A St. Thomas student was the victim of lewd conduct the afternoon of Saturday, Dec. 6 on Grand Avenue near campus, according to a Public Safety alert sent out Tuesday, which spurred several posts on social media.

According to the report, the student was walking home when she was stopped outside her apartment by a man who said it was his birthday and asked for a hug. When the student gave the man a pat on the shoulder, the man wrapped his arms around her, pulled her into a hug and groped her. The student pushed away and went back to her apartment while the man left on foot. The suspect was described as 40 to 50 years old, between 5 feet 7-8 inches, light to medium build, with slurred speech and wearing a dark color beanie and a plaid, lightweight jacket.

Public Safety Crime Prevention Officer Wells Farnham said incidents like these are rare, especially during the day, but students should still take precautions and trust their instincts in uncomfortable situations.

“Be mindful of your environment,” he said. “If you’re thinking to yourself, I don’t know what to do here, then that’s a way of your instinct telling you get out of there, get to a safe place.”

After the incident, a variety of comments, both positive and negative, appeared on the social media website Yik Yak, which allows users to post anonymously and view posts from others in their area. Dean of Students Karen Lange said social media posts such as these have the opportunity to be helpful or harmful.

“Sometimes students can provide support through social media or can intervene through social media,” Lange said. “But I think sometimes when the conversation on social media is not supportive, that can be hurtful.”

Freshman Abby Starr said users should keep the feelings of the victim in mind, as critical comments could have a negative effect.

“That would just be not good to look on Yik Yak, if you were the victim, and see (hurtful comments),” Starr said.

With the new training and awareness of sexual misconduct on campus this fall, Lange said it’s important for students to report incidents like this one. However, freshman Lauren Ennett said critical posts on social media could keep future victims from reporting.

“If I was seeing this girl get put down for doing that, I’d almost feel less comfortable coming forward,” Ennett said.

Although the incident occurred off campus, Lange said the student will still benefit from resources provided by the university’s sexual misconduct policy.

“If a student is sexually harassed or there’s sexual misconduct situations – whether it’s on or off campus, whether it happens with a community member or not – we certainly want to follow up with that student (and) provide resources,” Lange said. “Any kind of support that the student would need.”

The student has reported the incident to the St. Paul Police Department, and it will handle any investigation going forward. Farnham said Public Safety is always available for students, on campus or off campus, but those off campus should get in contact with the police first.

“You absolutely can always contact us too,” Farnham said. “We’re there to support the student. But if it’s an off-campus incident, the best thing is to call 911 first. Then call us, and we’ll do what we can too.”

Rebecca Mariscal can be reached at mari2162@stthomas.edu.