Some athletic gear and a water bottle were the only things a student lost when she was robbed on campus.
“I guess he was pretty disappointed when he opened [the backpack] up,” said Kelly Hopkins, a campus security officer.
The student, an 18-year-old member of NIC’s athletic department, was leaving the River Apartments at approximately 6 a.m. when a man approached her and asked her to hand over her backpack. After she refused twice, the man reportedly tore it off her body and fled the scene.
The student, who declined to comment for this story, was reportedly uninjured aside from an abrasion she received on her face from the struggle.
“It was very forceful, even if he didn’t have a weapon,” said Security Supervisor Patrick Murray, “That’s what makes it disturbing.”
The robbery is the second reported incidence of a female being troubled outside of the River Apartments this semester.
The first incident, which took place in early January, involved Sentinel Design Assistant Haley Kurle being approached and then chased by an intoxicated man who had been hiding in the bushes outside the apartment complex.
Kurle escaped the incident unharmed, and campus security was unable to find the man upon investigation.
“You always hear about that happening in the news or see it played out in movies but you never think it’s going to happen to you until you’re panicking while trying to get away,” Kurle said.
Hopkins said she hopes the incidents help raise greater awareness about campus safety.
“Our campus is a microcosm for the world, and bad things can happen here sometimes,” Hopkins said. “I think it’s a good reminder for students, especially girls, to always be aware of their surroundings at all times.”
According to NIC’s Dangerous Weapons Policy, although firearms remain banned from campus property, students are allowed to carry pepper spray, bear spray, wasp spray, legally sized pocket knives and stun guns.
“We’re proponents of women being able to defend themselves,” Hopkins said.
Taser guns, which shoot electrified barbs into an assailant, are prohibited for students to carry, however.
Campus Security is also available 24-hours a day to escort students to their car in instances where they may feel uncomfortable or unsafe for any reason.
