A UC Berkeley spokesman told me by phone that the university community has been working hard to make the campus safer. And they have been making a lot of progress lately. But this recent string of muggings and attacks has students on guard.
The most recent attack happened here at the Faculty Glade late Thursday night.
In that incident, an 18-year-old woman was grabbed from behind by one suspect while a second suspect pulled a gun on her and then proceeded to take her phone and rifled through her purse.
She managed to get free and then chased after her attackers, but they got away.
I talked with one student who says she's heard about the recent series of attacks, so she's doing something to protect herself.
"Because of it I actually have a pepper spray now in my bag," UC Berkeley student Isabel Macias said. "And it's pink, but I've only gotten it like yesterday but, I got it now, because of it, because I'm kind of paranoid."
UC Berkeley police have been stepping up patrols around campus.
Now that it gets darker faster, students might want to take advantage of a few programs that begin at dusk. For short walks on campus, students can ask for an escort. There's also a night safety shuttle that runs till 4 a.m. Or students can book a door-to-door service to be picked up and taken wherever they need to go.
As for the recent string of attacks, UC Berkeley police cannot say if they are connected.
No arrests have been made.
