In the wake of two attacks on male students in separate incidents late Friday night, many University students are questioning their own safety on and around Grounds.
"It does surprise me that two guys would be mugged because normally I feel safe on Grounds," third-year College student Ali Dastvar said.
Third-year Commerce student Reed Smollar said he feels that being male makes him less likely to be a victim of a mugging.
"As a guy, I figure I can at least put up a little fight, and that will hopefully get people's attention," Smollar said. "Not everybody can say that, though."
Some, however, felt like even male students often put themselves at risk.
"It doesn't surprise me that guys could be mugged if they are walking alone in dark places," third-year College student Evan Stewart said. "You just have to try to be more careful than that."
While the two male students were mugged near the train tracks by the Corner, some students said they try to avoid this area at night.
"I'm really bad at walking the train tracks, but if it's really late, I try to walk near the Corner where there is more light and there are more people," third-year College student Manu Singh said.
Dastvar said he tries to take similar precautions when walking home alone, but also mentioned that he tries to pick a time and a place to meet with friends as soon as he leaves a venue alone.
Smollar, however, admitted that he occasionally could make more careful decisions about where he walks at night.
"I don't really go home differently if I end up walking alone," Smollar said. "It's just a 'I hope I don't get jumped' situation. But you do have to worry about whether where you are going is safe, especially if you plan to drink."
Many students, however, realized that while it may seem like commonsense to not walk home alone, it often happens anyway.
"A lot of times you do end up walking home alone," Singh said."I always try to take extra precautions, but sometimes it just happens."
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