Rape prompts safety concerns
According to Campus Police Chief Mary Voswinkel, Lieutenant Terry Ryals of the Campus Police and Fred King, media spokesperson for the Houston Police Department, a woman, age 25, was assaulted by three white males as she was leaving her car for Fondren Library at 1:30 a.m. Friday.
The woman was not a Rice student and had parked in the first space on the left in Lot J, just west of the Ley Student Center along Laboratory Road. She stated that she walked appoximately 20-25 feet from her car before turning back to get her phone.
As she approached her car, three white males pinned her against the car.
One of the men sexually assaulted her while she was held down by the other suspects in an estimated time period of five minutes.
The suspects were described as three white males estimated to be ages 28-30. The two who held the victim were of average build, and the assailant was larger, more muscular, spoke with a Hispanic accent and wore a red shirt.
Though initial reports indicated that the suspects were not affiliated with Rice, such assumptions have neither been confirmed nor denied by HPD.
"We don't have much in way of description. She did not get a good look at the suspects. So far we've made very little progress," King said.
"What we've got here is not part of a pattern. ... It's different than what we've seen before."
At 8:30 a.m. Friday, the alleged victim went to the hospital to undergo a "rape kit" and at that time made an official report to HPD. According to sources at HPD, Ryals was present during her interview and has been assigned to be the Campus Police investigator for the case. Following the incident, several crime update flyers were posted around campus alerting students, faculty and staff to the situation.
SOAR also distributed flyers in response to the crime. At a last-minute meeting Tuesday, students discussed the incident and preventive safety measures.
The meeting stressed safety, awareness, information and education.
The meeting was called in response to the posted crime update which many students considered vague and misleading. Though the incident occurred on Friday morning, students voiced concern over the fact that Thursday Pub Night activities were still underway at the time of the assault.
"We felt that the posted crime alerts were very vague and didn't give enough information to Rice University students. ... Since it happened during Pub Night outside the Student Center, we felt even more threatened," SOAR Coordinator Jasmin Tiro said.
"Personally, I found this very disturbing because I was at the Pub that night."
Members of SOAR and other students expressed concern over their observation of a lack of interest in the incident by members of the Rice community.
"We had no idea how inaccurate the flyers really were. ... That's when we decided that something needed to be done as soon as possible," SOAR President Ravi Sohal said.
In addition, the meeting discussed measures students can take to ensure their safety. Emphasized was the fact that, though Rice recently upgraded security, the campus is still located in a large city, along with its share of crime and risk.
Both SOAR members and the Campus Police have stressed the availability of the escort cart and shuttle services on campus. Students also suggested refraining from travelling alone.
"I think your chances in a group are better than your chances alone," said Jones College sophomore Amy Harrrison.
"I don't think we need to take an alarmist attitude. ... We just need to make sure everyone is aware that it's better to be safe than sorry," she said.
Voswinkel also remarked on the need for awareness when commenting on the sexual assault.
"Anytime we have any incident like this, it steps up the level of awareness in the Rice community," she said.
"I think our campus is safer than the city around us. ... Do try to take extra precautions. Safety is a combined effort on all our parts."
SOAR will hold another meeting on Wed., Sept. 27 during lunch at Sammy's. The meeting is open to all students.
Furthermore, the Campus Police would appreciate information on any persons seen in this area meeting the above descriptions or reports from those who may have seen the incident.
This item appeared in the News section of the September 22, 1995 issue.
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