students of the attacks and said the incidents “occurred despite the increased security measures that Northwestern has taken and continues to take.”

Earlier this month, Sunshine told The Daily that safety remains a top priority as the university plans for the 2004-05 budget.

“What we have to assess is what we want to try to, more or less, make permanent and how much it is going to cost,” Sunshine said.

The changes in lighting follow the installation in mid-December of four new emergency blue-light phones, Nayler said.

But some students have realized that even recent changes might not keep them safe, and living in a semi-urban campus has its costs.

“People need to stop being so naive,” said Christina Bryza, a Medill junior who was walking toward Sheridan from campus late Tuesday night with a friend. “We live in the city.”

Bryza said some areas, especially off campus, remain dark, but she has not acted any more cautiously now than she did in the fall.

Increased Patrol

Officials said efforts will not end with better lighting. Banis said some issues, such as dorm security monitors, “have to be defined better, so we have staff looking at the issues regarding technical as well as human improvements.”

Small changes with police patrol also developed over break. Two contract security officers, one on foot and one in a patrol vehicle, will continue monitoring the campus, said Daniel McAleer, assistant chief for University Police.

Three extra officers also are on duty into the early morning hours, McAleer added. He said the department plans to keep the extra officers on for “at least a couple of years.”

UP recently purchased two new golf carts of its own with windshields and heaters to use for patrols. The department initially borrowed carts from the athletic department.

Just as a safety golf cart turned from Sheridan toward the Jacobs Center on Tuesday night, Michael Abdou walked toward the building.

A first-year Kellogg graduate student, Abdou said last quarter he sometimes decided to stay in because of the past attacks.

“I feel like when I do walk outside, there’s no one around,” said Abdou, who lives in the McManus Living-Learning Center on Orrington Avenue. “I don’t see patrols.”

For students like Abdou, walking around campus is not the main concern. With dark areas down some streets, students are hesitant to walk off NU property late at night.

But solving the problem might take some time, as off-campus lighting remains a more complicated issue. NU officials continue to discuss the issue with Evanston, and the campus is part of a three-year citywide plan to improve lighting.

“As much that can be done as possible (on and off campus) needs to be done this winter,” said Vickie Cook, a Weinberg senior, in an interview before the recent attacks.

Cook, who also serves as director of emPOWER, an activist organization comprising sorority members, said lighting has improved on campus, but several areas near campus — such as Orrington and Foster — remain areas of concern.

Cabiria Jacobsen, a Music and Weinberg senior who lives off campus on Simpson Street, said she feels safer on campus and alters her travel routes to avoid dark areas.

A native of Brooklyn, N.Y., Jacobsen said she already knows a few things about safety.

“I’m used to being like, ‘Don’t fuck with me,'” said Jacobsen, adding that more officers patrolling on foot could improve safety.

More Push

After the onset of attacks Fall Quarter, student groups asked the administration to re-evaluate campus safety. Group leaders said the changes are a step forward, but more can be done.

“We’re still hoping maybe to get some better building security on campus — dorm security and academic buildings,” said Priya Khatkhate, co-coordinator for Women’s Coalition and a former Daily staff member. “It seems like anyone can go in and out.”

Khatkhate, a Medill senior, attended campus walks with university administrators to identify the areas need for improvement. She said Women’s Co and the martial arts group Akido are planning a free self-defense forum for students for later this quarter.

“This is kind of where you’re making your home for four years,” she said. “There’s absolutely no reason you should feel unsafe on this campus.”

The Daily’s Scott Gordon and Chris Kirkham contributed to this report.