Man assaulted near Graduate House

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by Lindsey Schechter

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According to Voswinkel, the victim said he was walking in the 6500 block of Travis Avenue around 8:15 p.m. when he was approached by four black males who attempted to rob him. He said the men were wearing jeans and white T-shirts and appeared to be between 18 and 20 years old. Voswinkel said they pistol whipped the man when he resisted the robbery in an attempt "to subdue him so they could take [the money] away."

The attackers fled the scene when they saw two Rice students approach. The students called the Campus Police, who administered first aid and controlled the area until the HPD arrived. They then turned the case over to the HPD since it occurred off-campus and was out of their jurisdiction. The victim was taken to Hermann Hospital. Voswinkel said he was "beaten about the head pretty well," but there was no permanent damage.

Even though the victim was not a resident of the Graduate House or a Rice student, the attack has raised concerns at Rice over the safety of the area.

Voswinkel said attacks of this kind are not uncommon. "We've always had problems with robberies on the edge of campus. It's kind of the nature of the area."

In order to make the Graduate House safer this year, there is a Campus Police officer monitoring the area nightly from 6:30 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. The main gate on University Road is also closed from 10 p.m. to 7:30 a.m., and the gate on Main Street is locked from 4 p.m. to 7:30 a.m. The other three gates are only accessible by code or key.

After the attack, the Graduate House Council discussed the possibility of changing the accessibility of the gates to improve security. Tauseef Salma, the Graduate House Council chair, said at the council meeting on Oct. 19, "We came to the conclusion that changing the timings of the gate might not be of much help in improving security."

Instead, the council decided to change the access code for the gate on Travis sometime before Dec. 1. She also said that if there is a stronger call from residents to change gate accessibility, "we might consider closing the University [Boulevard] gate and keeping the one on South Main open."

When going outside the fences of the Graduate House, Voswinkel encourages residents to either take the shuttle or request an escort. She also advises not to walk alone and to "try to plan your trip so it's not after dark if it is at all possible."

For students like Paul Boyer, a Brown College sophomore who lives across from the Graduate House on the 6500 block of Travis, these options are not viable.

"It's really impractical for me to be escorted back to my house or to travel in groups every time I leave or come back to my house after 8 o'clock at night," he said.

Although he is concerned, he said, "I don't know what steps I really can or ought to take to ensure my safety."

This item appeared in the News section of the October 27, 1995 issue.

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