By Lori Wysong
News Editor
On Sunday, Washington College students received an email in their inboxes regarding crime and safety on campus and in Chestertown.
According to the message sent by Direc- tor of Public Safety Brandon McFayden, a number of incidents reportedly occurred over the weekend in which WC students were victims.
On the afternoon of Saturday, Sept. 1, a female student was allegedly “approached by a male in a 2-door, bright cherry red car with a spoiler on the back and tinted windows,” according to McFayden.
McFayden said that this male was described as being “35-45 years old, having a muscular build, very dark skin, and being clean shaven, with bald head, wearing a bright red polo type shirt and black exercise shorts.”
McFayden said, “The male tried to lure the female student into his car and became angry when she would not accept a ride. The female student smartly walked over to a crowd of people to remove herself from the incident.”
Later that evening, at approximately 11:55 p.m., McFayden said that two students were allegedly beaten by a group of male teenagers.
“This group of individuals assaulted both WC students by punching and kicking them while near the intersection of Washington Ave. and Brown Street (near the Publications House),” McFayden said.
Another student reported being similarly assaulted around 11 p.m. on Sept. 1. According to McFayden, the student was allegedly walking to the Kent Crossing apartments when he too was punched by “a large group of male teenagers.”
The Chestertown Police have already begun investigating these alleged crimes in conjunction with the WC Public Safety Department.
“They have already been directing their officers on investigating these crimes. There has been no delay in the investigations because of the holiday weekend,” McFayden said.
McFayden asks that students who choose to walk around campus or surrounding area do not walk alone, and
make sure to notify others of their routes and remain aware of their surroundings.
“While the weather is still warm, many of our students choose to walk to get around Chestertown and while this is normally a very safe practice, we would like to remind our students of basic safety precautions that they should take wherever they are,” Mc- Fayden said.
To conclude this message, McFayden reminded students of the availability of SafeRide on campus. SafeRide operates from 8:00 p.m. to 11:45 p.m. Sunday through Wednesday, Thursday from 8:00 p.m. to 2:15 a.m., and Friday and Saturday from 9:00 p.m. to 2:15 a.m. The number for SafeRide is 410-810-RIDE (7433).
McFayden said, “If you have any safety concerns or have additional information about any of these incidents, please call Public Safety at 410-778-7810.”