On Oct. 31, at about 12:45 a.m., a male undergraduate student was the victim of a strong-arm robbery. The student, who was walking alone at the time, was coming from Dandelion Square and heading to his room on the Residential Quad.
As he was walking up the stairs between Crosby Hall and Burton Hall, two unidentified male suspects in dark hooded sweatshirts and blue jeans called him over.
The student assumed that the suspects were fellow students and proceeded to walk toward them. The two suspects directed the student to walk with them down the pedestrian walkway alongside the Genesee River.
Once there, the suspects ordered the student to surrender all of his cash. The student followed their demands and gave them all of his money.
The two suspects demanded that the student walk down the path toward Towers as they fled in an unknown direction. No weapons were drawn at any time.
Once the student returned to his residence hall, he immediately contacted Security.
Security contacted the Rochester Police Department to search the surrounding area for the two suspects, but they were unable to locate them.
CCTV images that were recorded in the area at the time of the event, as well as that evening, are being checked in order to determine when the suspects came and left River Campus.
Security is also using the recordings in order to obtain clear images of the suspects. The robbery is still under investigation.
Security has made adjustments in response to the strong-arm robbery.
‘The Security patrols have been adjusted to maintain a ready presence along Wilson Boulevard from 7 p.m. to 3 a.m. until further notice,” Director of UR Security Walter Mauldin said in his e-mail notification. ‘The lower level field lights for Fauver Stadium will be turned on through the night hours.”
In response to the wave of robberies around the Crosby and Burton residential halls this semester, Residential Advisers have been urging their residents to remain alert and conscious.
Crosby Residential Adviser and junior Shafayet Moin has been active in advising his residents to keep their rooms on guard.
‘Best thing to do is lock your room anytime you leave, and to keep your keys with you at all times,” Shafayet said. ‘Also, keep an account of what’s in your room before you leave so that you can tell when something is missing.”
Some of the Crosby residents are irked by the recent robberies.
‘When we walk to the bathroom that is only about two feet away, we have to lock our doors,” sophomore Bruce Stockton said. ‘It’s a shame that we have to be that paranoid because of people. I have no problem walking alone, but leaving my stuff by itself is the issue.”
Regardless of how comfortable a student may feel while walking alone, Residential Advisers still stress the secure measures of walking in groups.
‘If you’re walking out at night, the only and safest thing to do is to walk in a group of people you know,” Shafayet said. ‘Walking alone makes you an easy picking, but if you walk in a group, it discourages a criminal from approaching you.”
As the case continues to undergo investigation, Security urges anyone who believes that they may have information to call UR Security at x5-3333.
Security urges students to remain alert of their surroundings at all times.
Nathaniel is a member of the class of 2011.
