Washington University Beefs Up Security in Wake of Brutal Attack

Washington University began its spring semester yesterday with an email to faculty and students alerting them to recent security issues. The email comes a month after a graduate student was found severely beaten in an off-campus apartment owned by the university.

As the school's newspaper Student Life reports today, the email from executive vice chancellor for administration, Hank Webber, attempted to re-assure students and faculty of their safety on and near campus. Webber's message referenced crime statistics that suggest the university is located "in relatively safe urban areas and [data] indicates a reduction in violent crime over recent years."

Per the Stud Life:

[Webber] added that students can expect additional safety precautions this semester, including an increase in the number of blue light phones north of campus beginning this spring, upgrading the safety features in Quadrangle housing by moving laundry rooms out of the basement where possible, and installing panic buttons in laundry rooms that must remain in the basement.

The grad student found December 21 in an off-campus building near the Delmar Loop is still recovering from the attack and listed in stable condition. University City police are still investigating the crime and have yet to name a suspect.