The Boston University Police Department should increase patrols in West and South Campus, after recent reports of sexual assault and robbery in neighborhoods just off-campus, students said last night.
Police should be doing more to prevent crime, including two reported robberies and a reported sexual assault this weekend, College of Arts and Sciences freshman Aubree Hoepper said.
“Sexual assault needs to be taken seriously,” Hoepper said. “We’re paying a lot of money to live here. BUPD needs to step it up.”
Hoepper said she felt safe living in South Campus until she heard about this semester’s assaults, but now she is taking measures to ensure her safety.
“I’m more aware of my surroundings,” she said. “I can’t avoid when I have to go places late at night, but I make sure my surroundings are good and my attention span is up to par. I don’t listen to my iPod or talk on the phone anymore.”
A student reported he was robbed at knifepoint after he was pushed into a car on Buswell Street in South Campus on Feb. 19. Three women reported attacks to police on the first night of Spring Break, March 8, near West Campus. About a half-mile from West Campus, on Linden Street, Boston police responded to a man wounded from an apparent gunshot early Saturday morning. He died after being transported to a hospital, police said.
“I know [BUPD] said they’ll have more cars patrolling, but they’ve said that in the past,” CAS sophomore Jenny Gallagher said. “The only cop car I’ve seen was across the street breaking up a party. I think they should put more of their efforts into keeping us safe instead of keeping us sober, though I can see in some respect how they go hand-in-hand.”
Dean of Students Kenneth Elmore and BUPD Chief Thomas Robbins sent an email to the BU community yesterday afternoon with the subject line “Safety Update and Reminder.”
“Honestly, with the number of attacks that have happened, I was surprised that all I got was an email,” Gallagher said.
South Campus residents who had not read Robbins and Elmore’s email as of last night said they were surprised to learn about the attacks.
“I didn’t even know,” Julie Sagoskin, a CAS sophomore, said. “Recently, with everything else going on, I feel like BU police and Brookline police should be aware of students. I never see police going around this area.”
Other students said they did not understand why the alleged victims had been alone late at night.
“It’s unfortunate, but she was by herself at 2 a.m. in South,” CAS freshman Adrien Smith said. “I don’t think I’ll be making any changes because I still feel pretty safe, and when I go out, I make sure I’m with people.”
CAS sophomore Hamad Burashed said he is not worried about the attacks, but would like to see a stronger BUPD presence in South Campus, noting he has not “seen that many patrol cars around.”
Burashed said he was not shocked by the most recent incident, especially after other robberies occurred in South Campus apartments this year.
Residents of an on-campus Beacon Street apartment reported a forced entry and $4,000 in stolen electronics and personal items to BUPD Feb. 27. A robbery-in-progress was stopped at the French House on Bay State Road Feb. 18 when a resident woke up and screamed upon seeing an intruder, according to crime logs.
Elizabeth Mauro, a Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences junior, who plans to be a resident assistant in South next year, said she hopes her residents are able to feel safe despite the recent attacks.
“As a woman at BU, you feel that this campus is innately safe,” Mauro said. “It freaks me out that outsiders can come into this space and do that.”
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