Three incidents that occurred in the campus area in the past week were brought to the attention of University of Wisconsin students in a “timely warning” issued by officials Thursday afternoon.
An all-campus email from the university cautioned students of three recent incidents on campus, one occurring outside Sellery Hall on Sept. 1, and the other occurring at a campus residence, reported on Sept. 4.
UW Police Department spokesperson Marc Lovicott confirmed an unknown person on Sept. 1 reportedly hit a student outside Sellery Hall in the side of the head.
Ald. Scott Resnick, District 8, said he has briefed on the incident at Sellery Hall.
The email added a sexual assault was reported to campus officials on Sept. 4; however, Lovicott could not confirm if the assault occurred the first weekend on campus.
“Sexual assaults are unfortunately all too common following the first weekend of the new school year, and statistics show that 84 percent of sexual assaults on campus occur between two people who know each other,” the email said.
Lovicott could also not confirm where the assault occurred beyond saying it occurred at a residence on campus.
Two sexual assaults were logged by UWPD on Sept. 3 and Sept. 4, one at 333 E. Campus Mall, and another at 835 W. Dayton St, respectively.
Another incident involving two UW students occurred off campus Wednesday night, the email said. The students were robbed at gunpoint by two suspects on the 1900 block of University Avenue, the email said.
Resnick said he is working with MPD to create future outreach events in the coming weeks for students to be made aware of crime preventative resources available to them.
Resnick added a program called the Downtown Safety Initiative was implemented to add additional officers in the downtown area Thursday through Saturday nights, as well as before and after game day events to ensure student safety.
“Many of the police officers want to make sure everyone has a good time, but if there is a necessity to let them know something serious is going on, they are here to prevent the burglaries, robberies and muggings that occur on campus,” Resnick said.
