Director of Public Safety Ed Callahan’s sent out an e-mail to the Brandeis campus this afternoon informing us of a mugging of a Brandeis student that occured on South Street last night. (The text of the e-mail is quoted below)
This is frightening news, especially when you add up all of the incidents that have taken place so far this school year: the flasher in Harlan Chapel; the numerous laptop thefts in the Castle and other dorms, the perpetrator of whom was never revealed to have been caught; the International Business School credit card scam, which again, remains an open investigation; and now this, a mugging in Waltham.
Is the Waltham area, or even Brandeis campus not as safe as it once was? In many of the cases listed above the perpetrators could be members of the Brandeis campus or outsiders, so where should attention be focused, and what action should be taken?
I think we need to address the issue of safety that is seemingly being ignored, and perhaps educate students as to how to best protect themselves, or implement new policies TO better protect us. Obviously there are dangers to these suggestions as well, but I think it’s time for SOMETHING to be done, or at least for an administrator to comment on the situation.
Tuesday night, at approximately 10:30 p.m., a female Brandeis student was assaulted while jogging on South Street near the campus. The victim was approached by three young men and knocked to the ground. She suffered bruising and her iPod was taken from her. The student called Waltham Police from a friend’s home nearby after the incident. Police searched the area, but did not locate the three men.
While we hope this was an isolated incident, we remind members of the Brandeis community to be aware of their surroundings at all times — on and off campus. If you have any information that could assist police in this matter, please contact the Brandeis Office of Public Safety at 6-5000 or the Waltham Police Department at 781-314-3600. As always in all matters, if you see something suspicious, please contact Public Safety at extension 6-5000. In case of emergency, please call extension 6-3333.
I agree that more security on the campus is indicated. There’s never anyone in the guard booth and there are not enough lamplights on campus. Are our student representatives doing anything about this?
I think the lesson of all these incidents is that we are not and never have been “safe.”
Don’t get me wrong: the Brandeis campus and the area surrounding it are much safer (strong emphasis on the “-er”) than a lot of places in America and the world. But, the sense of perfect and complete safety most of us feel on campus is an illusion. We only feel so secure until someone or something challenges our safety. That’s what has happened a number of times this year.
Ultimately, we must realize that Brandeis is not an impenetrable bubble and learn to treat our campus as we would any other public place. That means locking our doors and being aware of our surroundings, especially at night.