For Joe Foran, what had started as a quiet night during his first month of college was about to end in a hospital.

“I was on the phone when somebody from behind said something, so I turned around,” Foran, now a SESP sophomore, says. “I got hit in the eye and couldn’t see anything. From then on, it was all hazy.”

Foran was knocked to the sidewalk on the corner of Noyes and Orriginton, then kicked repeatedly until a group of strangers ran to his aid and called the police. The four muggers drove off without taking anything from Foran, except for his recollection of the night. “I ended up calling my friends (who I had left),” Foran says. “I couldn’t see so I called all the As in my phone book until I got to him.”

Forans friend helped him answer questions in the ambulance to Evanston Hospital, where he stayed until 8 a.m. and received stitches under his eye.

Though each mugging victim reacts differently, CAPS psychologist Dr. Wei-Jen Huang says the aftermath can undermine a person’s confidence. “If the world you know is totally turned upside down, you lose things you can count on,” Huang says.

After Foran was mugged, he says he avoided being along and tried to become more conscious of his surroundings. The last thing he wanted was to appear vulnerable to yet another attack. “I tried to stay with people when possible. I don’t walk down Orrington when I’m coming back anymore. I stay on Sheridan because it’s more lit.”

To avoid an attack, be aware and stay off your cell phone, says Northwestern University Police Department’s Asst. Chief, Dan McAleer. “The most important thing is that you need to be confident when you’re walking.”