In the wake of the reported sexual assault near Novack Cafe on Saturday, students have expressed anxiety about the multiple reports circulating around campus. Safety and Security has been sending out updates as new details emerge, but to some students, these have caused more confusion than clarity.
On Monday night, residents of the East Wheelock residential cluster received news of a possible second sexual assault incident via an email from community director Josiah Proietti at 9:25 p.m.
"There is a second report of an assault on a woman on campus so I wanted to stress the importance of being safe at this particular time," Prioetti wrote in the email.
Later that night, news of the possible assault spread, and some sorority presidents sent house-wide emails alerting their members. At noon on Tuesday, Safety and Security sent a campus-wide email stating that the rumors of a second assault were untrue.
Proietti was unavailable for comment.
The influx of sexual assault reports has caused a storm of rumors around campus. Students cited dissatisfaction with the information provided, particularly the vague description of the perpetrator, whom Safety and Security said was a college-age male with athletic build wearing plaid.
"The description they gave basically describes every guy on campus," Leigh Goulbourne '17 said.
She added that she felt uncertain about the current state of events following the reports.
"It seems like every day there's a new rumor going around that someone was sexually assaulted," Goulbourne said. "It makes me feel unsafe in a place that's supposed to be my home. The vagueness makes it even scarier because there's no way to really be certain of who to look out for."
Over the past few days, students have been practicing more caution as they travel on campus. In particular, several students living in the McLaughlin residential cluster were disturbed that the incident happened on the path that they take home every day.
"I'll be more likely to walk around in a group, especially at night," Rauner resident Liane Makatura '17 said.
After the initial news of the assault, several undergraduate advisors reminded their residents to lock their doors at night and avoid walking outside alone.
Safety and Security director Harry Kinne emphasized that his team has increased the visibility and scope of security on campus. The office has been conducting extra patrols every night and using more foot and bike officers to cover a larger section of campus.
Campus security continues to work closely with Hanover Police to identify the perpetrator.
Kinne urged students to remain vigilant, noting that despite the increased security efforts, the case has not still been resolved,
"This is the type of incident that shakes a community," he said.
There has been an increase in Safe Ride calls since the news of the assault on Saturday, Kinne said.
Because the woman who reported Saturday's incident was a College employee, there has been a number of inquiries from faculty and staff requesting Safe Rides, Kinne said. The service is available to all members of the Dartmouth community.
"I'm anticipating that there's going to be a good number of people requesting Safe Rides," Safe Ride driver-in-training Abigail Hartley '16 said. "I don't care if I'm busy all night. Just know that we're there to help."
Goulbourne added that the new GLC policy banning freshmen from entering Greek houses for the first six weeks of term may be linked to the increase in reports.
"A lot of '17s are roaming around campus later at night because we're not allowed into frats," she said. "I think it may have some sort of impact on sexual assault reports on campus."
